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Bob Scobey
Bob Scobey was born on December 9th, 1916 in Tucumcari, New Mexico. In the ‘30s he played trumpet in several dance bands, mostly in California where he grew up. In 1938 he began a lasting friendship with Lu Watters with whom he staged the jazz revival movement. During the 50’s Scobey led his own traditional band and attained considerable popularity like that of Lu Watters and another of his west coast dixieland companions—Turk Murphy. In the 60’s, Scobey ran his own club in Chicago and remained a popular figure at traditional jazz festivals.
Charlie Shavers
Charlie Shavers was born in New York city on August 3rd
1917, and took up trumpet in his early teens. He joined Tiny Bradshaw’s
band in 1937 and, the same year, played with Jimmy Noone and John
Kirby. He stayed with Kirby for seven years, working as both
trumpeter and arranger. Among his compositions was "Undecided", which
became a jazz standard and—with lyrics added, proved as smash hit for
Ella Fitzgerald. In 1944 Shavers joined Tommy Dorsey, with whom he was
a featured soloist for a decade. Shavers was featured with various bands
throughout these years, including sessions with Nat King Cole and Buddy
Rich. Shavers passed away in 1971, at the age of 54.
Arvell Shaw:
Arvell Shaw was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 15th, 1923.
He began playing bass with the Fate
Marable band in the early 40’s
and after World War Two he joined Louis Armstrong—a job which lasted,
on and off for a quarter of a century. In the late 50´s
and 60´s Shaw continued to play with Armstrong, but also found time
to perform with Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson and others, and after
Satchmo´s death in ´71, he joined some mainstream artists like Buddy
Tate and Earl Hines.
Artie Shaw
One
of jazz's finest clarinetists, Artie Shaw never seemed fully satisfied
with his musical life, constantly breaking up successful bands and
running away from success. After moving to New York, Shaw became a busy
studio musician.. He retired from music for the first time in 1934 in
hopes of writing a book, but when his money started running out, Shaw
returned to New York. A major turning point occurred when he performed
at an all-star big band concert at the Imperial Theatre in May 1936,
surprising the audience by performing with a string quartet and a rhythm
section. He used a similar concept in putting together his first
orchestra, adding a Dixieland-type front line and a vocalist while
retaining the strings. Despite some fine recordings, that particular
band disbanded in early 1937 and then Shaw put together a more
conventional big band. The surprise success of his 1938 recording
of "Begin the Beguine" made the clarinetist into a superstar. and one of
his finest waxing was, perhaps the greatest version of "Stardust" along
with the memorable "Concerto for Clarinet.", A small group formed out of
the band. also scored with the million-selling "Summit Ridge Drive."
Despite all this, Shaw broke up the orchestra in 1941. Shaw's own style
becoming quite modern, almost boppish. But, with the end of the swing
era, Shaw again broke up his band in early 1946 and was semi-retired for
several years, playing classical music as much as jazz. His last attempt
at a big band was a short-lived one, a boppish unit who lasted for a few
months in 1949., , and; their modern music was a commercial flop.. Then,
in 1955, Artie Shaw permanently gave up the clarinet to pursue his
dreams of being a writer. After 1983, Shaw never played again. He
received plenty of publicity for his eight marriages and for his odd
autobiography. Artie Shaw deserves to be best remembered as one of the
truly great clarinetists. His RCA recordings, which were reissued in
complete fashion in a perfectly done Bluebird LP series, have only been
made available in piecemeal fashion on CD.
Frank Signorelli
Frank
Signorelli was an important player behind the scenes as an organizer and
an accompanying pianist with several notable bands. In 1917, with Phil
Napoleon, he was a founding member of the Original Memphis Five. He
recorded extensively with that prolific group through 1931. Signorelli
was briefly a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1921, and in
1927, he was in Adrian Rollini’s legendary (if short-lived) New Yorker
group. Signorelli appeared on many classic records with Bix Beiderbecke,
Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, and Eddie Lang during the era, plus on a
countless number with dance bands and backing commercial singers. He
worked with Paul Whiteman for a few months in 1938, and played regularly
during the '40s and '50s (including at Nick's with Bobby Hackett) and
helped organize the revived Original Memphis Five. Frank Signorelli, who
composed "I'll Never Be The Same," "Stairway to the Stars," and "A Blues
Serenade" in the '30s, only led three obscure record dates in his
career: four titles in 1926, four more from 1946 with a quintet that
included Phil Napoleon. He recorded as a sideman as late as 1958 (with
Miff Mole).
