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Was born on March 27th, 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri. After studying violin and piano he took up the saxophone around 1930. Within a year he was playing with Benny Moten and later worked with Andy Kirk and Fletcher Henderson. In 1940 Webster became a regular member of Duke Ellingtons band and had enormous influence there. He also had such great influence on musicians that practically every new tenor sax-man felt obliged to play like Webster until they were established enough to exert their own personalities. In the 40s he played with Jazz at the Philharmonic and from the 50s on throughout the rest of his life, Webster worked mostly as a soloist, touring extensively in Europe, including Scandanavia where he attained great popularity.Warren Vache
Vach
is a supremely accomplished, versatile and rare performer. He has been
astounding audiences worldwide for decades with his superb cornet, trumpet and
flugelhorn stylings. Through live performances and recordings, along with stage,
screen, radio and television appearances, Warren conveys incredible warmth
through his burnished tone and intelligent improvisations. He has performed and
recorded with such luminaries as: Benny Goodman, Rosemary Clooney, Benny Carter,
Hank Jones, Gerry Mulligan, Woody Herman, Ruby Braff and Bobby Short to name but
a few. Warren Vach has performed at every major jazz venue and festival
throughout the globe from club dates at Condon's and the Blue Note to the
Newport Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival and Perugia in Italy,
including concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Vienna Opera, and the
Royal Festival Hall in London. With a style that has been described as
"lyrical," 'daring," "warm," and "exciting," Warren Vach has a delightful way
of engaging and audience; leaving them enthralled with the beauty and joy of his
playing, and the warmth of his vocals.
Kid Thomas Valentine
Was born in Reserve, Louisiana on February 3rd, 1896. His father, Fernand
Valentine was a talented player of most brass instreuments and
bandmaster of the Pickwick Brass band. Kid Thomas began playing
trumpet at an early age and, in his twenties, moved to Algiersacross
the river from New Orleans where he quickly became the star attraction
in Elton Theodores band. Valentine remained independent of developing
trends in jazz trumpet playing and was one of the few who were not
influenced by Louis Armstrong. His bandthe Algiers Stompersplayed
on through the decades, and despite isolation from the big jazz centers, he
made many trips to Europe and Japan in the 60s and continued to play
back home in Algiers clear into the eighties. Kid Thomas Valentine passed
away in 1987 at the age of 91.
George Van Eps
George Van Eps was a quiet legend among jazz guitarists, one
who as far back as the 1930s pioneered a harmonically sophisticated chordal/lead
style that was eclipsed in influence by the single-string idioms of Charlie
Christian and Django Reinhardt. Yet Van Eps, like his brassy colleague Les Paul,
also stood apart from them as an iconoclastic inventor, designing a seven-string
guitar in the late 1930s that adds an extra bass string. Thus, Van Eps was able
to play bass lines simultaneously with chords and lead solos, a jazz equivalent
of fingerpicking country guitarists.. Van Eps puckishly referred to his style of
playing as "lap piano," and his seven-string guitar has been adopted by a select
few.
Sarah Vaughan
Born in Newark, New Jersey on March 27th, 1924. She took
piano lessons for ten years, sang in her church choir and became
the organist at the age of twelve. She won an amateur singing contest
at the Apollo theatre in Harlem in 1942--same place where Ella Fitzgerald
won the contest many years earlierand spotted by Billy Eckstein
who was working for Earl Hines at the time, Sarah was invited to
join Hines band as a female vocalist and second pianist.
Eckstein had been so impressed by Sarah Vaughan that he gave
her a place in his own band in 1944, and it was here that she met
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and other pioneers of modern jazz.
In the later forties and fifties she began a decade of recording sessions
and world-wide tours, recorded with Miles Davis and produced
many albums for Mercury records. Among her most satisfying work
was with Count Basie, Clifford Brown and Cannonball Adderly,
and in 1974 she performed at the Monterrey Jazz Festival. Then, in 1980,
Sarah Vaughan appeared in concert a Carnegie Hall.
