patricia

Thanks Brownie. I know that nicknames that stick don't come out of thin air. It's just finding out what the origins are, since by the time anyone bothers to ask, the name is just their name. Come to think of it, Pee Wee is a cooler name than Ellsworth is.

EXACTLY. So, Rooster Ties, get your hips out there and get a turntable, why doncha??

And now we have SISTER ROSETTA THARPE [Rosetta Nubin] who was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas in 1915. Tharpe was a huge star in 1938 and 1939 in the Cotton Club revues. In the revue, she was backed by the great Cab Calloway and also toured with him. Those tours were followed by others with Lucky Millinder and she recorded several blues and gospel sides with Millinder in the early 1940's. Then Tharpe worked in nightclubs in the early to mid-forties, as well as making a decision to direct her recordings at the exploding gospel market of the day. These records were composed of duets with Marie Knight as well as with Tharpe's mother, Katie Bell Nubin. Katie Bell recorded with Dizzy Gillespie's quintet. Sister Tharpe alternated between gospel and jazz formats and toured Europe from the late 1950's onward. She was one of the few well-known gospel singers to successfully cross over, between gospel and jazz. I've often thought that the fabulous Odetta would have made a success of doing likewise. A fabulous, rich voice which, IMO, would have lent itself well to the jazz idium. Odetta did, however, cross over to Blues and released some great albums. One thing that Sister Tharpe did do though was play guitar during her performances in churches. Also, few women had attained any prominence as instrumentalists, at least in the same context. Memphis Minnie was another. SISTER ROSETTA THARPE was the first gospel singer/evangelist to combine city blues playing of the 1930's with gospel. Her performing style was charismatic. After a long and successful career Sister Tharpe died in October of 1973 at fifty-eight years old.

Where in KC?? I don't even have a turntable that works (haven't for going on nearly a decade), so I'm not really all that interested --- though if I stumbled on an Andrew Hill title like "Black Fire", I'd probably bite. I smiled when I read what you posted about not having a turntable. Some years ago, I saw that CD's were replacing new records in the music stores and disposed of my turntable, AND my records for peanuts, moving into the future of music I reasoned. Part of the equation was that I was moving and was culling my belongings. Luckily I kept the rest of my sound system, an old one which was compatable to my newly acquired CD player. Fast-forward to about four years ago. A dear New York friend has collected vinyl for decades and I was living in CA. He gave me a few vinyl quests, since I had a few really good sources where I was living. I began my search and, well, fell in love with the familiar great covers and unique sound of the records I was finding and sending to him. He burned CD's for me, for which I was so grateful. Then, when I moved to Calgary I discovered a second-hand shop, just a block away. Imagine my surprise and delight to discover, for FREE [no pricetag and I was buying bookshelves] a turntable, in excellent condition which is compatable with my sound system. That's when my obsession with vinyl was re-kindled and continues to flame delightfully. I now have around a thousand LP's, as well as a pretty good CD collection. The format that I seldom buy, or play is audio-cassette, although I have a few. So, Rooster Ties, look for a turntable. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. There's one out there with your name on it.

Hey SJH!! You mentioned Woody Allen's use of jazz in his films. I think you might want to rent "Wild Man Blues", which is a documentary about Woody's jazz tour some years ago. He plays a fairly decent clarinet, but it gave me a rather interesting window into his personality. I don't know if he still does, but he used to not attend the Oscars, even when his films were nominated, because he sat in at a club in New York on Mondays, which was the night on which the Oscar ceremonies used to be held. My kind of guy. I watch Woody's films more often than I might do if he didn't have great jazz on most of his soundtracks.

LAL, Yes, Pee Wee's life wasn't always a walk in the park. As I mentioned, "clown" or not, Pee Wee's playing always makes me feel better and I always play his stuff when I'm down. Looking at Dodo's head, I can't think that it was disproportionately large, although he was very thin and that sometimes gives the impression that one's head is abnormally big. My daughters tease me by calling me lollypop, for just that reason. EKE BBB, I'm so glad that you gave us a picture of Pee Wee as a young, very comely lad. So many, in fact most of the pictures are of him in his later years. THANK YOU. Garland and Rena look FINE as well as, of course, Dodo [what a handsome cat]. I'm particularly taken with the poignant look at *my* Pee Wee Russell!! Again, thank you.