Omer Simeon
George Simon
Simon
helped Glenn Miller organize his first band, played drums in it, in
1937, and fostered Miller's reputation through his writing for
Metronome, As associate editor (1935-39) and then editor-in-chief
(1939-55) of Metronome, Simon was probably the most important jazz
commentator during the swing era, reporting news and evaluating (usually
with great accuracy) the talents of hundreds of big bands, musicians and
singers. After leaving Metronome, he was involved with the Jazztone
Society (1956-57), was a consultant for the Timex Jazz Shows, and wrote
about jazz for the New York Herald Tribune (1961-64) and the New York
Post (1980-81). Simon produced recordings for several major labels; he
was open-minded enough to write the liner notes for Thelonious Monk’s
1963 big band concert, and remained semi-active into the late '90s. His
books The Big Bands and Glenn Miller are essential;
N
ina Simone
Eunice
Waymon was born in Tryon, North Carolina. The child prodigy played piano
at the age of four. She studied at the Julliard School of Music in New
York. Eunice Waymon, who was trained to become a classical pianist,
stepped into show business. She changed her name into Nina ("little
one") Simone ("from the French actress Simone Signoret"). In the late
50's Nina Simone recorded her first tracks for the Bethlehem label.
Songs as Plain Gold Ring, Don't Smoke In Bed and Little Girl Blue soon
became standards in her repertoire. One song, I Loves You, Porgy, from
the opera "Porgy and Bess", became a hit and the nightclub singer became
a star, performing at Town Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz
Festival. A song from her very first record, My Baby Just Cares For Me,
became a huge hit and "Nina's Back" was not only the title of a new
album; her concerts would take her all over the world. On July 24, 1998
Nina Simone was a special guest at Nelson Mandela's 80th Birthday Party.
On October 7, 1999 she received a Lifetime Achievement in Music Award in
Dublin. Dr. Simone passed away after a long illness at her home in
her villa in Carry-le-Rouet (South of France) on April 21, 2003. As she
had wished, her ashes were spread in different African countries. The
Diva, who was as well an Honorary Doctor in Music and Humanities, has an
unrivalled legendary status as one of the very last 'griots". She is and
will forever be the ultimate songstress and storyteller of our times.
Zutty Singleton
Was born in Bunkie, Louisiana on May 14th, 1898. He
played
drums in early childhood and began professionally in 1915.
Following service in World War One Singleton played in the
New Orleans Bands of Papa Oscar Celestine and Louis Nelson,
and then worked the riverboats with Fate Marable in the
early twenties. After moving to Chicago, he teamed up with
Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines for record dates and, for a
short time, went into partnership with them as co-owners of
a club. As a member of the Carroll Dickerson Band he went to New York
and played with the leading jazzmen of the day, and also led his own
band.
Singleton recorded extensively during the 30’s with Roy Eldridge,
Mess Mezzrow and Sidney Bechet, and in the 40’s he accompanied
Charlie Parker, Wingy Manone and Dizzie Gillespie. Singleton went right
on playing and recording extensively throughout the 60’s as well.
A stroke in 1970 ended his playing career.
SmitBessie
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 15th, 1895,
"She was a wild lady with her lips". That’s how Lester Young
described her—the ‘Empress of the blues.’ She was indeed the
greatest blues singer ever, with a rich, passionate contralto voice
that could fill a hall and make the rafters ring with grief or joy—with the pleasures of gin or sin. Bessie Smith was a protégé´of
Ma Rainey and sang In her minstrel show. By 1913, when she was
eighteen, Bessie, strikingly beautiful and very black was stopping all
shows around the south. By 1920 she had her own show in Atlantic
City, and in 1923 made her big career move to N.Y. She signed with
Columbia Records, made her first recordings with pianist Fletcher
Henderson and began a long year performing for clubs and on tours.
