Jazz Artists Who Have Nicknames

[brownie]

EKE, glad to hear from you! You and Madrid were very much on our mind since yesterday morning.

[BERIGAN]

Thank you EKE BBB.   Sister Tharpe looks beautiful!!

I really like the one of Red too.  The picture of him as a young man reminds us that these artists WERE very young.  That is a particularly handsome one.  So formal!

Patricia,

Interesting bio!

He was young, and from a few music shorts for Vitaphone I have seen(I have a Dawn of Sound LD box set I got cheap years ago-with Eddie Condon singing, and Pee Wee Russell as well!) the other thing I was struck by is how small he looked! I mean, like 5 foot 4, and weighing 120! Once you see him on film, I think you have to have even more respect for him, he just plain doesn't look like a jazzman! And Condon would agree that he wasn't one! He was though....The more I have heard of him thru the years, the more I like him, at least his playing....He and Miff never made a bad record IMO....

EDIT...No, Pee Wee is not singing, just part of the band! In fact, for the longest time I thought it was a very young Benny Goodman, not Pee Wee, and thought it was funny to see Benny without glasses. Then checked it out later, and decided it was Pee Wee. Watch Brownie prove me wrong!

Edited March 12, 2004 by BERIGAN

[BERIGAN]

EKE, glad to hear you are well, too! Hope everything will be calm from now on, and we look forward to you posting again!

[patricia]

EKE BBB, Whew. Glad you're OK. Terrible events. Come back when you're up to speed again. People have been contacting me with their concerns. Thank you.

Hang in there, EKE BBB.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Thank you EKE BBB.   Sister Tharpe looks beautiful!!

I really like the one of Red too.  The picture of him as a young man reminds us that these artists WERE very young.  That is a particularly handsome one.  So formal!

Patricia,

Interesting bio!

He was young, and from a few music shorts for Vitaphone I have seen(I have a Dawn of Sound LD box set I got cheap years ago-with Eddie Condon singing, and Pee Wee Russell as well!) the other thing I was struck by is how small he looked! I mean, like 5 foot 4, and weighing 120! Once you see him on film, I think you have to have even more respect for him, he just plain doesn't look like a jazzman! And Condon would agree that he wasn't one! He was though....The more I have heard of him thru the years, the more I like him, at least his playing....He and Miff never made a bad record IMO....

EDIT...No, Pee Wee is not singing, just part of the band! In fact, for the longest time I thought it was a very young Benny Goodman, not Pee Wee, and thought it was funny to see Benny without glasses. Then checked it out later, and decided it was Pee Wee. Watch Brownie prove me wrong!

Glad you liked it. You're right, Condon didn't look the way I picture a jazzman looking. He was a bit of a square peg in a round hole, compared to the free-wheeling, hard drinkin' jazzers of the time. Very straight.

I've always been facinated by the relationship of Pee Wee to the rest of the group that he was quite often working with, Miff, Condon, Spanier, Johnson and particularly George Wettling. They always seemed to be having a blast and even when they were in a studio, they felt "live", with the random comments, impromtu singing and the occasional laughter.

You're right in that Pee Wee never made a bad record, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Next up, EDDIE "CLEANHEAD" VINSON, who played alto sax and also sang as well as being a fine composer.

Vinson was born in 1917 in Houston Texas, where he began playing professionally with the Chester Boone band in 1932 and then with Milt Larkin from 1936.

Touring with Larkin's group followed, from 1940-1941 with Floyd Ray as leader.

Vinson was featured in Cootie William's band, as soloist/singer in the early forties.

He then went with his own sixteen piece band from 1945-1947, scaling the band down to a seven piece later.

The seven piece included Johnny Coles, Red Garland and the great John Coltrane.

Vinson's career ebbed and flowed, sometimes recording under his own name, performing busily and then fading into almost obscurity.

His first European tour was in 1969 and Johnny Otis featured him in his r&b show at Montreux in 1971 as well as in 1974. He also guested with Count Basie in 1972 when Basie was performing there.

When he wasn't playing with groups, Vinson also did extensive solo work and was well-respected by other musicians as a consummate professional.

Vinson is somewhat unique in that he successfully straddled the jazz and r&b genres and was equally convincing in both.

His style, to me, has a more forthright quality than Charlie Parker's, whom almost every sax player of the time was emulating and more similar to the earlier style of Louis Jordan.

Eddie was the composer of "Tune Up" and also "Four", which were erroneously credited to Miles Davis in the fifties, although Miles did record both and they are beautifully realized.