OK. Now, my man, PEE WEE RUSSELL. Pee Wee [Charles Ellsworth] Russell, clarinettist extraordinaire, was born in Maple Wood Missuri in 1906. He also played the saxophone occasionally. Russell worked with the very best of the St Louis jazzmen, including Peck Kelly, Red Nichols, Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Trumbauer, Ben Pollack and the list goes on. One of the most famous jazz writers, George Frazier, wrote of Pee Wee: "He is no virtuoso, and his tone is breathy and squeaky, but you forget those shortcomings when you hear the bliss and the sadness and the compassion and the humility that are there in the notes he plays." Absolutely. No other musician of Pee Wee's era affects me the way that he does. He lays out his very soul and you can feel it. I have a couple of favourites, one on JazzTone, "Dixieland - Chicago Style" with Max Kaminsky, George Wettling on drums that is wonderful, as well as "Pee Wee Russell and his Dixieland All Stars and the Golden Era of Dixieland Jazz" which is a two-record set and absolutely riveting. Pee Wee recorded tons of material, as he said, "I made God knows how many records in New York in the late 1920's and early 1930's and at night we lived uptown." There is a Vitaphone short, "Red Nichols and His Five Pennies" that shows Pee Wee, unlined and quite handsome. Unfortunately, heavy drinking and carousing, not only affected his looks, but also his playing. As Peanuts Hucko said of Russell, "I've heard some records and it's amazing, the technique he had as a young man. I think the booze just slowed him down completely." What I like about Pee Wee's style is it's aharmonic approach and fractured, cliffhanging quality and his totally unique sound, unlike any other clarinettist of the time, or for that matter, since. Eddie Condon loved Pee Wee and featured him in his concerts, club dates and recordings, as well as radio dates and TV appearances. Pee Wee bacame an important, even a central figure in Chicago jazz. Pee Wee was the genuine article, up front and expressive, not like anyone else. Something that I'm sure many thought Pee Wee was unaware of were his facial expressions when he played. But, sadly, he was only too aware. I was saddened to read about a comment he made to George T. Simon, the critic: "I worked at Nick's and Condon's for ten years or more and there's a sadness about that time. Those guys made a joke of me, a clown and I let myself be treated that way because I was afraid. I didn't know where else to take refuge!" But, it was true that Russell was often unhappy, often drunk and moved around a lot by the 1950's. He worked with George Wein's small group during that period. Then, along came 1962 and Pee Wee formed, with Marshall Brown, the trombone player, a piano-less quartet and it was clear that Pee Wee the progressive had made his entry. During that time he also did an album with Oliver Nelson. By the mid-sixties he was touring as a soloist, with Alex Welsh in England. He played, again with Condon, Wein and Bobby Hackett, who was an old friend. Sadly, a liver problem that he had developed in the 1950's finally felled him in February of 1959. Guys, this artist is pure magic and I pity the fool who passes up a chance to hear him play. Really. Please look for the miriad of recordings that Pee Wee did in his career and you will hear what I'm talkin' about. When I hear the term, "Dixieland", I immediatly think PEE WEE RUSSELL, along with Max Kaminsky, George Wettling, Muggsey Spanier, Joe Sullivan, Jack Lansburg and Miff Mole. Can't help it.

LAL, first of all, thank you. I know that I'm havin' fun and I think that EKE BBB is too. I'm afraid I couldn't find the origins of either Dodo's or Pee Wee's nicknames and I did look. I thought I did a bio on Pee Wee, since he is a particular favourite of mine, but if not, I will. As for DODO [Michael] MARMAROSA, here goes. Marmarosa, born in Pittsburgh in 1925, began his career as a jazz pianist in his late teens with big bands, led by Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet in the early forties. On Barnet's "The Moose", Dodo was the featured pianist. Then, after a year with Artie Shaw in 1944-1945, he settled on the West Coast, as had Barney Kessell, a fellow Shaw sideman. He had already recorded with Kessell. Having moved to the West Coast, Dodo did tons of freelance work and that included recordings with Charlie Parker and also with Lester Young. By the fifties, he was living in Pittsburgh, though he had suffered a series of illnesses. He bounded back, however, with three recordings with Gene Ammons and then, inexplicably, went into total obscurity. DODO MARMAROSA had built a reputation as a musician with a brilliant, unique sound and bop influenced lines during the high point of his career in the 1940's right into the early fifties, so, to have his later work decline and virtually disappear was a real shame. But, the work in his prime is so good that it is well worth looking for. There is a collection "On Dial" on Spotlite, of him with Charlie Parker on one of it's tracks and a sextet session led by Howard McGee available. Although that is a tiny glimpse into his talent, it is well worth searching out.