Charlie Ventura

Joe Venuti - Eddie Lang
Fats Waller

Dinah Washington
Lu Watters
He hails from Santa Cruz, California..born there on December 19th, 1911.
Watters began leading his own combos after playing trumpet with several
bands. By the end of the forties he became dedicated to traditional jazz
styles, inspired by the music or New Orleans. He formed the Yerba Buena
Jazz band with Turk Murphy, Clancy Hayes and Bob Scobey, and proved
to be enormously successful.
Chick Webb

Chick Webb represented the triumph of the human spirit in jazz and life. Hunchbacked, small in stature, almost a dwarf with a large face and broad shoulders, Webb fought off congenital tuberculosis of the spine in order to become one of the most competitive drummers and bandleaders of the big band era. Perched high upon a platform, he used custom-made pedals, goose-neck cymbal holders, a 28-inch bass drum and a wide variety of other percussion instruments to create thundering solos of a complexity and energy that paved the way for Buddy Rich (who studied Webb intensely) and Louis Bellson. Alas, Webb did not get a fair shake on records; Decca's primitive recording techniques could not adequately capture his spectacular technique and wide dynamic range.
Dick Wellstood
was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on November
25th 1927, and after learning to play the piano in his home town
went to New York in 1946 and soon began working with well known
musicians such as Sidney Bechet and Bob Wilber. In the early 50s
Wellstood toured Europe with Jimmy Archies band, but divided his studies
between music and law studies. He qualified as a lawyer, but nevertheless returned to
playing with small groups and with artists such as Roy Eldridge, Henry Red Allen, Coleman
Hawkins and Gene Krupa.
George Wettling
George
Godfrey Wettling
Born: November 28, 1907 in Topeka, Kansas
One of the great Dixieland drummers, George Wettling's ability
to alertly change patterns behind each soloist usually inspired the other
musicians to play their best. He was part of the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s
(where he moved with his family in 1921), and Baby Dodds was his main idol.
Wettling, who recorded with Paul Mares in the mid-'30s, was still mostly an
unknown when he came to New York in 1935, playing briefly with Jack Hylton
Orchestra. He did a fine job with Artie Shaws 1936 big band, as well as the
orchestras of Bunny Berigan, Red Norvo, Paul Whiteman and Muggsy Spanier
However, his most rewarding work was done with small groups, notably his
sessions in 1938 with a trio also including Bud Freeman and Jess and Eddie
Condon. Wettling became a regular with Condon on his Town Hall broadcasts and at
his club. Although he did not lead bands on a regular basis for long (due to
excessive alcohol consumption), George Wettling led excellent Dixieland dates
for Decca, Black & White), Keynote, Stycon, and Columbia.
Paul Whiteman
Johnny Wiggs
Cornetist Johnny Wiggs was born John Wigginton Hyman on July 25, 1899, in New
Orleans, LA. He began his music career playing the violin, but he learned the
cornet and moved to New York City to try his luck in their local scene. He moved
back to Louisiana in the late '20s, working as a public school teacher under his
real name while moonlighting as Johnny Wiggs at local jazz clubs. He gained a
reputation not only as a good player, but one of the few Jewish cornet players
in jazz at the time. He tried to separate his teaching and music careers as much
as possible, but by the '40s the lure of the stage was too much and he took up
music full-time again. He led several bands and began to record, finding local
success as well as a good musical partnership with Eddie Miller for a period. By
the '60s he went back to playing part-time again, but he still recorded and
found time to work with Maxine Sullivan on her material. He stopped playing in
the '70s due to deteriorating health, and in October of 1977 he passed away a
relatively unknown figure in the genre, despite his impressive body of work.
