patricia

Are you ready for a jazz singer, who played kazoo??? Well, then I have a treat for you! We have "RED" [William] McKENZIE, who was born in 1899 in St Louis. Red did not start out to be a jazz singer, but actually was a jockey. Fortunate for the jazz scene, unfortunate for him, he broke both arms in a fall and couldn't ride anymore. He took a job as a bellhop at the Claridge Hotel in St Louis and met Dick Slevin and Jack Bland, who were guitarists. The three of them, McKenzie, Bland and Slevin formed a "spasm" band, the Mound City Blue Blowers. It was a huge success and worked opposite Gene Rodemich's band in Chicago. There was a recording date, arranged by Isham Jones for the trio. The first single they recorded was "Arkansas Bllues" and featured McKenzie on a red-hot paper and comb, combined with his absolutely captivating, plummy singing. This record sold over a million copies! That monster hit, for the times, was followed by "Hello LOla" and "One Hour", which also featured guest, Coleman Hawkins and Glenn Miller and became classics. There were two other guitarists who played with the blowers, Eddie Lang and Eddie Condon. Apparently, Condon loved McKenzie's feisty spirit. Red McKenzie helped set up Condon's first record date with the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans. Red then moved on to work with Paul Whiteman for a year and worked successfully on 52nd Street, until his wife died. He then moved back to St Louis with his son. He worked there as a beer salesman. But, he did come back to record, twice, with Condon in 1944. Then, in 1947 he was leading a band at Jimmy Ryan's. As Ed Hubble recalls, "His death was the end of the band. It was a stomping band and Red was singing beautifully, but his personal life was very lonely - he was taking it out on the bandstand and drinking entirely too much". RED McKENZIE died of cirhosis in February of 1948.

Well, Peter, it would have been an idea to actually try to talk to the musically illiterate new curators about their decision to pass on music that a large part of the community, with bulging wallets actually likes enough to buy........in quantity. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but I suspect that they don't listen to much jazz. Much like a dealer in any other merchandise, in any other retail business, in order to be successful, they should know who their clientele are. Clearly, there were people who bought jazz from the previous people. So they are shutting out a whole chunk of customers who used to buy jazz, when they had jazz . Perhaps you should, next time you're in the neighbourhood, drop by and make a powerhouse pitch on behalf of all of those prospective customers. Just not going there anymore is like not voting. He probably doesn't care if YOU come in, but when he realizes that there are many more like you, he could be swung our way. Do it. You'll be our hero. You'll be worshipped, by us, much as a God would be worshipped.

Now we have "SNOOKY" [Eugene Howard] YOUNG, a wonderful trumpet player, born in 1919 in Dayton, Ohio. Amazingly, Snooky took up the trumpet at five years old!! He played in the Wilberforce College Band, without ever have attended the college! Later, he played with Clarence "Chic" Carter's territory band in Michigan. In 1939 he joined Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra, staying for three years. Snooky had a very famous feature, "Uptown Blues", with Lunceford's organization. In 1942 he was with Count Basie's band for a short time and then Young joined a variety of bands, Lee Young, Les Hite, Benny Carter, Basie again, and then Gerald Wilson. He then joined Basie once again, staying until 1945 - 1947. Snooky replaced Al Killian, Basie's high-note man. Then, for the next ten years he led his own band, which was very well received and it played in Dayton. This band featured Slam Stewart and Bootie Wood. He then re-joined Basie and stayed with his band from 1957-1962. From there he went to studio work, where he produced an excellent solo album for Concord. That album is titled, "Horn Of Plenty" and it is required listening for anyone who would like to hear Young's style and talent on both trumpet and fluglehorn.. His backup was Ross Tompkins on piano, John Collins on guitar and Jake Hanna doing a great job on drums. Away you go to look for this collection. Again, you'll thank me.

A day late and a dollar short. Story of my life. Even though the cake is almost gone and the party hats are strewn all over, let me add my good wishes on your birthday, ROOSTER TIES.

