Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Burton Franklin Bales was born on April 20, 1916 in Stevensville, Montana and began playing piano at age twelve. After moving to the West Coast in the 1930s, he played in hotels and nightclubs. He performed regularly in San Francisco, California in the 1940s, with Lu Watters’s Yerba Buena Jazz Band.

Drafted in 1943 into the Army Burt only had one opportunity to record with that group on a brief session with Bunk Johnson. Discharged for myopia, he led his own band from 1943 to 1946 before taking an extended residency at San Francisco’s 1018 Club.

He played with Turk Murphy at the end of the Forties, then with Bob Scobey and Marty Marsala. Between 1954 and 1966 he played mostly solo, with one of his regular gigs being at Pier 23.

Stride pianist Burt Bales, who recorded extensively for Good Time Jazz, Arhoolie, ABC-Paramount, and Euphonic record labels, transitioned on October 26, 1989 in San Francisco.

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