Sorry I missed your comment at the bottom--I thought you'd misfired! The encyclopedia is very big indeed. So aside from the heft issue, you think it's a good buy at (I think) $20? On the Hendrix: Hardcover: 256 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.91 x 13.02 x 9.96 Only an inch thick, so no this isn't anything like the encyclopedia. I'd guess it's more along the lines of a modest coffee table book: appropriate to sit on a coffeetable rather than to eb made into one. --eric Your comment about the book being made into a coffee table reminds me of an episode of "Seinfeld" in which the Kramer character got the brilliant idea of doing just that. He put folding legs on a giant book and was marketing it. Yes, $20 is a good price for the encyclopedia. It's a collection of really good photographs, with thumbnail bios accompanying them. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas last year. It is big though.

Dr Rat, In my circuitous way, I was asking if the Hendrix book, being described as a coffee table book was as large and cumbersome as the encyclopedia. Is it?

WOW!!!!! He a cutie. Congratulations to you and to your lovely wife. He looks like a keeper.

I've been eyeing this in the remainder pile at Borders. --eric So, Dr Rat, am I right about it's size and heft??

H Wright, I haven't read Shadwick's Hendrix book, but you asked what was meant by it being described as a "coffee table" book. Well, I have one of his previous books, "The Encyclopedia of Jazz and Blues" and it weighs at LEAST five pounds!! You cannot hold this book, comfortably, to read it for any length of time, due to it's sheer size. It is about ten inches by about twenty inches and has over seven hundred pages and has a very sturdy, hard cover. If the Hendrix book is up to his standard, it will be well-researched and interesting to read though, so, go for it!

Another ragtime jazz musician, whose nickname was "kid" was KID [Henry Rene] RENA, born in 1898 in New Orleans. Rena had played trumpet in the Colored Waif's Home with Louis Armstrong, in the brass band. Later, he replaced Armstrong in Kid Ory's band in 1919. Kid Rena was a flamboyant and flashy trumpeter and he could play the high notes to a fare-thee-well. He played in his own band in New Orleans in the 1920's and that band featured his brother Joseph on rather indifferent drums and George Lewis on clarinet. Saloons, dances and other functions were the gigs they played and their repertoire was a mixture of ragtime, loosely based on the "Red Black Book" as well as new jazz. Kid Rena was a reasonably good trumpet player, who despite his not being the most highly rated, still influenced young players, like Sharky Bonano and Louis Prima. What really distinguished Kid Rena were the sides he recorded, at the suggestion of Heywood Broun for Delta which launched the jazz revival which took place in the 1940's. Some of the other players in that band were Louis "Big Eye" Nelson, Alphonse Picou and Ed "Montudi" Garland. There was work at the Brown Derby Cafe after that high-point. However, he was way too fond of the booze and started to drink heavily in the last years of his life. He faded away and is very seldom mentioned now. KID RENA died in 1949, at only forty-nine years old.

Apparently Reed's use of "jim-jim" in his lyric was a Greek reference [Plato specifically] in which the term is used to denote a phoney or a poseur.

Thanks EKE BBB. The picture you posted is much more contemplative that any of the ones I've seen, which show him at his piano. He was a handsome devil, wasn't he? .......................................... And now we have a portrait of ED "MONTUDI" GARLAND, a wonderful bass-player, who was born in New Orleans in 1885. Often referred to as the father of the jazz double bass, Garland's first instrument, according to him was "a stick attached to a hole in a milk can with a string run to the top." When Garland was fifteen, he was playing the bass drum in Frank Duson's Eagle Band AND here's something interesting. Our elusive Black Benny was in the same band!! So, I would assume that Garland and Benny were about the same age. Garland went on to play with Buddy Bolden at Hank's Saloon and Funky Butt Hall as well as playing all over Storyville. Some of the other artists he was associated with, during that time were Buddy Pettit, Manuel Babes, as well as pioneering around the South with Mabel Lee Lane's vaudeville troupe. Garland was a success by 1917, when he was with Johnny's Creole Band. According to Lil Hardin Armstrong, "Montudi, Tubby Hall and I beat out a rhythm that put the Bechuana tribes of Africa to shame". In 1921 Garland moved to California with King Oliver to help out with the double-booking plagueing Kid Ory, liked the climate, as well as the music and stayed. Throughout the 1920's Garland was with Ory and he recorded on the first ever black New Orleans Jazz collection for the Spike Brothers' Sunshine label. The recordings were "Ory's Creole Trombone" and "Society Blues". Garland stayed busy, working with Ory as well as leading his own One-Eleven Club band. He also played mood music for silent films. Then came his work, with Ory, for Standard Oil Broadcasts, in which Orson Welles was involved, which led to a revival of American Jazz in the thirties. After that was done, Garland worked non-stop, with Ory, Earl Hines, Turk Murphy, Joe Darensbourg and Andrew Blakeney. By 1974 he was still touring Europe and the U.S. with Barry Martyn. Obsessed as I am with shallow appearances, I was interested to learn that Montudi's nickname, that of a legendary New Orleans dandy, was given to him because of his immaculate habit of dressing in the latest fashion. By the seventies, he was almost blind, but still dressed impeccably. Gotta love that! In September of 1974, ED MONTUDI GARLAND was honoured by President Gerald Ford as "the oldest living sideman". MONTUDI GARLAND died in January of 1980 at ninety-five years old. His life pretty well spanned the life of the jazz idium from it's beginnings.