Our next profile is of CLAUDE "FIDDLER" WILLIAMS, born in Muskogee in 1908. Williams played first with Terrence Holder's band, which later morphed into Andy Kirk's Clouds Of Joy. After that, he went with Alphonso Trent in 1932 and with Chick Stevens in 1934 and stayed until 1935. Count Basie's orchestra was the next stop for Fiddler in 1936, but he was replaced by Freddy Green. From then on, he worked with a wide variety of bands, including the Four Shades of Rhythm and after having lived in New York for years, he moved back to Kansas City in 1953. He spent the next few years playing residencies there. In the 1970's Williams toured with Jay McShann, as well as playing solo at festivals and at parties. Fiddler Williams is described as a jazz violinist of huge, huge energy and great creativity. Many believe that he has been underestimated, when compared to better known artists, such as Stuff Smith. I think that Smith may be more well-know, but Williams' work stands up favourably to any of the other jazz-violinists'. He's still working, unless he checked out, since 1999, while I wasn't paying attention.

Although Louis Armstrong is a household name, at least in jazz aficianados' households, there was a better-known cornet-player in New Orleans to whom Armstrong was second-line cornet in this honouree's marching band. The player to whom I'm referring is "BUDDY" [Joseph Crawford] PETIT, born in 1897 in White Castle, Louisiana. Petit's nickname was a childhood one. To distinguish him from his stepfather, Josepth Petit Sr., he was called "Buddy". In 1916 Petit was co-leading a band with Jimmie Noone and was working up and down the West Coast. His band, mostly because of Petit's extreme popularity, was one of the most in-demand bands of the period. So much so, that quite often Buddy would sometimes accept 4 or 5 jobs in one night. He always took a deposit, but obviously couldn't play them, so he would send other bands to play under his band's name. It got so that prosective bookers were reluctant to hire him, because they never knew if they were going to get Buddy's band, or someone else's. In 1917 Petit moved to the West Coast to play with Jelly Roll Morton. There was an almost immediate personality conflict between Petit and Morton. It seems that Morton considered Petit a bit of a country-boy. On one occasion, Petit had cooked up a big pot of rice and beans at work and Moton made fun of his eating habits. Petit blew up and threatened to kill Morton, if their paths ever crossed again. They went their separate ways, not surprisingly. According to Danny Barker, "A dozen books should have been written about Buddy Petit. The way people rave over Dempsey, Joe Louis or Ben Hogan, -- THAT'S how great Petit was when he played! The kids would come up and say 'Can I shake your hand Mr Petit?' On parades they'd be ten deep around Buddy as he walked along, blowing." Buddy Petit was Louis Armstrong's nearest rival in New Orleans. BUDDY PETIT led a frantic life, working constantly, sleeping little, drinking copiously. He had refused an offer to go to Chicago to play in Bill Johnson's band and King Oliver got the job instead, but he still played regularly on the riverboats. In July of 1931 he was at an Independance Day picnic and overate and overdrank himself to death at only thirty-four. Louis Armstrong was a pallbearer at the funeral.

In 1905, in Little Rock Arkansas, a not-very-well-known trombone-player, "SNUB" [Laurence Leo] MOSELY was born. Mosely was not among the front rank of the very early trombone soloists, such as Jimmy Harrison, or even as recognizeable as Claude Jones. That doesn't mean that he was not a talent to be watched. From 1926-1933 Snub was the featured soloist with Alphonso Trent's territory band. This band was enormously successful and Snub's style was desribed as a stabbing stacatto attack, with amazing high-register work. His highly individual approach attracted a lot of attention. So much so, that he was in great demand by the best big bands of the thirties. Those included those of Luis Russell, Fats Waller and also Fletcher Henderson. Then, in 1938, Snub led his own six-piece band, which played at hotels, clubs and also went on tour. This band produced at least one hit record, "The Man With The Funny Little Horn". This record was remarkable because of an instrument the band included, which Snub Mosely invented. The instrument was called the "SLIDE SAXOPHONE". It looked like a big, metal Swanee whistle and had a very unique spectral sound. For forty years, Snub fronted his bands, which were sometimes r&b groups and sometimes jazz-flavoured. He played mainly in the New York area. He recorded too, for Stanley Dance in 1959. Snub then toured Europe twenty years later and fronted Fred Hunt's trio. There is a collection of the work he did in London, when he was the resident at the Pizza Express. It's "Live At The Pizza Express" [1978 Pizza]. SNUB MOSLEY died in July of 1981 at seventy-six years old.