She was the star of her own summer tent show "Harlem Frolics" which
travelled the south in its own luxury train-car, thus avoiding the
problems
of racial segregation. Bessie Smith became the highest salaried black
star
in the world. By 1928 she had recorded with the greatest—James P.
Johnson,
Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong and others. In 1933, she made her
last classic recordings with Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman and Coleman
Hawkins.
In 1937, Bessie Smith died in a car crash. Seven thousand people
attended her funeral, but her grave went unmarked until Janis Joplin and
Juanita Green financed a headstone in 1970. It reads, "The greatest
blues singer in the world will never stop singing."
Jabbo Smith
Jabbo Smith had one of the oddest careers in jazz history. A brilliant trumpeter, Smith had accomplished virtually all of his most significant work by the time he turned 21, yet lived to be 82. He learned to play trumpet at the legendary Jenkins Orphanage in Charleston, and by the time he was 16, Smith showed great promise. During 1925-1928 he was with Charlie Johnsons’ Paradise Ten, a top New York jazz group that made some classic recordings. Smith was on a recording session with Duke Ellington in 1927 (resulting in a memorable version of "Black and Tan Fantasy") and played in the show Keep Shufflin' with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.. The high points of Smith's career were his 1929 recordings with his Rhythm Aces.
Keely Smith
The
"Queen of Las Vegas" swing, Keely Smith, is one of the last living
legends of the great Rat Pack era of the 1950s and ‘60s. For nearly half
a century, the Cherokee-Irish singer has thrilled audiences around the
world, entertaining music fans with unequaled charm. Keely is perhaps
best known for her partnership with Louis Prima, with whom she helped
turn Las Vegas into an entertainment mecca for the rich, the famous and
everyone in between. The chance to audition for Louis Prima, one
of the hottest musicians on the scene in a vibrant post-war America,
changed everything. On his visit to Virginia Beach in 1948, he would
discover that Keely’s sizzling vocal delivery perfectly suited his
established swing orchestra. The pair soon fell in love, marrying in
1953. Louis Prima and Keely Smith gave their audiences a study in
contrasts, both musically and physically. In 1961, Smith divorced Prima,
she then signed to Reprise Records, where her musical director was
Nelson Riddle. In 1965, she had Top 20 hits in the UK.
S
tuff Smithzekia Leroy Gordon "Stuff" Smith -
--
From Portsmouth, Ohio, began playing violin as a child and started his professional career at the age of 15. By 1936 he was playing at New York´s Onyx Club with Jonah Jones and Cozy Cole, and wearing a battered top hat and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, Stuff established his reputation as a hard-swinging jazz man with a wierd sense of humor. He was perhaps the most exciting and dynamic of all jazz fiddler
s.
Willie (The lion) Smith
was born in Goshen , New York on November 25th 1897, and began playing the piano at the age of six, encouraged by his mother. In his teens, already, he had established a glowing reputation as a ragtime pianist in New York, and following World War One, Smith became one of Harlem’s best known pianists . Despite his popularity and the high respect payed him bu Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and James P. Johnson, Willy Smith made few records and was relativcly unknown outside of New York. Admiration continues for "The Lion" by all great jazz musicians and jazz fans.
TAB SMITH
Muggsy Spanier
Charlie Spivak
Despite
coming up in the jazz world and spending his life around jazz musicians,
Charlie Spivak rarely improvised and was most notable for his pretty
tone. He moved to the U.S. with his family as a small child and grew up
in New Haven, CT. Spivak began playing trumpet when he was ten, gigged
locally as a teenager.. He worked in the studios during most of
1936-1937 and then had stints with the orchestras of Bob Crosby, Tommy
Dorsey, and Jack Teagarden.. Spivak formed his own band in November
1939) and, although his first orchestra failed within a year, his second
attempt shortly after was more successful; in fact, Spivak became a
major attraction throughout the '40s and he kept his band together until
1959. Spivak lived in later years in Florida, Las Vegas, and South
Carolina, putting together orchestras on a part-time basis, staying
semi-active up until his death at the age of 75.
