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 earlier—and 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.

A fine swing-oriented tenor saxophonist, Ventura is best-remembered for his attempt at popularizing bebop during the tail end of the music's mid- to late-'40s heyday. Born Charles Venturo, he came from a large, musically inclined family. His first instrument was C-melody sax. He switched to alto before eventually settling on tenor. Ventura left his day job at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1942 to join Gene Krupas 's band. He became a featured soloist with Krupa, playing with the drummer from 1942-1943 and 1944-1946 (working in the interim with guitarist/bandleader Teddy Powell.). Ventura achieved considerable popularity while with Krupa, winning a Down Beat magazine award as best tenor saxophonist in 1945. ...

Now legend has it that Joe Venuti was born either in Italy or in Philadelphia, or on a ship somewhere in-between filled with Italian immigrants. Nobody seems to know for sure, but at any rate, he teamed up with Eddie Lang—whose real name was Salvatore Massaro—in Philadelphia, and—according to another legend, they bought a violin and a guitar in a pawn shop and
tossed a coin to see who would play which. The result: Venuti got the violin and Lang the guitar, and they played happily ever after. Both men played with the worlds greatest as the years went by—with Red McKenzey, the Dorsey Brothers, Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke and Paul Whiteman, and Venuti—a practical joker, pulled-off some Lulus: Once, during a rehearsal for the film "King of Jazz", he emptied a bag of flour into a big tuba. When the unsuspecting musican started to blow, the whole stage—band and all..disappeared under a white cloud of flour.

Thomas Wright Waller was born in Waverley, New York on May 21st Influenced by his grandfather, a violinist, and by his mother . Waller was playing piano at student concerts and organ in his father’s church by the time her was ten years old. In 1918, while still in high school, he was asked to fill-in for the regular organist at the Lincoln Theatre, and then gained a permanent seat at the Wurlitzer Grand. A year later he won a talent contest by playing "Carolina Shout" by the famous ragtime pianist James P. Johnson. While a protg’ of Johnson, Waller adopted the Harlem ‘stride’ style of piano playing.—the swinging left hand. Waller’s playing was in demand at rent-parties, bootleg- joints, cabarets and vaudeville, and inevitably he mixed with gangsters. It’s said that he received his first $100 bill from Al Capone, who obviously enjoyed his piano playing.  Fats Waller recorded with the legendary Bessie Smith and toured with her in 1926. Waller enjoyed success after success as a performer and composer: The Broadway revue "Keep Shufflin’", "Shuffle along", the negro revue, "Hot Chocolates", first staged at Connie’s Inn in Harlem. Waller’s greatest hots were scored during the depression—"Honeysuckle Rose", "Blue turning gray over you", "Keepin’ out of mischief now", "I’ve got a feeling I’m falling" and many others. In 1932 Fats Waller toured Europe with fellow-composer Spencer Williams, and played in such prestige places as London’s Kit Kat Club and at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Worldwide fame followed for Fats Waller and his Rhythm in 1934—and all star group with which he made over 150 shellac recordings. Waller had massive hit with "I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter", "Lulu’s back in town", "Dinah", "Hold tight", "It’s a sin to tell a lie"  "Your Feet’s too big"..many written in collaboration with lyricist Andy Razaf.
Waller appeared in three feature films, the first of which was "Hooray for love" with that great dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson. Besides performing concerts in several cities, including a performance  at the London Palladium, he appeared in an early television broadcast from Alexandra Palace, and he was probably the only jazz musician to play the organ of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Back in the USA, returning from his European tour, Waller toured  with a combo for a while,  and during the early forties, performed with his own big band before working again as a solo artist.
In 1942 he tried to play serious jazz in concert at Carnegie Hall—but was poorly received. A year later, Waller teamed up with Bojangles Robinson again for the film "Stormy weather" and he stayed on in California .In 1942, following his engagement at the Zanzibar Club in Los Angeles, Waller was on his way back to New York on the Santa Fe train. He died of Pneumonia just as the train pulled into Kansas City.   Waller’s life had been one of excess—enormous amounts of food and liquor,    and his weight had increased to around 310 pounds. Days of carousing and days of continuous sleeping had played Hell with his work and, finally,  took his life. Fats Waller left a legacy of wonderful tunes and a rich  contribution of unique recordings.  Fats Waller came out of the James P. Johnson ‘stride’ piano style, but added a delicacy, a more powerful rhythmic intensity, and a greater speed and deftness. He wore his genius lightly and his light-hearted music had a profound influence on later generations of musicians. He could make an artistic and witty gem out of the tritest pop song and his compositions enriched the entire jazz repertoire. Many of the more solemn jazz fans lamented Fats popularity and humor: They felt he was throwing away his great talent and that he should have devoted himself to more serious musical persuits. Nevertheless, his influence on pianists has been enormous: perhaps his most famous debtors are Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and --Count Basie (who took lessons from Waller). Waller was indeed, a legend in his own time, and a national treasure. He died at the age of 38.

Was born Ruth Jones, on August 29th 1924 inTuscaloosa, Alabama, and grew up in Chicago. She sang in church choirs and played the piano. Dinah first worked in local clubs where she was heard by Lionel Hampton. He promptly hired her, and her first recording successes began around 1945. After leaving Hamp, she started a successful string of Rhythm and Blues recordings and went on the extend her singing to jazz, blues and popular songs. Physically,Dinah appeared to thrive on her extravagant way of life—jewelry, cars, furs, men, drink and drugs..but her erratic life style caught up with her. She died suddenly at the age of 39.

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 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.

Paul Weston

Paul Weston (born Paul Weststein, March 12, 1912, Springfield, MA) was one of the most diverse and talented arrangers and conductors of the '40s and '50s, moving from mainstream swing and jazz to instrumental easy listening pop in the course of his career. Though he began his career playing hard swing, Weston is the father of mood music lush, relaxing instrumental orchestral pop designed to provide a soundtrack to everyday events like romance and dining. Weston became known as a vocal arranger. His work with Rudy Vallee brought him to national attention. Weston became an arranger for Tommy Dorsey, which is where he made his reputation. While with Dorsey, he wrote jumping, swinging charts for the band and vocalists like Dinah Shore and Jo Stafford and, whom he would marry in the mid-'40s. He also continued to write arrangements and conduct sessions for artists like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Shore and Doris Day. By the end of the decade, he had returned to Capitol Records, where he stayed throughout the '60s.

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.

Born in Denver, Colorado on March 28th, 1890. The American Band leader, composer, arranger and violinist played with the Denver Symphony orchestra from 1910 and later with the San Fransisco Symphony orchestra. Whiteman changed his tack and joined a dance orchestra, but he was fired because he couldn’t play jazz. After military service as an army band leader,
Whiteman formed his own orchestra and, in 1920, made a hit with his recording of "Japansese Sandman" and "Whispering, which sold two million copies, followed by yet another hit, "Three O’clock in the morning" which sold 3/12 million. In 1924 he appeared in New York’s Aolian Hall for the first so-called Jazz Concert for which he commissioned George Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue." Whiteman dubbed himself "The King of Jazz", which he certainly wasn’t—and he even starred in a film of that name. While Paul Whiteman never lived up to his royal title, he was nevertheless responsible for the concept of Symphonic Jazz, and for his engagement and encouragement of some of the world’s greatest musicians—Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Frank Trumbauer and others.

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.

Gerald Wiggins  

Bob Wilber