I get suggestions from some who read these entries, from time to time and in response to one today, let me offer a thumbnail sketch of the great tenor-sax player, GENE "JUG" AMMONS. Now, Ammons was not widely known by his nickname, but I understand that he had so many run-ins with the constabulary and spent so much time in jail that his friends dubbed him "Jug" and it stuck. Ammons was born in Chicago in 1925. He started out with Billy Eckstine's band in 1944 and stayed til 1947 as well as recording under his own name and also with his father, Albert Ammons. Gene then was featured with Woody Herman's band in 1949 and co-led with Sonny Stitt a two tenor septet in 1952. Ammons worked hard, leading his own groups and as a visiting soloist, but his drug habit threatened to send his career swirling down the bowl. He was busted and jailed twice, for significant incarceration in the sixties, once from 1958-1960 and again from 1964-1969. He did make a European trip to Montreaux for the jazz festival in 1973. Gene's style has been characterized as a cross between the styles of Lester Young and Ben Webster. The blending of Young's simplicity and Webster's directness comes through in a sound unique to Ammons and not at all derivitive. Some criticize his sound as being too obvious, but I see a sensitivity and subtlety that is very appealing, especially when he played ballads. Ammons' career was relatively short, but he did manage to develop what became known a the Chicago school of tenor-playing, which influenced such players as Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan. It's rather sad that this new development in tenor-playing quickly became part of the international language of jazz and Ammons seldom is given credit. Ammons' "Gravy" from 1950 became the basis for the standard "Walkin' ", which was copyrighted by his manager, Richard Carpenter. Gene "Jug" Ammons died in 1974 after contracting pneumonia at fifty-nine. Look for "Gentle Jug" [1961-2 Prestige] which is a two LP set and is a collection of beautiful standards. Ammons' talent shines through. Very enjoyable.

Now, here's a surprise. Usually artists who have nicknames have ones which are reflexions of a particular characteristic or eccentricity. Here's one that is just a different name than is on his birth certificate and quite ordinary. It's JOE WILLIAMS [Joseph Goreed]. This Joe Williams should not be confused with the blues singer, "Big" Joe Williams. Our Joe was born in Cordele Georgia, in 1918. He was raised in Chicago and started singing professionally in nightclubs there with Jimmie Noone's group in the late 1930's. Then, in the early forties he worked with Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton. In the late forties, Joe toured with Andy Kirk and recorded with Andy Kirk, his first record, in 1946 in New York. He then worked with the Albert Ammons/Pete Johnson band, as well as with Red Saunders in Chicago. Williams recorded with the Saunders band, under the leadership of Hot Lips Page in 1950. His next stop was with Count Basie's septet, still in 1950 and his reputation was begun with his gigantic hit record, "Every Day" on which he was backed by the King Kolax band. Following that, Williams was Count Basie's regular singer and brought both the band and himself a huge wave of popularity in the fifties. Then Williams then became a soloist, performing with various bands, including the Harry Edison quintet in the early sixties. He then performed with his own trios, led by pianists, Junior Mance and Norman Simmons among them. Joe also made several appearance with all-star jazz groups, including an African tour with Clark Terry's quintet in 1979. You may also remember seeing Joe in a speaking role on the Cosby show in the eighties. Joe Williams has a very distinctive singing voice, described as darker and deeper than that of Billy Eckstine's. His voice is extremely effective in presenting blues in a sophistocated way. He is equally good when singing jazz and ballads. JOE WILLIAMS DIED in March, 1999.

And now we have another drummer, JEFF "TAIN'' WATTS. Jeff was born in Pittsburgh in 1960. Watts has achieved true prominence through his association with the brothers Marsalis, Wynton and Branford. With that leg-up he has become one of the most in-demand drummers of his generation. He has also used his partnership with bassist, Robert Hurst, as well as that with the Marsalis brothers to his advantage. As a result, he has worked with pianists, Donald Brown and Geri Allen, as well as saxophonists Ricky Ford and Rick Margitza on recordings made in the 1980's and the 1990's. The list of artists with whom his work is associated is long and includes Robin Eubanks, Betty carter, McCoy Tyner, Stephen Scott, Gary Thomas, Sadao Satanabe and Jim Snidero. Watts appears on albums by guitarists Ron Affif, "52nd St" [1995 Pablo] He also collaborated with saxophonists like Greg Osby on "Art Forum" [1996 Blue Note], Kenny Garrett on "Songbook" [1997 Warner Brothers], and Michael Brecker on "Two Blocks From The Edge"[1998 Impulse]. JEFF TAIN WATTS is one of the new wave of jazz drummers who have taken up the torch and run with it. He is known as a drummer whose presence in a band's rhythm section is practically a guarantee of success.