Do you like the boogie piano-players from the 1920's? Well, I do and one of the best, IMO, was the fabulous MEADE "LUX" LEWIS. Lewis was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1905 and played around the Chicago area in the 1920's. His day job was at a taxi company. When they weren't "taxi-ing" he and Albert Ammons, who worked with him, sorted out their ideas on a piano which was at the cab stand. I found it odd that a cab stand would have a piano, but, fortunately for Ammons and Lewis, it did. Then, in 1928 Lewis recorded "Honky Tonk Train Blues" which almost went unnoticed. Luckily, a recording executive, John Hammond heard it. Talk about Fate!! Hammond was so impressed with the record that he traced Lewis through Ammons and teamed them with Pete Johnson in the ground-breaking series of concerts at Carnegie Hall recorded live in 1938 and 1939. The collection "From Spirituals To Swing", was that collection and it had a positively huge army of artists. Of all my concert albums, it is one of my most-played. This series of concerts started an international boogie craze. It was truly a twist of fate for Lewis, because when Hammond found him, he was washing cars for a living!!! He style is riveting and lucky for us, his talent was given a chance to be heard. WOW!! Lewis moved to California and was in demand, working up and down the West coast, playing for both radio and TV. Lewis' work of course, is not only available on the Hammond Carnegie Hall concert album. He has at least two other collections worth seeking out, of which I'm aware. On the "Classics" label there is Meade Lux Lewis 1927-39 1939-41 1941-44, which comes in three volumes and is marvelous. It features Lux, not only on piano, but on harpsicord, celeste as well as his five-part take on THE BLUES. Then there is Boogies And Blues, which was recorded on "Topaz". This is another excellent collection which is a cross-section of his work. Among the tracks is a good chunk of the recordings he did for Blue Note including a 1940 version of probably his most famous hit, "Honky Tonk Train". There are also sides he recorded with Edmond Hall and the Port of Halem Seven. MEADE LUX LEWIS died in June of 1964 at fifty-nine years old.

Very nice basket o' goodies with Pud, although he looks like he was shot out of a gun. As for the beautiful pictures of Gene and COZY, well, all I can say, EKE BBB is THANK YOU, THANK YOU. :D

Surprise!!! Another drummer! In East Orange, New Jersey, in 1909 the magical COZY [William Randolph] COLE was born. Cole first moved to New York, hoping to pursue a musical career, but worked as a barber and shipping clerk in the meantime. He took lessons with Charlie Brooks, who was the pit drummer at the Lincoln Theatre. Cozy was always interested in furthering his knowledge and to that end attended Julliard and later opened a drum tuition school with the great Gene Krupa in New York in 1964. But, going back to the beginning of his career, he built his reputation with bands which were led by Blanche Calloway, Benny Carter and Willy Bryant. From 1936 on he was playing with Stuff Smith and Jonah Jones at the Onyx. The version of "I'se A Muggin' " that they recorded was a monster hit that year. From 1938, Cozy was with Cab Calloway and he then worked with an "intergrated" band at CBS on the Carmen Jones show. He was also with Billy Rose's Ziegfield Follies along with Don Byas and for a time with Benny Goodman in 1946 doing what was known as the "eight a day" at the Paramount Theatre in New York. When 1949 came around, Cozy replaced Sid Catlett in Louis Armstrong's All Stars and stayed for three years. The fifties found him playing studios and teaching drums. Then, in 1957 he toured Europe with Earl Hines and Jack Teagarden. There was a surprise hit record of his own, "Topsy" which was arranged by Dick Hyman and bankrolled by Alan Hartwel, who was a fan from the Metropole where Cozy regularly played. From then on he toured with his own band, which featured George Kelly on tenor, even going to Africa in 1969. In 1969 Cozy joined up with Jonah Jones at the Embers club in a successful residency. By the mid-seventies he was still going strong and he played for a 1973 reunion with Cab Calloway at Newport. Then, in 1976 he played for Night In New Orleans with Benny Carter. That show toured the U.K. There is a ton of recorded material out there, but one of my favourite tracks is on an el-cheapo compilation, Jazz Greats, which is "Back On The Street" a reunion of Earl Hines and Jonah Jones, recorded sometime in the seventies. This is the writeup in the cover notes, by Hank O'Neill: "The idea for Back On The Street was a reunion of Earl Hines and Jonah Jones. Just for fun we asked Texas tenor man, Buddy Tate and drummer COZY COLE [ed. caps mine] to help out, along with a punching rhythm section. The tune is an original, worked out in the recording studio by Earl and Jonah, in an attempt to recapture, through music, their memories of the small jazz bands that played on 52nd Street in New York City in the Thirties and Forties. The song is particularly noteworthy in that it shows all of Jonah's rollicking muted effects to good advantage." Cozy anchors it magnificently. I've always felt that he was less aggressive than many drummers of the time, while still making his presence known. Magnificent. COZY COLE died in 1981 at seventy-two.