On the Blues front of he mostly performed others' compositions, with the exceptions of "Alimony Blues" and "Kidney Stew".

Cannonball Adderly was a one-time protege of Vinson's and there is a collection, "Cleanhead and Cannonball" on Landmark, recorded in 1961-62 that you might want to seek out. This is an interesting collaboration of Vinson's hot jazz style with Adderly's quintet.

There is also a collection, "Kidney Stew" on Black and Blue, which is recordings from 1969-72 which was recorded in France. I love Bill Doggett's style on the organ and this CD has Bill, as well as Wild Bill Davis shown to great advantage.

EDDIE CLEANHEAD VISON died in July of 1988. He was seventy-one.

Edited March 12, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Today, March 12, 1955 was the sad day that the legendary CHARLIE "BIRD" or "YARDBIRD" PARKER died.

Parker was born in Kansas City in 1920.

He was argueably one of the most striking and influentual performers in the history of JAZZ during the late forties, being at the forefront of the postwar re-working of traditional jazz, known as "bop".

Bird started his musical journey in Kansas City on baritone then alto while still in highschool. He dropped out at fourteen and concentrated on perfecting his skill, mastering his instrument as well as watching Lester Young and Count Basie, playing locally, absorbing, absorbing, absorbing.

Opportunities for Parker to demonstrate his prowess came from employment by Tommy Douglas, an altoeist and bandleader in 1936 and Buster Smith in 1937.

Trips out of town with George E Lee followed and he played in Chicago and New York and by the time he played with Jay McShann's band in 1938 and 1940-42 his reputation was already that of a truly exceptional talent.

The list of bands with which Bird was associated includes virtually all the greats, ranging from Earl Hines' in 1942 to guesting as a soloist with Woody Herman's and Stan Kenton's bands in 1951 and 1954.

1947 was probably the year in which he was at the absolute height of his powers and he was leading a quintet, composed of Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach.

There are so many articles and books about Charlie Parker, as well as a film, "Bird" which was lovingly produced by Clint Eastwood, that I feared that the little I can say about this icon would be redundant. The film, though clearly an homage, seemed to dwell on Parker's legendary booze/heroin demons more than presenting any real insight into the genius which is so rare and was possessed by Parker, IMO. I blame Eastwood for the narrowness of the focus of the film, but only gently.

The terms "genius" and "legend" are bandied about when referring to famous musicians, but in Parker's case, I think that it has endured as truth. His impact on jazz is still being felt.

Please look for Charlie Parker's music and there is a lot of it and if you can, read about his contributions to jazz, packed into his sadly short life.

I would say that one of the few jazz musicians who was as important to the genre as Louis Armstong was BIRD. Tragically, we lost him much too early.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

As you know, I don't post other people's articles, preferring to do my own, as I did the one preceding this one, in my own words.

CHARLIE "BIRD'' PARKER is the exception. The following is an item e-mailed to me which I think you will find interesting.

This is an article by Len Dobbin:

" "Bird" Charlie Parker died in NYC on March 12, 1955, 49 years ago today.

He was 34, born Charles Christopher Parker on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas and whetted his musical teeth across the river in Kansas City, Kansas.

He first began to be noticed when he began playing with the band of Jay McShann in that city and early recordings with that band, done at a radio station in Wichita, Kansas, show a distinct Lester Young influence. Parker was one of the founding fathers of the bebop evolution and a major influence on the musicians of the day regardless of instrument - his main instrument being the alto saxophone [did a pair of commercial record dates on tenor with Miles Davis, one each on the Savoy and the Prestige labels] I've been told that in the early 40's he was heard here in Montreal sitting in at Rockhead's [a was an even younger Sonny Rollins].

There is a wonderful little book on the market by Mark Mller entitled 'Cool Blues: Charlie Parker in Canada 1953 [Nightwood Editions] which focuses on appearances that year in Montreal and Toronto.

In February, the Jazz Workshop Jazz Workshop, a musician's organization, brought Parker to Montreal for a TV appearance on the CBC on February 5 and a concert at the Chez Paree on the 7th. The TV show had a rhyythm section of Paul Bley, Neil Michaud and Ted Paskert with guitarist Dick Garcia, tenorman Brew Moore and Parker plus a vocalist named Laura Berkley while at the Chez "Bird" was backed by two different rhythm sections [both with Garcia]. The first had Valdo Williams, Hal Gaylor and billy graham, the second, Steep Wade, Bob Rudd and Bobby Malloy. All the music from those events [with the exception of the vocal, a trio number by Bley and a quartet with Garcia playing his "Whale Turds"] are available on CD: "Charlie Parker, Montreal, 1953 [uptown] has Cool Blues, Bernie's Tune [a Moore feature] Don't Blame Me and Wahoo from the TV show and Ornithology, Cool Blues, Moose The Mooche, a superb Embraceable You and Now's The Time from the Chez.