Here's another artist who, like Dave Tough, has his surname as his nickname. He is "JOHNNY WIGGS [John Wigginton Hyman]. He was born in New Orleans in 1899. Johnny Wiggs was a violinist, originally, but switched to cornet in the 1920's. He worked with Norman Brownlee n the mid-twenties and with Happy Schilling in the late twenties. He also recorded with his own band during the same period. After this very short professional musical career, Johnny Wiggs left music to become a schoolmaster in the early 1930's. But, in 1948 he was back on the scene with a vengence. After that initial blast, he did slow down. He was still playing in the sixties at festivals, like the 1969 New Orleans jazz festival and other gigs until 1974. JOHNNY WIGGS is an active member of the New Orleans Jazz Society and is a lifelong jazz enthusiast, as well as a prominent authority on the passion we all know as JAZZ.

Next, lets talk about RUSSELL "BIG CHIEF" MOORE, born near Sacaton Arizona in 1912. Moore plays trombone and also sings. Russell learned to play the trombone as a young man, taught by his uncle. He lived in the Chicago area and, during the 1920's he played locally and then joined Lionel Hampton's band in Los Angeles in 1935. He went from Hampton's band to one led by Eddie Barefield. In the early forties, Moore moved to New Orleans and worked around the city with Oscar Celestin, Paul Barbarin, Noble Sissle and Harlan Leonard. He also worked with Louis Armstrong's big band, which at the time counted Dexter Gordon among it's personel. By the fifties our guy was associated with Eddie Condon, Wild Bill Davison, Tony Parenti, Sammy Price, Buck Clayton, Don Byas, Hot LIps Page and also Henry "Red" Allen. Time passed and Big Chief worked fairly steadily, but the highpoint of his career was probably his joining Louis Armstrong's band for a year in 1964. He replaced Trummy Young. After that he formed his own band and gigged with Lester Lanin, keeping busy until 1981. The old trouper just seemed to run out of steam. RUSSELL BIG CHIEF MOORE died in December of 1983. He was seventy-one.

Peter, my little love, don't ever underestimate the power of one voice [yours]. You didn't say whether you, standing right there, listening to the heretics mock the jazz section, said anything. If we don't speak up, we will be stuck with whatever the ifidel wants to stock. Oddly enough, retailers listen to their customers. Had you voiced your opposition to their intended stock-plans, it might have made a difference. Surely you're not the only jazz nut in town??? I weep for you. Really. After all, what are the chances that any of us could have been "on the ground floor", as you were and possibly changed their minds, or at least made them realize that WE buy tons of music, IF IT'S THERE? They are in the business of selling music and we, as jazz-fans, have folding currency, just burning a hole in our pockets. Missed opportunity, my dear. Maybe not too late to do something, but if they are as ignorant as you say, maybe it is. Perhaps you could pitch the idea anyway, next time you're in the neighbourhood. Nothing to lose. I never "up" my own posts, but this was on the bottom of the first page and I wanted to be sure that Peter saw it.

It seems fitting that Tito Puente's profile should be followed by that of "PUCHO" [Henry Lee Brown], born in New York in 1938. Pucho acquired his nickname because he did self-taught spot-on imitations of Puente, who was his favourite musician. From the time Pucho was sixteen, he was working professionally, playing timbales with Joe Panama in Harlem as well as in the Bronx. He formed his own band in 1959, which had an augmented rhythm-section, which also included vibes. This band appeared in Count Basie's club, as well as a 1966 festival date at Carnegie Hall. Prestige recorded Pucho with his band, The Latin Soul Brothers for eight years, between 1966 and 1974. The rather odd band name was due to it's repertoire, which ranged from r&b to boogaloo. At the same time he was recording with such jazzers as George Benson, Lonnie Smith and Gene Ammons. The next step in Pucho's musical journey was with a trio in the late 1970's and 1980's at resorts in the Catskill Mountains. The rise of the acid-jazz in Britain and Japan prompted our guy to re-form his band and go to both in 1993. Since then, Pucho has recorded several new albums, as well as having his earlier material re-released. Look for "Rip-A-Dip" [1995 Milestone] which is Pucho's first U.S. recording for many years. It brings together Al and Ed Pazant, on trumpet and reeds, who are both former sidemen. Also, Bill Bivens can be heard on vibes and John Spruill on piano and organ. Very nice collection.