A very dear friend, addicted to heroin for over twenty years once tried to explain to me what kept him from seriously trying to quit using. The cost was not an issue and he never had to steal to buy drugs. He had a very successful business. I had asked him why he would continue to do something that, apart from being illegal, was taking over his life and holding him prisoner, since there was always the chance of death from an overdose, or being thrown into jail, derailing everything. He told me at the time that the euphoria he knew he would experience was like the best sex imaginable. At the time, I had no idea what he meant. Now I do. I suppose if one were guaranteed that feeling, the drug would be very seductive. Sadly, he did overdose and died some years ago and I still miss him.

Hey sjarrell!! WELCOME to the asylum! I looked and looked also and, aside from Coleman's Hawkins' albums quite often using a pun involving his other nickname, "Bean" I haven't been able to discover the nickname itself's origin. Now, I was just going to move on with my life, but I have to look for a picture of Black Benny AND information about Hawkins' being called "Bean". My guess is that it is a childhood one, but............who knows?? .......................................... In the meantime, let's mention PUD [Albert J.] BROWN. Pud was part of a musical family, which toured the U.S. as the Brown Family Band. He was born in Wilmington Delaware in 1917. Pud was only five years old when he was billed as "The World's Youngest Saxophone Virtuoso" The family band broke up in 1933, but Pud worked regularly around Chicago. His band mates were Bud Freeman and Jimmy McPartland. He later worked with Phil Lavant and Lou Breeze, not to mention Jimmy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk. Brown did not work exclusively in music. In 1945 he opened a motorcycle shop in Shreveport and was quite successful in that endeavor for about five years. In 1950 he sold the chopper biz and moved to Los Angeles to work with Nappy Lamare. With Pete Daily, Pud recorded the best selling record, 'Johnson Rag" for Capitol records. Brown also did some fine work with Rosy McHargue, Jack Teagarden, Teddy Buckner and Kid Ory. In the 1960's he started doubling on the trumpet and cornet. In 1973 he returned to Shreveport and resumed performing fabulous Dixieland in New Orleans. Pud also worked with musicians from Britain, Les Muscutt and Trevor Richards in the review, "One Mo' Time". PUD BROWN died at seventy-nine years old in 1996.

All I can say is.................Damn. But, I'll keep looking. There must be at least one group shot with Benny in it in existance. But, the thought occurred to me that if he was mostly in the hooscow, let out for performances, he may have been "away" when any pictures were taken. I hope not, but it's a possibility. Again, thanks EKE BBB.

Don't feel bad, EKE BBB. I not only haven't been able to find a picture of Benny, but he, as I mentioned, seems to have burst into New Orleans, full grown. I couldn't find a date he was born, a birthplace, OR a check-out date. I just found him kind of interesting in that although nobody seemed to have anything good to say about him personally, he was a hell-damner of a bass-drum player!! Because he is such an early jazzer, there may be group photos of the street bands, but it would be a guess whether he was the bass-drum player in any of them. Photos were relatively expensive and the earliest ones were taken with wooden cameras which had manual shutters. I wondered, when I was a little kid, why all my early relatives were such sourpusses. Then I realized that in those old sepia-toned pictures, they would have had to hold a smile for MINUTES, not a second or two, as they do now. As you say, help required. Back then, most photos were formal portraits, like the famous Buddy Bolden Band group shot. That picture is quite often thought to be a reverse, in that in order to show the guitarist as right-handed, everybody else appears to be holding their instruments as if they were left-handed. You're a treasure, working so hard for us though. Thank you.

That was you??? Oh well, we expected some tomfoolery on that auspicious day. No charges are pending.

Thank you EKE BBB. Both great photos, expecially the one with "Tootie" highlighted alone and magnificent!!