Bob Wilber
Lee Wiley
Wiley
was born in 1910 in Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma; early press reports claimed lineage
from a Cherokee princess. Her husky, surprisingly sensual voice and exquisitely
cool readings of pop standards distinguished her singing, but Lee Wiley earns
notice as one of the best early jazz singers by recognizing the superiority of
American popular song and organizing a set of songs around a common composer or
theme later popularized as the songbook or concept LP. She was also a
songwriter in her own right, and one of the few white vocalists with more
respect in the jazz community than the popular one. Even more tragic then, that
while dozens of inferior vocalists recorded LPs during the late '50s and '60s,
Wiley appeared on record just once between 1957 and her death in 1975.
Clarence Williams
Although
he was quite spirited playing jug, Clarence Williams was only a decent pianist
and a likable but limited vocalist. However, he was also a talented composer,
writing or co-writing dozens, of memorable songs like "Royal Garden Blues,"
"Everybody Loves My Baby," "West End Blues," "Sugar Blues," "Tain't Nobody's
Business If I Do," and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home," and he was also a
masterful organizer, responsible for scores of hot recordings issued under his
name in the 1920s and '30s. A superior businessman and an inventive hustler,
Williams worked at all kinds of odd jobs in New Orleans, where he moved in 1906.
He played piano in Storyville, always keeping aware of the latest hits from New
York; he was a singer, dancer, and emcee with a minstrel show, and ran his own
cabaret and publishing company.
Mary Lou Williams
Spencer Williams
Jazz
pianist and composer Spencer Williams was born in New Orleans on October 14,
1889, studying at the local St. Charles University before relocating to Chicago
in 1907. A decade later he was in New York City, teaming with Fats Waller to pen
a handful of songs including 1918's "Squeeze Me"; the roll call of Williams'
subsequent hits is most impressive, and includes jazz standards like "Basin
Street Blues," "I Ain't Got Nobody," "Tishomingo Blues," "Everybody Loves My
Baby," "Mahogany Hall Stomp," "Royal Garden Blues," "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody
None of My Jelly Roll," "Fireworks," and "Shim-Me-Sha-Wobble." He traveled to
Paris in 1925 and wrote for Josephine Baker and La Revue Negre; returning to the
U.S. three years later, Williams later sang and played on sessions with Lonnie
Johnson and Teddy Bunn. and. In 1936, he settled in England, collaborating with
Benny Carter on "When Lights Are Low"; after spending the better part of the
1950s in Sweden, Williams returned stateside in 1957, dying in New York on July
14, 1965.
Cootie Williams
Nancy
Wilsons musical style is so diverse that it is hard to classify. Over the years
her repertoire has included pop style ballads, jazz and blues, show tunes and
well known standards. Critics have described her as "a jazz singer," "a blues
singer," "a pop singer," and "a cabaret singer." By the age of four, Nancy
Wilson knew she wanted to be a singer. Nancys professional singing career began
at the age of 15. She had her own television show, Skyline Melody, on a local
station. Soon after, she began performing in clubs in the Columbus area. But in
1956, she met Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Adderley, impressed with her talent
and determination, took an immediate interest in her career and the two kept in
touch. In 1959, Nancy moved to New York City, and. within four weeks of her
arrival in New York she got her first big break, a call to fill in for Irene
Reid at The Blue Morocco. Nancy did so well that the club booked her on a
permanent basis; Nancys debut single, "Guess Who I Saw Today," was so
successful that between April of 1960 and July of 1962 Capitol Records released
five Nancy Wilson albums. After years with Capitol, during many of which she was
second in sales only to the Beatles, surpassing even Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee,
the Beach Boys, and early idol Nat King Cole. Last year, Nancy retired from
touring, but she still continues to perform select engagements and, happily, to
record.
Teddy Wilson
hails from Austin, Texas where he was born on November 24th
He studied both violin and piano in Tuskagee, Texas, and later
extended his college education in Alabama. In 1929 Wilson became
a professional pianist in Detroit, Michigan and later settle in Chicago
where he played with Erskine Tate, Louis Armstrong and Jimmy Noone.