And now, let's talk about "TITO" [Ernestito Antonio] PUENTE. Tito was born in 1920 in New York. He was a percussionist, played piano and was also an arranger. His parents were Puerto Rican and originally, Tito hoped to become a dancer. Unfortunately, that dream died when he became injured and was unable to dance well enough to continue. During WW2, while in the Navy, Tito became interested in big band music. After the war he studied briefly at Julliard. From 1945-1947 he played with Noro Morales and Machito. After his experience with those groups, Tito formed his own band, called The Piccadilly Boys. That band was the very popular resident at the Palladium in New York in the fifties, along with Machito and also the Tito Rodriguez groups. Tito Puente is the one who brought the mambo and the cha-cha to huge artistic heights during that period. It seemed as though everyone was hypnotized by the art of Latin dance. More than a hundred albums were recorded by Tito in the fifties and there were three distinctly jazz-oriented collections among them. One of those jazz offerings was with Woody Herman. In 1981 Tito broke up his big band and formed a jazz ensemble called the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble, which continued to tour, with Puente leading it well into the 1990's. I was interested to learn that Tito Puente's "Para Los Rumberos" and his "Oye Como Va" were covered by the now-revitalized Carlos Santana in the 1970's successfully and are now Latin jazz standards. TITO PUENTE died in June of 2000 ending a tremendously successful life in the promotion and the performance of Latin music.

Peter, my little love, don't ever underestimate the power of one voice [yours]. You didn't say whether you, standing right there, listening to the heretics mock the jazz section, said anything. If we don't speak up, we will be stuck with whatever the ifidel wants to stock. Oddly enough, retailers listen to their customers. Had you voiced your opposition to their intended stock-plans, it might have made a difference. Surely you're not the only jazz nut in town??? I weep for you. Really. After all, what are the chances that any of us could have been "on the ground floor", as you were and possibly changed their minds, or at least made them realize that WE buy tons of music, IF IT'S THERE? They are in the business of selling music and we, as jazz-fans, have folding currency, just burning a hole in our pockets. Missed opportunity, my dear. Maybe not too late to do something, but if they are as ignorant as you say, maybe it is. Perhaps you could pitch the idea anyway, next time you're in the neighbourhood. Nothing to lose.

Thank you Tim. As you say, a great loss. One by one...................... RIP Chuck Niles.

"MOE" [Elmer Reuben] SCHNEIDER , who plays trombone, was born in Bessie, Oklahoma in 1919. Moe worked with a series of what were described as "Dixieland academies", one of which was Ben Pollack's band, both before and after the war. After the war, he was with Bob Crosby from 1949. Moe's style has been described as merging the tone of Jack Teagarden with the almost athletic and rangy approach of Abe Lincoln. Some of his best work is on the recorded music from the radio series, TV show and the later feature film, "Pete Kelly's Blues". On that set of classics, he played with Dick Cathcart and Matty Matlock. These recordings are good examples of what is known as "white jazz". They were jazz, without ever sounding too precise, but IMO, excellent, nonetheless. Later on, in the fifties, Schneider combined music with his day job as an accountant. He did studio work and also appeared in "The Five Pennies" and "The Gene Krupa Story" in 1959. Moe's work is described by many as a collector's delight and his skill is of the highest jazz standard. I urge you to find the recordings of the music from "Pete Kelly's Blues". You'll be glad you did.