The Toronto chapter of the New jazz Society [one of a series of fan organiztions, the brainchild of Metronome Magazine in NYC brough Bird, Dizzy Gillespie, bud Powell [organizer Dick told me Lennie Tristano was the original choice], Charles Mngus and Max Roach into Massey Hall on May 15 1953 and the material from that famous concert - Perdido, Salt Peanuts, All The Things You Are, into 52nd Street Theme, Wee [aka "Allen's Alley], Hot House and NIght In Tunisia - can be found on "The Quintet - Jazz at Massey Hall" [Debut] in 20bit K2 Super Coding.

[ed. I have this and you should get it too]

The Bud Powell trio segment of the concert can also be found on CD.

I attended both Montreal engagements and was at Birdland in NYC when Parker played what was to be his last engagement. Billed as a quintet with Kenny Dorham, Powell, Mingus and Art Blakey - it was a disaster with a good deal of the time only MIngus and Blakey seen on stage. I was shocked a short while later [back in Montreal] when Emanon Jazz Society member Huguette Rajotte called to inform me that "Bird" had died - I remember saying, "But I just saw him at Birdland!" There are myriad CDs on the market featuring Parker's soaring, start checking them out and catch the magic!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Note: Special thanks to my #2 mentor for reminding me, by sending this article, that today is the anniversary of the last day of CHARLIE "BIRD" PARKER'S life.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Bird is a tough act to follow, but our next nicknamed artist is "MATTY" [Julian Clifton] MATLOCK, who played clarinet and saxophones a well as being an arranger.

Matlock was born in Paducah Kentucky in 1907 and began his musical career with Ben Pollack in 1929. He replaced Benny Goodman, playing clarinet as well as doing some arranging.

He credited his arranging style to the influence of contemperaries like Fud Livingston and others. He stayed with Pollack until a dispute over Pollack's then girlfriend, Doris Robbins, who seemingly was being given preferential treatment.

Matlock left Pollack's band in 1934, after a confrontation with Pollack over Robbins and freelanced with the "Pollack Orphans" in New York for a brief period.

He then joined Bob Crosby's band in 1935, playing clarinet. He often wrote arrangements for the orchestra as well as for the Bobcats.

After Crosby's band broke up in 1942, Matlock did studio work as a sideman, musician and as a freelance arranger, when perfect Dixieland scoring was required for Bing Crosby's radio show and also for Paul Weston all through the 1950's.

Matlock was involved in the TV series, Pete Kelly's Blues. This series started on radio, moving to TV and then became a feature film. All the music was arranged by Matlock and featured Dick Catheart on trumpet. There were also albums by his Rampart Street Paraders and his Paducah Patrol, which was a mid-sized band.

In the 1960's Matlock was probably among the very best of the Dixieland style and a truly original arranger for what is known by many as "White Dixieland".

MATTY MATLOCK died in 1978 at sixty-nine years old.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Now, lets take a brief look at the superb jazz-organist, who also played piano, RICHARD "GROOVE" HOLMES. He was born in 1931 in Camden New Jersey.

I find it amazing that this wonderful musician was self-taught on the organ.

Holmes was discovered by Les McCann in Pittsburgh recording his first two albums, featuring McCann, Ben Webster and Gene Ammons which were released in 1961.

Then Holmes guested with Gerald Wilson as well as recording with big bands. He worked steadily, right through the 1960's, 1970's right through the 1980's. His organ/guitar/drums trio was tremendously successful.

Sometimes a piano was added in the mid-1970's. From 1977 on, Holmes further expanded his sound, adding horns, usually the saxophone, as played by Houston Person.

The organ, as a jazz instrument was spurred by the swinging style that Groove Holmes displayed. He had tremendous talent and soul. In the 1990's the music of Groove Holmes and other jazz organists enjoyed another wave of popularity, but unfortunately Holmes did not live to see it.

RICHARD GROOVE HOLMES, jazz organist extraordinaire, died in June of 1991.

Edited March 13, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Next up we have "BUDDY" [Armando] GRECO, who was born in 1926 in Philidelphia.

Buddy is probably best known as a singer, but he started out as a classical pianist, studying at the Philidelphia Settlement House, which was a jumping off point for many young musicians of the time.

But, before that, he was a child singer, whose father was a music critic at WPEN in Philidelphia. Buddy sang on radio at five years old.