Johnny St. Cyr
Freddy Keppard, Oscar ‘papa’ Celestin, Joe ‘king’ Oliver, and in 1923 went to Chicago and played with Oliver, Jimmy Noone Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. St. Cyr continued to play with these giants in the 50’s and 60’s, and for a long time played an instrument which he devised himself: A six string guitar with a banjo head.
Jess Stacy
Rex Stewart
Billy Strayhorn
Joe Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine
Sullivan was a jazz vocalist with a light and intimate style that sadly
recorded far too few jazz songs in her career. She enjoyed success in
the swing era, and then repeated that success several eras later. Maxine
Sullivan made her first records in June of 1937, accompanied by Claude
Thornhill's all-star band. Around the same time Maxine became the
vocalist at The Onyx Club in New York. It was here that she formed both
a music and personal partnership with bass-man John Kirby who she soon
married. Sullivan and Kirby remained married until 1941. It was
this first session with Kirby that proved to be both a blessing and a
curse for Maxine Sullivan. It produced a hit record, a swing version of
a Scottish folk song called "Loch Lomond." In 1940 Sullivan and Kirby
were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm. They were
the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. In the
mid 1940s she was recorded with the bands of Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter,
and Jimmie Lunceford. Maxine Sullivan died in April of 1987, little more
than one month short of her 76th birthday and just 8 months after her
last recorded concert appearance.
Joe Tarto
A
collector's album in the 1980's humorously billed Joe Tarto as "Titan of
the Tuba." Although Tarto was often the least known musician on many of
the recordings he appeared on in the 1920's, his fellow musicians
certainly recognized his talents. Tarto played trombone when he was 12
but soon switched to tuba. He was in the Army during World War I.
(having given a false age) and played tuba in an Army band. After being
wounded and recovering, he was discharged in 1919. Following a period
working a day job, Tarto became a fulltime musician in October 1920. He
toured with Cliff Edwards, was with Paul Specht’s band, played with the
orchestras of Sam Lanin and Vincent Lopez worked in Broadway shows and
arranged for Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Tarto extensively
recorded in the 1920's (although never as a leader) including with Joe
Venuti, Red Nichols, Miff Mole, the Dorsey Bros, and many others. After
two years with Roger Wolfe Kahn’s Orchestra, Tarto became a studio
musician in the 1930's, doubling on string bass and working with
symphony orchestras, on radio and in the theatres. Joe Tarto
occasionally played jazz in his later years (mostly Dixieland) and he
led the New Jersey Dixieland Brass Quintet in the 1970's and 80's.
Buddy Tate
Erskine Tate
Violinist and bandleader Erskine Tate helped pioneer Chicago jazz and big band music with his Vendome Orchestra, playing at the Vendome Theater at East 31st and State streets. The band featured a young Louis Armstrong, and played live music during and between silent films in movie theaters. Tate played through the mid-'30s before retiring to teach music. His band also featured Freddy Keppard on cornet, Buster Bailey on saxophone, Jimmy Bertrand on drums, Ed Arkins on trombone, and Teddy Weatherford on piano.
A
rt Tatum
A
Born into a musical family, he was handicapped at birth with impaired sight. Blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, he nevertheless studied piano formally and by his mid-teens was already playing professionally in Toledo. Tatum worked mostly as a solo entertainer—in clubs and on radio, and later became the accompanist of Adelaide Hall during her road tours. Tatum travelled to New York with her in 1932 and made his first recording the following year. In 1937, Tatum’s playing in New York clubs, on radio and recordings earned him a reputation as one of the world’s great Jazz figures. Many jazz experts rate Art Tatum as the greatest Jazz pianist in history and even Fats Waller, an acknowledged master of the keyboard, spotted Tatum in the audience while he was playing one night and declared: "God is in the house tonight."