And now we have "BIG" JOE TURNER, who was born in Kansas City, Missuri in 1911. For some reason, I connect Turner's voice with another singer, "Big" Miller, [profiled earlier], who also had a gorgeous, smooth delivery. Both artists got their nicknames because of their generously proportioned shadows. Big Joe Turner was singing, professionally, by the time he was fourteen years old, at the Kingfisher Club in Kansas City. He worked behind the bar. While working at the club, Joe met pianist, Pete Johnson. Johnson, recognizing Turner's exceptional talent, teamed up with him and they worked together throughout the 1940's, usually up and down the West Coast. Turner and Johnson's joint venture, Blue Room, in Los Angeles opened in 1945. Way, way ahead of his time, Turner's style of singing was raw and sexually direct. He is acknowledged as one of the very first of the rock and roll artists, many of whom became huge stars in a genre which later became a phenomenom. But, Turner hit many roadblocks on his career path in that the music czars of the time thought his approach too black and much too forceful for the white audiences which they were targetting. Despite hit records for Atlantic, such as "Chains Of Love" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" his progress with the huge rock trend was not as successful as it, in retrospect, should have been. Perhaps the reason was simpler, as related by Nick Kimberly, "Imagine Joe, six feet two and weighing 250 pounds, belting out 'Trendsetter' at 46." He just didn't fit the picture the promoters of his records had of who their audience was. He was too old. There are also those who say his regularly identifying himself with his jazz roots was not a wise move for a pop star. If you listen to Turner's album, "Boss Of The Blues", which featured Pete Brown, Lawrence Brown and Pete Johnson, there is definitely a jazz, rather than a pop flavour to the collection. In any case, he moved back to New Orleans in the sixties. He did make a trip to Britain in 1965 and toured with Humphrey Lyttleton. Lyttleton's portrait of Turner, in his book, "Take It From The Top" was an affectionate one. He recounted Turner's preference for the key of "C", as well as stories about Turner's puzzling liability to set fire to hotel rooms. By the time the 1970's rolled in, Joe was singing at festivals and had signed a contract with the label owned by Norman Granz, Pablo. This was a huge boost to Turner, because he recorded in almost every context, from jazz bands, all the way to down-home and r&b bands. In 1981, he was in hospital with pneumonia and blood clots, but a year later, Joe was back, playing Tramp's Room in New York. Lee Jeske said of Turner's voice, during that period, that he was singing "in a voice so rich and clear and strong, the walls shake, the plates rattle and the tables roll". Big Joe Turner performed right up to the end of his life, appearing often with his kindred spirit, Jimmy Witherspoon. There's a collection of Turner's work called "Joe Turner's Blues" [1938-1946 Topaz]. This is a wonderful album and includes Pete Johnson's Boogie Woogie Boys, Benny Carter, Willie "The Lion" Smith and Bill Moore. It has six titles from two sessions with Art Tatum, which were recorded n 1941. If you want to experience the magic of Big Joe Turner, go and find this album, immediatly!! BIG JOE TURNER, after a career of great distinction, died in November, 1985, at seventy-four years old.

In January in 1949, the drummer, BOBBY WORTH [Robert Dodsworth] was born in London, England. Worth became interested in drums early, having heard the work of Mel Lewis and Morello. When he was sixteen years old, he was a founder member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He then played resident for Bert Rhodes at Talk Of The Town in London. By 1982 he was freelancing and worked in a variety of contexts with the very best of British players, such as Pete King, Jim Mullen and Don Weller. Bobby has also played with visiting Americans like Bob Wilber, Buddy Tate, Kenny Davern, Charlie Byrd and Scott Hamilton. Earlier, we talked about the singer/pianist, Buddy Greco. Well, Worth also worked for him, as a drummer and musical director. I was interested that he worked in theatre shows, including Sugar Babies, with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller. Bobby Worth plays regularly at Ronnie Scott's Pizza Express and 606 Club. Not only that, but he has worked all over Britain, including Lady Sings The Blues, as well as with Alex Welsh Reunion Band. BOBBY WORTH was the winner of the British Telecom award for Drummer Of The Year in 1998. There is a CD available, made in 1992, for Calligraph with Humphrey Littleton and Acker Bilk. This is a perfect setting for Bobby to demonstrate his tight-swinging style and this collection is in a relaxed quintet setting which co-fetured Dave Green and Dave Cliff. Worthwhile.