He led a trio in 1944-1948 and recorded a million-seller, "Ooh Look-A-There Ain't She Pretty?"

Working with Benny Goodman followed that success and he travelled with Goodman to Britain in 1949.

Returning to the U.S. he re-formed his band and scored another hit with "I Ran All The Way Home" also in 1949.

His duo album, "At Mr Kelly's" was also a monster hit and from the mid-fifties he recorded several highly rated albums for Epic. Those included "Songs For Swinging Losers" [don't you love the title?] "Buddy And Soul" and "I Like It Swinging" as well as a hit single which was a re-working of "The Lady Is A Tramp" in 1960, which sold over a million copies in Europe.

Buddy Greco's last hit in the U.S. was "Mr Lonely" in 1962, but he continued to work regularly, changing his repertoire right through the 1970's and 1980's.

Greco makes regular appearances at the Talk Of The Town and also at the Royal Variety Performances. He also recorded an album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Moving back to jazz, the 1990's found Buddy recording more often in jazz surroundings and touring still. He has his own small group which apprears at clubs, jazz festivals as well as in concert.

Although many think of Buddy Greco as a stereotypical lounge singer, he has authentic jazz creds and is still a fine interpreter of modern jazz. He has enjoyed a long and successful career, so whatever it is he does is certainly appreciated by those who go to see him perform. As far as I know, Buddy's still up and around, unless he's died in the last few months.

Edited March 14, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Now, lets move on back to the beginnings of jazz again and talk about "POPS" [George Murphy] FOSTER, born in McCall, Louisiana which is about 68 miles from New Orleans, in 1892.

As a youngster, Pops played cello in a family trio. His sister, Elizabeth played mandolin and his brother, Willy played guitar.

By 1905 Murphy had switched to double bass and played with the Magnolia Band, King Ory, Jack Carey and also Armand J. Peron.

In 1917 Storyville, the red-light district in New Orleans was closed down, but many of the early jazz musicians were said to have gotten work in the brothels there.

This section of the city had been designated by the city elders in October of 1897, closed by the U.S. Navy in 1917. Oddly, none of the musicians of the time remember playing there, including Buddy Bolden.

According to Pops, as quoted in his autobiography, written with Tom Stoddard, "The Autobiography Of Pops Foster",

"Long after I left New Orleans guys would come around asking me about Storyville down there. I thought it was some kind of little town we played around there that I couldn't remember. When I found they were talking about the Red Light District I sure was surprised. We always called it "The District."

Apparantly most of the music in the brothels was provided by piano players and jazz ensembles did not play in the brothels. This period in jazz history is mostly anecdotal, so it's a little murky.

By 1918 Murphy was well-known among the New Orleans Dixieland musicians having played regularly on riverboats. He then joined Fate Marable's Streckfus showband. It wasn't long before he was working upriver with Charlie Creath and Ed Allen's band, the Whispering Gold.

When Pops was with Allen's band, he played tuba, combatting the three-saxophone line, popular at the time.

As the Roaring Twenties dawned, Foster was with Kid Ory and moved to New York. He joined King Oliver in 1928, then after a year he moved to the band led by Luis Russell's orchestra, which was based in New Orleans and stayed with it for eleven years. While with Russell, he backed Louis Armstrong, starting in 1935.

After what I think was his career high point, Foster was working as a subway porter in the 1940's. But, his musical career took an upturn later in the forties, right through the fifties with the revival of jazz and Pops moved back into his own. He worked with Sidney Bechet and Art Hodes in the very influential This Is Jazz series of programs, which were set up by Rudi Blesh.

A trip to Nice followed, with Mezz Mezzrow, where Foster worked for Bob Wilber.

Pops then moved back to New York and played there in the late fifties and early sixties, appearing at The Hangover in San Francisco as well. While in San Francisco, he was shown some new approaches to the bass by Earl Hines.

POPS FOSTER was, like Wellman Braud an example of New Orleans slap-bass playing. Foster ended his career in California, occasionally travelling from his California home to tour America and Europe until his death in October of 1969.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

In 1904, in Lawrence Kansas, the great saxophonist, "STUMP" [Paul Anderson] EVANS was born.

Evans was called "Stump" because of his tiny build.

Evans' first exposure to music was with the highschool band in Kansas and he was, even then, recognized as a brilliant soloist and a great reader.

Evans moved to Chicago soon after highschool and joined Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra as a featured player.