In the early thirties he played with Art Tatum, holding his own in duets
of considerable distinction. In 1933 he went to New York to play in
Benny Carters band and, during this time, he made a succession of
outstanding recordings with Carters Chocolate Dandies and as
accompanist for Billy Holiday . Some of these sessions proved to
be masterpieces in jazz. In 1936 Wilson became a regular member of
Benny Goodmans bandof the famous Goodman trio. He remained
in Goodmans trio and quartet until 1939. He later formed his own
sextet and then worked in studios, taught and toured. By the sixties
Wilson had become an elder statesman of jazz, touring with Harry
Edison and Benny Carter.
Jimmy Yancey
Lester Young

Trummy Young
Vincent Youmans
A
famed composer of the '20s and '30s, Vincent Youmans wrote popular songs and
became famous for his Broadway musical hits. Among his Broadway hit songs are
"Who's Who With You," "Country Cousin" and "Oh Me, Oh My, Oh You." He was born
in New York to a hat chain owner and a housewife. His parents encouraged his
musical genius when they gave him piano lessons at age four. His education took
him to Trinity College, Heathcote Hall, and finally to Yale University. He then
entered the U.S. Navy preparing musical shows for the troops. One of his songs
was used by John Philip Sousa and renamed "Hallelujah" in 1927. After his stint
in the Navy, Youmans concentrated heavily on his musical career. His first
Broadway hit "Who's Who With You" was performed in the 1918 show From Broadway
to Piccadilly. In 1920 his song, "Country Cousin," was published and earned him
a job at Harms Music as a pianist and songplugger. Youmans then worked with
Victor Herbert, assisting him in rehearsing singers for his musicals. The
experience he gained in his first two jobs made him one of many successful
composers of his time. His songs included "Tea for Two" and "I Want to Be
Happy." During the late '20s Youmans did several Broadway musicals including Oh,
Please, Hit the Deck, Rainbow and Great Day. Success came for Youmans with
Flying Down to Rio. The cast included such film legends as Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers and. Unfortunately, in 1933 Youmans contracted tuberculosis
and entered a sanatorium in Colorado. After a few years he was able to leave and
parted to Louisiana where he began to compose again. In 1943 he opened The
Vincent Youmans Ballet Revue in Boston. In 1945 Youmans was forced to return to
the Colorado sanatorium because of his failing health. At the age of 48 he died
in Denver, Colorado. "Through the Years" was played at his funeral. A popular
musical figure on the Broadway circuit, Vincent Youmans was also a member of the
Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
Bob Ysaguirre
Ysaguirre’s
longest-lived association was with the legendary arranger/bandleader Don Redman.
When Redman left Mckinney’s Cotton Pickers to form his own band in 1931,
Ysaguirre was his bassist; he stayed with Redman until 1940. He began playing
his first instrument, the tuba, at the age of 18. From 1917-1919, he played in a
military band. He then moved to New Orleans, where in 1922 he played with the
cornetist Amos White. He recorded several sides with violinist A.J. Piron's
orchestra in New York from 1923-1925. During the mid- to late '20s, he worked
with banjoist Elmer Snowden, Trombonist Te Roy Williams, and vioinist Alex
Jackson’s Plantation Orchetra. He also spent a brief period with Horace and
Fletcher Henderson. He spent the '30s with Redman, recording often on both
double bass and tuba. After leaving Redman, he continued to freelance around New
York through the late '60s.
Bob Zurke
One
of the legions of jazz musicians to have lived hard and died young, the
Detroit-born Zurke was best known for his stint as pianist with singer Bob
Crosbys Bobcats. Zurke spent time with Oliver Naylors Orchestra in
Philadelphia during the late '20s and early '30s; he also recorded with bassist
Thelma Terry and her Playboys in 1928. Around that time, arranger Don Redman
hired Zurke to copy parts for arrangements he'd written for McKinneys Cotton
Pickers. Zurke joined the Bobcats late in 1936, and (except for a 1937 hiatus
brought on by a broken leg suffered in horseplay with Bob Haggart. remained with
them until the summer of 1939, when he formed his own short-lived big band. That
band broke up the following spring.