And now we whisk back to the U.S. to talk about the fabulous trumpet-player, [Harry] "SWEETS" EDISON. Edison was born in Columbus Ohio in 1915. He was half Native-American, as was Lee Wiley and also Jack Teagarden. Sweets fell under the spell of Louis Armstrong, having heard him play on Bessie Smith's records. The spell was set when he saw Armstrong play live with Benny Moten at Valley Dale dance hall. His career began with territory bands, among them, Jeter Pillars, Earl Hood and Morrison's Grenediers. Sweets then moved to New York, where after about six months with Lucky Millinder, he went with Count Basie in 1938. He stayed with Basie until 1950, and left when the band broke up. There Edison was, without work and without what, to him, was a father-figure in Basie. He had a wife and a family to support, so he joined Norman Granz' Jazz At The Philharmonic. At the time Edison was with JATP, the legendary Josephine Baker was among the performers and he her musical director. By 1952, Sweets was doing studio work and had begun a regular association with Frank Sinatra and other singers. He worked with Buddy Hackett and was known as a master accompanist. In the 1960's, he hadn't slowed down and continued with very heavy studio committments, as well as appearing regularly at various festivals, JATP and with Count Basie as a guest soloist. He was also seen on TV's Hollywood Palace. In the 1970's Edison was still goin', making tours with "Lockjaw" Davis and with Benny Carter. He was also teaching at Yale for the Duke Ellington Fellowship. Even in the 1990's Sweets was still a force and was appearing at concerts, sometimes with Lionel Hampton, at festivals and he was playing beautifully, if a little less aggressively. Harry "Sweets" Edison was described as a natural player, much like Armstrong and his was one of the most distinctive voices in jazz. As all great players' styles do, his style evolved over time, going from a blustery-wild young style, to a more elegant and controlled perfection in his later years. He was capable of stretching out in extensive solos, without losing any of his performance power or his creative steam. Having made a huge contribution to jazz, HARRY SWEETS EDISON died in July of 1999, at seventy-six years old.

And we have now, yet another "Buddy", but this time from Europe. He is "BUDDY" [Rupert Edward] FEATHERSTONEHAUGH. Featherstonehaugh was born in 1909 in Paris. He first came to notice in Spike Hughes' British orchestra in 1930 and stayed with that organization until 1932. He played clarinet, as well as tenor and baritone saxophones. In his last year with Hughes, he toured with Louis Armstrong in Britain. Three years later, in 1935, he recorded on Decca with his own band. His band was called The Cosmopolitans and it included Harry Hayes and Alan Ferguson. Buddy also recorded for Benny Carter in Britain in 1936 and 1937. During the war, Buddy joined the RAF and led a group which had among it's personel, trombonist, Don McCaffer, who took over a half-hour radio program on BBC, Radio Rhythm Club. The Cosmopolitans recorded prolifically for HMV during the war, but after the war they slipped into near-obscurity. But then, Featherstonehaugh came back to the public's attentin in 1956, on baritone sax. He recorded eight bop recordings, which also featured a very young Kenny Wheeler and Bobby Wellins. By the 1960's, however, Buddy had retired. In July of 1976, BUDDY FEATHERSTONEHAUGH died, at sixty-seven years old.

OK. I've put it off long enough. I've mentioned the 1920's bandleader, in connection with several musicians' beginnings and I don't think [smack me on the side of the head if I'm mistaken] I've profiled the man himself. The bandleader to which I refer is "PECK" [John Dixon]KELLEY. Born in Houston Texas in 1898, he led Peck's Bad Boys around Texas in the early 1920's This band was mostly known because it was the starting point for such mega-jazzers as Jack Teagarden, Pee Wee Russell and trumpeter Leon Prima. Peck himself was a kind, shy man, who took care of his musicians. He played a very fine piano and his band was the resident at Sylva Beach on Galveston Bay. He was persuaded, in 1924, to join Russell, Bix Beiderbecke and Frank Trumbauer, playing the Arcadia Ballroom in St Louis. But, there were union problems and Peck couldn't get a work permit. This devastated him and Pee Wee said of this incident, "Peck went home more convinced than ever that it was a mistake to leave home". So, from that point on, Peck turned down opportunities to work with Paul Whiteman, the Dorseys, Rudy Vallee and Bob and Bing Crosby. He also refused to record. Though his own career seemed to be in the doldrums, there was a song, "Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar" which is said to have been written about him during the boogie craze. There was also a feature written about him in Collier's Magazine. Despite the continued public facination with him, Peck stayed home, stubbornly refusing to be lured back into the jazz circuit. That is not to say that he was no longer involved with music. He did play in locally-based groups, and one of his last groups was a Shearing-style quintet, which played Houston's Dixie Bar in 1949. Right after that, Peck retired. Years later, Peck was interviewed for Down Beat, by Richard Hadlock. The meeting as described by Hadlock was so sad. Apparantly Peck was, by then, grey and very nearly blind. He was living in a dim, dusty house, with no working piano. Hadlock quoted him as saying, "I guess people think it's strange I didn't go with the big names in the 1930's. Maybe the real reason was I never felt the need to entertain people. I like to play for myself". So, so sad. Unfortunately, PECK KELLEY, who had been the first bandleader to give many of the jazzers from Texas, who later became huge stars, their first break, went blind, contracted Parkinson's disease and died in December of 1980, at eighty-two years old.