Evans played alongside Louis Armstrong and Reuben Reeves, who was the show trumpeter. He also played with King Oliver, Jimmy Wade, and Carroll Dickenson's orchestra at the Sunset Cafe. The Dickenson band featured Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong.

Remembering Evans, Earl Hines said of him, "Stumpy Evans played a beautiful tenor. Everyone was trying to get him."

Evans recorded, with Oliver, Dickerson, Jelly Roll Morton as well as with Jimmy Blythe. He was also muscical director at the Moulin Rouge Club.

Sadly, Evans, while working with Tate, contracted TB and he was forced by this illness to move back to Kansas. I think that the highest accolade came from Coleman Hawkins, who acknowledged Stump as one of his most important influences.

STUMP EVANS died at only twenty-four, succumbing to tuberculosis in 1928.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

And now we have comin' around the bend one of the most obscure honourees, included because he had a nickname and not because he was at all well-known.

The cornet/trumpet player, "BIG CHARLIE" THOMAS WAS a player in the early days of jazz. Like Black Benny, I was unable to discover his place of birth, date of birth or anything about his life other than that he had existed and had played a small part in the history of early jazz. So, because of the theme of this thread he deserves a place as a part of the early days of the inception of what we know as JAZZ.

We would never have known about Big Charlie, had it not been for the research done by musician, audio-restorer John R.T. Davies.

During the course of his material-gathering about early recordings done by Margaret Johnson, Davis was curious about the identity of the trumpet player, identified only as Big Charlie. He played on Johnson's 1926 recordings. Davis was quizzing blues singer, Eva Taylor over the trumpeter's identity.

I was intrigued to learn that further evidence from Ms Taylor, plus listening to recordings of the period, Davis was able to isolate 29 tracks which featured Big Charlie. He had previously been mis-identified as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jabbo Smith and other less famous players.

Davis was also able to discover that Thomas may also have played reed instruments.

Big Charlie Thomas' playing is described by Davis as being hugely impressive and enjoyable and we owe him thanks for bringing this almost unknown musician to light, if only briefly.

Amazingly, there is a recording out there called "Big Charlie Thomas" [1925-1927 Timeless] This recording contains twenty-five of the sides known to have been recorded with Thomas. It includes tracks with Thomas Morris' Seven Hot Babies, Clarence William's Blue Five and also Rosa Henderson. Not easy to find, but try anyway. You'll thank me.

Edited March 14, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Our next honouree is relatively young, compared to those who have been profiled so far. He is the trumpet and fluglehorn player, MICHAEL "PATCHES" STEWART.

Stewart was born in 1955 in New Orleans.

Although nobody else in his family was particularly musical, Stewart was, of course surrounded by music, living in New Orleans.

He became interested in the trumpet when he was eleven, playing in the Lawless Junior High School band and then the Purple Knights marching band.

While still in high school, Stewart went out on the road with various bands during his summer vacations. When he was sixteen, he played trumpet on LaBelle's hit "Lady Marmalade".

His success that summer was the prod he needed to set the course for his future musical career.

He said, "I guess all that gave me an appetite for performing on stage....I made a youthful decision to turn down scholarships to Berklee and local universities in favour of 'real world' experiences."

The musicians and groups with whom he played after that included the Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau and then Marcus Miller.

In 1997 he released his own debut album, "Blue Patches", which was an acoustic jazz collection, followed by an electric, highly produced one, "Penetration".

Stewart explained his nickname this way. "Back in the hippie days I had a pair of bell-bottom pants with patches all over them...Peace signs, stuff like that. Some guy said to me, 'If you put another patch on your pants, we're gonna call you "Patches", and that name followed me from New Orleans to California."

He is recognized as an exceptionally gifted trumpeter and has a full and rounded sound, as well as excellent range.

Stewart's influences are all of the great trumpet players of jazz history,including Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Kenny Durham. He particlarly admired Davis because of the many directions his playing style took, renewing itself and changing over the years.

In 1997, on Hip Bop Essence, Stewart recorded "Blue Patches" and I think that it would be worthwhile to look for. There are influences of Miles in this collection, but no attempt to imitate him. I see it as a tribute to one of his idols. Patches is backed by a very interesting trio, Shelly Bery on piano, Adrian Rosen on bass and a very compelling drummer, Bob Leatherbarrow.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

And now we have the trumpet-player, "YANK" [John Rea] LAWSON, who was born in Trenton Missuri in 1911.

Lawson became interested in the trumpet while in his teens, playing with college bands. He worked his way round the South with Wingy Manone and then joined the Ben Pollack band, replacing Sterling Bose in 1933.