Art Taylor
One
of the premier hard bop drummers of his era, by 1948 while still a
teenager in Harlem, Art Taylor had played drums in church with Jackie
McLean and Sonny Rollins. He also played with Howard McGhee and other
young bop musicians in New York. In the early 50s he was also to be
heard in mainstream groups, playing with Buddy De Franco and Coleman
Hawkins. He continued to play with leading beboppers, including Bud
Powell, and Art Farmer. Later in the decade was with Miles Davis and
John Coltrane. From time to time he led his own bands, notably Taylor’s
Wailers, and toured the States and Europe with Donald Byrd, and did a
short stint with Thelonious Monk in 1959. Also in ’59 he was the drummer
on John Coltrane’s "Giant Steps" album, which speaks for itself.
In the mid-80s Taylor returned to the USA and hosted a radio show. His
last studio session was with Jimmy Smith in 1995 for the excellent
record "Damn!," and the album was dedicated to his memory.
Clark Terry:
Frank Teschemacher
One
of the early jazz legends, Frank Teschemacher was an exciting if erratic
clarinetist and altoist who was an important participant in the Chicago
jazz scene of the 1920s. A member of the fabled "Austin High School
Gang" of young Chicago jazz musicians, Teschemacher started recording in
1927 (with the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans ), although observers of the
period have stated that his records were not as strong as his live
performances. A fine musician whose solos are a little reminiscent of
his contemporary Pee Wee Russell., Teschemacher recorded in Chicago with
a variety of overlapping pickup groups in 1927, spent 1928 in New York
(where he played with Ben Pollack, Sam Lanin and Red Nichols, and then
returned to Chicago. His life was cut short by a tragic automobile
accident, making one wonder how Tesch (a good all-round musician) would
have fared in the swing era. All 34 of his recordings plus six others
that he might be on are included on a perfectly done Time/Life three-LP
box set.
Ed Thigpen
World-renown for his exemplary musicianship, his artistry with wire brushes, and his highly effective teaching methods, Ed Thigpen is admired by musicians and critics alike as one of the finest performer/educators in jazz. Born in Chicago December 28, 1930, Edmund Thigpen grew up in Los Angeles where he atteneded Thomas Jefferson High School, whose alumni include artists such as Dexter Gorden, Chico Hamilton and Art Farmer, There he got his practical experience in the schools swing band under the guidance of the revered teacher Samuel Browne. After graduating from high school in 1949, he entered Los Angeles City college as a sociology major but left after a year to pursue a career in music. In 1951 Ed moved to New York where he joined the Cootie Williams band at the Savoy Ballroom. In 1959 he joined the Oscar Peterson Trio and also was an instructor at The Advanced School of Conteporary Music, founded by Oscar Peterson,
Sir Charles Thompson
Charles
Phillips Thompson, was born on 12 March 1918, in Springfield, Ohio.
After starting out on violin Thompson switched to piano and was playing
professionally by his mid-teenage years. In 1940 he was briefly with
Lionel Hampton's big band but preferred small group work, although he
regularly wrote arrangements for musicians including Count Basie and
Jimmy Dorsey. During the 40s and 50s Thompson worked with leading
jazzmen such as Lester Young , Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy
Rushing and Buck Clayton. Through the 60s he continued playing
with Roy Eldridge, Clayton and other major artists, and also led his own
groups, often switching to organ. Poor health slowed his career in the
70s but by the 80s he was back on the scene again, playing at numerous
venues around the world.
Juan Tizol
Juan
Tizol was born in San Juan Puerto Rico on Jan. 22, 1900, started music
lessons early, was trained as a valve trombonist and as a teenager
played in the San Juan Municipal Band. Tizol moved to the U.S. in 1920
and became valve trombonist in the pit band of the Howard Theatre in
Washington DC, was a member of the Marie Lucas Orchestra, Bobby Lee’s
Cottonpickers, and the White Brothers Band. His big break came in August
of 1929 when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He would remain
with Duke for fifteen years, and became an integral part of the bands
sound. His contribution to the Duke legacy would be in his two
compositions "Caravan", and "Perdido". Though he did compose many other
pieces for the orchestra, these are his best known. "Caravan" was always
the second number in Duke’s live performances, and was permanently in
the book. Juan Tizol left the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1944, and
moved to California. There he soon joined up with the Harry James
Orchestra, then based out of Los Angeles, and remained with him for
seven years. He teamed up with Duke again in the mid ‘60’s for select
sessions, but soon after retired and settled in California. Juan Tizol
was regarded by many as a perfect ensemble player, one whose role was to
ensure the overall sound of the band. His stint with the Duke Ellington
Orchestra has solidified his reputation in the big band era. Juan Tizol
died quietly at his home in Inglewood California, on Apr. 23,1984.