Ever seen "Groundhog Day"?? Surreal!!! Wingy was of the most fun musicians to research. He was the sort of person that just made me smile. What a character!!!!

From time to time, as I write these pieces, I have a curious feeling of deja vu. I guess it's because I remember doing the work for similar ones which I profiled on another, now defunct thread. Only the honourees are the same people. The original bios are gone. .................................. Having said that, let's re-visit "WINGY" [Joseph Matthews] MANONE. Occasionally a nickname is a little macabre and this is one of those. Wingy was born in New Orleans in 1900 and his nickname stems from his having a single arm, his left, due to a childhood streetcar tragedy. Nevertheless, he was a fine, fine trumpet player. He also sang. Wingy was fast-talking, funny and very ambitious. During the 1920's and early 1930's he toured with Benny Goodman as well as Red Nichols, in addition to recording with them. Before that he had worked around the Southern states with Peck Kelly and with Doc Ross. Wingy had also appeared in a revue in which he was billed as "The One-Armed Indian". His "handicap" certainly didn't cramp his musical style and he is often said to have played better, with one arm, than most trumpet-players could with the standard-issue two. In 1934 Wingy was leading his own band, recording like crazy. Many remember his record, "Isle Of Capri" fondly, because he filled it with Italianate-style nonsense and it was a huge hit. Wingy was so talented and so personable, that he was a headliner on 52nd Street as well as all over Chicago. By 1940 Wingy had branched out into appearing in movies for RKO, notably, "Rhythm On The River", which starred Bing Crosby. Crosby kept Manone and is said to have considered him a kind of court jester, but in a good way. Wingy was now living in Hollywood and was very satisfied with the direction his career had taken and with his success. In 1948 he wrote his autobiography, "Trumpet On The Wing" and, as they say, "If you read one biography this year...............". This is one of the most informative and funny biographies I've ever read! Wingy avoided changes in jazz fashion, instead led bands and continued to work with Crosby on radio shows. But, Manone had always had an ambition to write a suite, based on his experiences in New Orleans. By the 1960's he had become a little morose, partly because of his ambition for the suite stalling and because he was worried about his son being drafted to Vietnam. Of the jazz climate of the time he said, "You can't make it playing honest nowadays", when being interviewed for Down Beat in 1970. So sad, considering that he had often billed his shows, "Come in and hear the Truth" Lucky for us, many of Manone's recordings from the 1930's have been re-released and are a much happier footnote. To wind this up, I'd like to mention an odd little quirk that Wingy had. When he was describing the improvisation in performances in which he was participating, he would use terms more familiar to horserace aficianados. In Anita O'Day's biography, [with George Eells, Limelight Editions, 1981] this is how it read: "We're all lined up at the startin' gate. Now we're off. In the first couple of bars, right at the start Wingy's got the lead. I keep the lead for about twelve bars, then the tenor saxophone overtakes me for about six bars, then I go back into the lead again for the last eight bars. We go into another chorus where the trombone takes the lead. I'm behind all the time, on his tail all the time, and in the last chorus I get the lead but the damn piano takes me down and in the last eight bars of the tag, Wingy takes it over and the winner of the race is --- Wingy Manone!!!!! WINGY MANONE died in July of 1982.