As mentioned before, there was a dispute in Pollack's band over his favouring his girlfriend, singer Doris Robbins, and along with other members, Lawson was part of the exodus, leaving the band in protest in 1935. Yank then freelanced in New York, later joining Bob Crosby's band.

But, he left Crosby's band because of a financial dispute with Gil Rodin, who was Crosby's business manager in 1938.

Yank then went with Tommy Dorsey, who often let his new sidemen write their own cheques. He stayed with Dorsey for a year.

He went back to Crosby in 1941, then moved to Benny Goodman's band.

In 1950 the Lawson-Haggert Jazz Band made a series of Dixieland records, and Yank's trumpet was featured. His trademark was his harmon-to-open muted technique, hectoring phrasing, a frank vibrato, with a deep feeling for the blues which calls to mind King Oliver.

Lawson was kept busy through the fifties and sixties playing jazz clubs and playing Crosby reunions.

In 1968 Lawson joined the World's Greatest Jazz Band and his style sat perfectly with that of Billy Butterfield.

He co-led the Lewis-Haggert band when it toured Europe, and performed as a soloist with them.

Yank continued to work constantly with reunions of the World's Greatest Jazz Band, with Warren Vache as co-lead trumpeter, as well as making guest appearances with various groups.

Listening to Yank Lawson's trumpet reminds me of the sound of Bob Crosby's band because he typifies, beautifully, the pure Dixieland sound for which he was known.

YANK LAWSON continued to perform, until his death in February of 1955.

Edited March 15, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Before WWll, JAKI [John] BYARD had been working professionally , playing piano since he was fifteen.

After his army service, he joined Earl Bostic, playing piano.

Jaki then played tenor saxophone in Herb Pomeroy's Boston group throughout the 1950's. During that time he wrote 'Aluminum Baby", which has a kinship with the great "Satin Doll".

In 1959 Jaki replaced Joe Zawinul in Maynard Ferguson's band.

He then began recording under his own name.

Although he is heard to advantage during his period with Charles Mingus, he is best as a soloist, IMO.

Leading a big band, The Apollo Stompers, occasionally during the seventies, he was mainly involved in teaching at New England Conservatory.

JAKI BYRD's talent has been described as kaleidoscopic, because of his familiarity with virtually every facet of the jazz experience.

Jaki died in February, 1999.

There is a recording of Byrd's work, "Blues For Smoke"[1960 Candid], which was unreleased for a long time, because the label died, but is now out there and was Byrd's first album.

He is unaccompanied and brilliant, re-visiting his "Aluminum Baby" and the lesser-known, "Tribute To The Ticklers" [don't you love those titles?] Very listenable.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Another "Buddy" joins our happy little gang, in the person of "BUDDY" [William Marcel] COLLETTE. Collette was born in Los Angeles in 1921.

Collette played in some L.A. groups before he became leader of one of the Navy bands during WWll.

After the War, Collette was a member of a short-lived co-op group, along with Britt Woodman and Charles Mingus in 1946. He followed that with freelance work as well as doing sessions.

I'm always reluctant to catagorize musicians this way, but Collette is on record as the first black musician to hold a permanent position in a West Coast studio band in 1951-1955.

After that, he was a founder member of Chico Hamilton's quintet for two years.

Soon after, Collette freelanced, played, taught and also composed.

Many Monterey festival big bands were assembled by Collette, which were led by such greats as Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Gil Evans from 1964-1966.

Buddy Collette's style has been described as discreet, swinging and of the Lester Young school.

What is less known is that Collette is also a brilliant clarinettist and flautist. He is remarkable in that he has made a convincing case for the use of those two instruments in the interpretation of jazz.

A sample of Buddy's work can be found called "A Nice Day" [1956-7 Contemperary OJC]. This collection was recorded while Collette was with Chico Hamilton's group and has a nice selection of his work.

Edited March 15, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

One of the most revolutionary trombone-players in the Ellington band was a plunger-mute master, JOE "TRICKY SAM" NANTON. Nanton was born in New York in 1904.

Duke loved his trombone section best and Nanton was a standout player His style suited Ellington's growling jungle music perfectly.

As Mercer Ellington said of Nanton, "Tricky had a special feeling for it and he could play the proper things to fit the plunger."

And, according to Dicky Wells, "The man could say as much as a human voice on his horn."

As well, Rex Stewart said of Nanton, "The wail of a newborn baby, the raucous hoot of an owl, the blood-curdling scream of an enraged tiger, or the eerie coo-ing of a mournful dove!"

What I found really interesting about Tricky was that, aside from being an integral part of Ellington's trombone section, he had interests in other fields. He used to set up what was described as a talking table to exchange information about everything from handmade English shoes to Black American politics.