Dave Tough
Dave Tough was famous (and infamous) for several things. He was a subtle and versatile drummer who hated to solo. He was an intellectual whose career was often rather aimless. Tough was also a painfully thin alcoholic whose drinking got him into trouble on a regular basis and shortened his life. Although he did not officially attend Austin High School (he was at nearby Oak Park High), Dave Tough was early on associated with the Austin High school Gang, becoming a close friend of Bud Freeman. Tough played at holiday resorts during his summer vacations of 1923 and 1924 and then became a full time musician the following year.
Lennie Tristano
A
pianist of exceptional co-ordination and skill, for whom playing in
different metres with each hand held no terrors, Lennie Tristano
overcame blindness to become one of the leading teachers in jazz. While
he was studying for his music degree in Chicago in the early 1940s, he
had already begun playing and working with a circle of musicians who
became his pupils - including saxophonist Lee Konitz and guitarist Billy
Bauer. Tristano mastered the bebop style, playing both intricate runs
and sustained chordal passages, and by the late 1940s was working in New
York, where he made some significant discs with the musicians who had
developed bebop - notably Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He formed
a sextet, that included some of his former pupils and tenorist Warne
Marsh, and their work paralleled much of the experimentation of Gil
Evans and Miles Davis. In the early 1950s, Tristano opened his own jazz
school, and for the rest of his life he focussed on teaching rather than
playing.
Frankie Trumbauer
The
preeminent white saxophonist of the 1920s, Frankie Trumbauer was a major
influence on jazz performers of all colors. Born May 30, 1901, in
Carbondale, IL, Trumbauer — often called "Tram" by his contemporaries —
was playing with Chicago's Benson Orchestra when he was spotted by Bix
Beiderbecke and quickly recruited to join the legendary cornetist in
Jean Goldkette’s orchestra. Soon Tram had climbed to the position of
Goldkette’s musical director, earning notoriety for the impeccable
technique of his light-toned solos; he cut some of the definitive
records of the era with Beiderbecke, "Singin' the Blues" among them,
and, by 1927, the two were reunited in Paul Whiteman’s orchestra.
Trumbauer remained with Whiteman until 1932, returning in 1933 for
another four-year stint. With the onset of World War II, Trumbauer was
assigned to the Civil Aeronautics Authority; still, he continued to
pursue music in his off-hours, playing with Russ Case and cutting a
number of New York studio dates during the latter half of the 1950s.
However, with the arrival of the modern jazz era of the 1950s, Tram fell
off the radar; he died June 11, 1956, in Kansas City, MO.
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley
William Turrentine was one of the most distinctive tenor saxophonists in
jazz. Known for his big, warm, sound, "The Sugar Man" or the original
"Mr. T" found inspiration in the blues and turned it into a hugely
successful career with a #1 hit and four Grammy nominations -- first in
R&B and then in jazz. One of Stanley's earliest influences on sax was
tenor great Illinois Jacquet. Jacquet once encouraged a 12-year old
Stanley to sit in with him. In 1959, he jumped from the frying pan into
the fire when he left the military and went straight into the band of
the great drummer Max Roach. Turrentine married organist Shirley Scott
(left) in 1960. When they moved to Philadelphia, they befriended Hammond
B-3 organ legend Jimmy Smith and Turrentine quickly immersed himself in
the Smith's soulful jazz organ sound. He remained a perennial favorite
among jazz fans well up to his untimely death on Sept. 12, 2000