He had worked in cabaret bands such as those led by Cliff Jackson, Earl Fraser and Elmer Snowden.

But, having joined Ellingtons organization, Nanton refused to work, or even record with anyone else. He had found his home.

Nanton suffered a stroke in 1945. However, he snapped back and returned to tour California. Sadly, he was found dead n his hotel bedroom one morning. Nanton's heavy drinking may have been a contributing factor to his early death at only forty-two years old.

After the loss of Nanton, Ellington's band tried, with other fine players, like Wilber de Paris and Tyree Glenn, to re-create Nanton's sound, but the opinion of many is that for Ellington the trombone section was never the same after the loss of Nanton.

TRICKY SAM NANTON died in July of 1946.

Edited March 15, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Moving back, once again to the New Orleans players, at the turn of the last century, at the very beginnings of jazz, we have ALCIDE "YELLOW" NUNEZ.

Nunez was born in 1884 in New Orleans and was nicknamed for his Creole complexion.

Nunez was known as one of the most competent and highly trained clarinet players of the New Orleans Dixieland artists, working all around the city in cabarets, saloons and parade bands from 1902 on. He had a four year job with Jack Laine's Reliance Band from 1912-1916.

In 1916 Nunez travelled to Chicago with the drummer, Johnny Stein and joined the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, under leader, Nick LaRocca. There was a big blowup with LaRocca and Nunez went to Tom Brown's group, trading places with Larry Shields.

His association with Brown's organization did nothing for Nunez's career and Nunez went back to leading his own bands. He toured with Bert Kelly and played for drummer, Anton Lada at the Athena Cafe in Chicago.

After his time with Lada, Nunez toured his own quartet around the Midwest.

He then moved back to New Orleans in 1927, playing with the New Orleans Police Band later on.

YELLOW NUNEZ died in 1934 at forty years old.

[patricia]

Another Ellington alumnus is the great trumpeter, "COOTIE" [Charles Melvin] WILLIAMS. He was born in 1911 in Mobile Alabama.

Before joining Ellington, Williams had worked with Alonzo Ross, Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Cootie replaced Bubber Miley in 1929.

Because Miley had a very distinctive growl as his style, it was a good decision not to ask Williams to even try to duplicate it.

But that put the ball back in Cootie's court and, as he told Eric Townley, "I thought as I was taking Bubber's place I'd better learn how to growl...then one night when I had a solo to play on something I picked up the plunger and surprised the band with a growl solo. When we came down off the stand Duke and the boys said, 'That's it, that's it. Keep that in.' "

But, because Williams was not given instructions to duplicate Bubber's style, he was successful in developing his own and listening to Billie Holiday's "Carelessly" clearly shows how Williams had turned the distinctive growl that Miley had into a part of his own vocabulary.

Ellington wrote "Concerto For Cootie" for Williams in 1940 and it featured the powerful horn, uniquely his.

That year, 1940, Cootie left Ellington's band to join Benny Goodman's. That rated a lot of ink among jazz aficianados and luckily it resulted in a very successful year-long association.

After that Cootie led his own big band, which featured such icons as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ed Thigpen as well as Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson.

Interestingly, Williams might not have gone out on his own, had Ellington, when approached by Cootie to re-hire him encouraged him to pursue a separate career. It was a wise and loving piece of advice, which was extremely good for Williams, in the long run.

When Williams cut down to an r&b flavoured six-piece, having been asked to do so by Charlie Buchanan, the manager of the Savoy in 1948, he had had some of the brightest names in jazz associated with his outfit.

Cootie's health started to decline, partly because of chronic high blood pressure and partly because of his having to start drinking more than was usual for him.

To relieve the pressure on him as a leader of his own band, he re-joined Ellington for good in 1962, staying until Duke died .

Cootie then joined Mercer Ellington's re-creations and can be heard on a record Theresa Brewer made in 1978, "Theresa Brewer At Carnegie Hall".

COOTIE WILLIAMS died in September of 1985.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

Some of our posters' first exposure to our next honouree, CAB [Cabell] CALLOWAY may very well have been his appearance, with Jim Henson's puppets on "Sesame Street" performing "Hi De Hi". I know that my daughters first saw him there, wearing his white tuxedo.

But Calloway's jazz journey began many, many years before that, in Baltimore's clubland.

He was born in 1907 in Rochester New York and began his long career as a hustler and part-time singer. In 1927 Cab joined a quartet in the black revue, Plantation Days. They went to Chicago and he stayed on to work solo. He got work as a singer, drummer and MC at the Dreamland and the Sunset cafes.

Then came his leadership of the Alabanians, which was a great band, but fell out of sight in the fierce competition of the late 1920's and 1930's for gigs.

Calloway was revitalized by the success of his work with Connie's Hot Chocolates at Connie's inn, which Louis Armstrong suggested he join in 1930.

He went from that to the Savoy as contracted frontman for the Missourians, another touring band.

Then Cab found himself forceably transferred from the Savoy by the Mafia men who ran it, to the Cotton Club as a relief band to Ellington's. He was there with show-trumpeter, Reuben Reeves and trombonist Ed Swayzee and trumpeter Don Cheatham. Benny Paine, the jazz pianist was a longtime partner and it was during that period that the Calloway and Irving Mills developed the signature piece, "Minnie The Moocher" with which Calloway is forever associated.

Calloway was the headliner at the Cotton Club and in theatres world wide, as well as being heard on radio and seen on TV. The audiences were so enthusiastic that they bordered on hysteria.

Cab was a passionate party animal and had the respect of his fellow bandmembers as well.

According to Benny Payne, "You could get drunk with him and bring him back home on your back---but the next day when he raised his arm for the downbeat he didn't want to know what had happened the night before." The band spent as much as fifty weeks a year on the road, a gruelling schedule, by anyone's standards.

His career perked along and in 1952 he played "Sportin' " in a revival of "Porgy And Bess" alongside Leontyne Price and toured with the show after that.

In 1963 he was the warm-up man for the Harlem Globetrotters.

After that, he played Horace Vandergelder opposite Pearl Baily in an all-black production of "Hello Dolly". He also appeared on Broadway in "Bubbling Brown Sugar" and in the movie, "The Blues Brothers".

Although some think of Cab Calloway as being a bit of a baffoon and even comic relief, as opposed to being a serious musician, his jazz creds are there to see and he deserves our respect. He had a long and very distinguished career.

CAB CALLOWAY died in November of 1994.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[patricia]

And now we come to the pianist/singer, "LAKA DAISICAL" [Darota Koc] born in 1953 in Oxford, UK.

Despite her whimsical nickname, Laka Daisical is a seriously talented musician, having studied piano from the age of three, followed by four years of study on cello, as well as timpani in her high school orchestra.

Starting in 1983-1985 she was with the Annie Whitehead band.

In 1985 she joined the Guest Stars, which was an all-women fusion group.

Laka Daisical was also, in 1982, the first organizer of the very first British Women's jazz festival.

In 1984 the Guest Stars released their first album and it was a huge success in the U.K.

In September of that same year they toured the U.S. East Coast, followed by a short U.K. tour.

In 1985 the group was the support group for Jan Garbarek's London concert.

[patricia]

In St Vincent, West Indies in 1927 the tremendously talented "SHAKE" [Ellsworth] KEANE was born.

As well as playing trumpet and fluglehorn, Keane is also a poet of some renown. He was given his nickname, short for Shakespeare, as a nod to his literary creativity.

Shake was a schoolteacher in St Vincent and has had his two of his collections of poems published, as well as having them broadcast by the BBC.

He came to the U.K. with Mike McKenzie's Harlem Allstars. That band included Joe Harriot among it's personel.

Keane combined his music with his studies of English literature at London University.

In the late fifties and early sixties, with Joe Harriott, Keane was one of the pioneers of free improvisation. They recorded three albums, "Free Form" and "Movement and "Indo-Jazz Fusions". That was followed by touring Europe, as well as playing the major festivals with Joe Harriot's quintet.

Now comes a sharp turn. In the 1970's Shake was Minister of Culture in St Vincent, briefly, but he was tempermentally unsuited for government work.

He was also made Principal of Bishop's College in Georgetown, but ran into the same situation with his personality being unsuited to oranized beurocracy.

For a time, Shake stopped playing music altogether, writing more poetry.

Then, in 1989 he picked up his musical career again, visiting England.

Then Michael Garrick re-formed his band and Shake went back with him. He went on a British tour.

Just when it seemed that Shake was back, doing what he loved to do, he contracted cancer. He declined rapidly and died in November of 1997.

His main influences were Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Shake was tremendously talented, being able to handle anything from bebop to contemperary classical ensemble playing, to very austere and total abstraction.

SHAKE KEANE was only fifty years old when he died. A loss to the literary world as well as to jazz.

Edited March 16, 2004 by patricia

[EKE BBB]

Back in business!

A few photos from the last artists patricia has "biographed"

SHAKE KEANE