Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tiny Parham was born Hartzell Strathdene Parham on February 25, 1900 in Winnipeg, Canada. The pianist and bandleader grew up in Kansas City and worked at The Eblon Theatre, mentored by ragtime pianist and composer James Scott. He would later tour with territory bands in the Southwest before moving to Chicago in 1926.
He is best remembered for the recordings he made in Chicago between 1927 and 1930 working with Johnny Dodds along with several female blues singers and with his own band. Most of the musicians Parham played with are not well known in their own right, though cornetist Punch Miller, banjoist Papa Charlie Jackson, saxophonist Junie Cobb and bassist Milt Hinton are exceptions.
His entire recorded output for Victor are highly collected and appreciated as prime examples of late 1920’s jazz. Tiny favored the violin and many of his records have a surprisingly sophisticated violin solos, along with the typical upfront tuba, horns and reeds.
After 1930 he found work in theater houses, especially as an organist and his last recordings were made in 1940. The cartoonist R. Crumb included a drawing of Parham in his classic 1982 collection of trading cards and later book “Early Jazz Greats” of which Parham was the only non-American born so included in addition to the book’s bonus cd containing a Parham track.
Tiny Parham passed away on April 4, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Freddy Robinson was born Fred Leroy Robinson on February 24, 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee but was raised in Arkansas and by 1956 was in Chicago. That year he first recorded backing harmonica player Birmingham Jones. In 1958, he began touring with Little Walter and after seeing a jazz band performance was inspired to formally learn music at the Chicago School of Music.
Freddy soon was working and recording with Howlin’ Wolf, and by the mid-1960s was playing with Jerry Butler and Syl Johnson before joining Ray Charles in Los Angeles. While there, he recorded the instrumental “Black Fox”, which became a minor pop hit. In the early 1970s, he worked with English blues bandleader John Mayall, playing on the album Jazz Blues fusion and recording with trumpeter Blue Mitchell.
As a leader Robinson would record two albums, At The Drive In and Off The Cuff, supported by Joe Sample and Wilton Felder of the Crusaders. Throughout his career he worked with Earl Gaines, Jimmy Rogers, Monk Higgins, Stanley Turrentine and Bobby Bland. In 1975 he converted to Islam changing his name to Abu Talib and recorded solo, re-emerging in 1994 with an album of his own compositions, The Real Thing at Last.
Abu Talib, jazz and blues guitarist, singer and harmonica player, died of cancer in Lancaster, California on October 8, 2009.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Hall Franklin Overton was born February 23, 1920 in Bangor, Michigan but grew up in Grand Rapids. As a youngster he found that his few piano lessons were not enough to discover that elusive “something” he was seeking in music. His high school music teacher urged him to study theory and composition at The Chicago Musical College, prior to military service. It was during this overseas duty that he learned to play jazz.
Following his discharge Hall attended the Julliard School of Music, graduated with a Masters and joined the faculty. As an educator he would eventually teach at Yale School of Music and The New School of Social Research. He would receive awards from both The Koussevitzky Foundation and The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
In 1954, his New York City loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, aka the Jazz Loft, provided the perfect setting for the musicians to practice. While composing his classical compositions, he was also deeply immersed in jazz, recording with Stan Getz, Duke Jordan, Jimmy Raney, and Teddy Charles. Thelonious Monk selected him to score his piano works for full orchestra and on February 28, 1959, Thelonious Monk Orchestra At Town Hall was recorded live. Monk later released another live album of Hall’s compositions on Big Band and Quartet in Concert.
Hall’s opera, Huckleberry Finn, commissioned by the Barney Jaffin Foundation, was presented by The Juilliard Opera Company just months before his death on November 24, 1972 from cirrhosis of the liver. Pianist, composer and educator Hall Overton was just 52.
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Requisites
Jackie’s Bag ~ Jackie McLean | By Eddie Carter
Alto saxophonist, Jackie McLean, enters this morning’s spotlight with an excellent 1961 hard bop album, Jackie’s Bag (Blue Note BLP 4051/BST 84051). It comprises two sessions from 1959 and 1960, and two all-star ensembles join him. Donald Byrd (tracks: A1-A3), Blue Mitchell (B1 to B3) on trumpet, Tina Brooks (B1 to B3) on tenor sax, Sonny Clark (A1 to A3), Kenny Drew (B1 to B3) on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Philly Joe Jones (A1 to A3), and Art Taylor (B1 to B3) on drums. The copy I own is the 2008 Classic Records mono audiophile deep groove reissue, sharing the original catalog number.
Side One opens with Quadrangle, the first of five originals by Jackie McLean. It takes off straight into the stratosphere from the start of the quintet’s brisk melody. Jackie takes a sharp corner into an energetic opening solo, then Donald continues navigating traffic in the next lively statement. Philly Joe tackles the final solo vigorously, leading back into the closing chorus. Blues Inn begins with the ensemble’s relaxed theme. McLean opens with an easygoing solo, then Byrd compels the listener to leave their troubles behind in the following statement. Clark has an enjoyable interpretation next, and Paul’s short walk leads the group back into the theme’s restatement and close.
Fidel gets going with Philly Joe’s introduction to the group’s upbeat melody. Donald has the first solo and makes the most of every note. Jackie takes over and swings so passionately that the listener is sure to be tapping his toes and snapping his fingers. Sonny’s rhythmic agility in the closer flows efficiently into the closing chorus and ending. Appointment in Ghana starts the second side with the front line’s introduction segueing into the sextet’s lively melody. McLean leads off and shows he can cook with the best of them. Mitchell adds some bite to the second solo, then Brooks ignites the next reading with plenty of heat. Drew gets the last word ahead of the group’s tasty finale.
A Ballad For Doll is a heartfelt tribute from Jackie to his wife, Dolly. The sextet gently slows things down for a warm and affectionate opening chorus. Kenny shines in the solo spotlight with a delicately beautiful interpretation that builds into the group’s touching climax. Isle of Java by Tina Brooks brings the album to a close, picking up the tempo one last time for Brooks, setting the spirited melody in motion against the sextet. McLean comes out swinging first with a lively interpretation. Mitchell maintains the groove with an effervescent solo. Brooks responds with a statement full of zest. Drew is on the trail of the front line in the following reading, and Chambers gets a moment to shine, preceding the theme’s reprise and fadeout.
Alfred Lion produced Jackie’s Bag, and Rudy Van Gelder managed the recording console. The album’s sound quality is clean and crisp, leaping from the speakers with stunning fidelity and absolutely no background noise. Bernie Grundman mastered the audiophile reissue, and the record was pressed on 200-gram Quiex SV-P Hand Made Super Vinyl. The record is also silent until the music starts. If you’re in the mood for an excellent hard bop album, Jackie’s Bag, by Jackie McLean, is an outstanding entry point to his artistry and discography. The album also offers a vivid picture of the music landscape in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and should make a welcome addition to any jazz fan’s library!
© 2026 by Edward Thomas Carter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rex Stewart was born on February 22, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and learned to play the cornet. He developed a half-valving technique that created quartertones that Duke Ellington would later showcase along with his muted sound and forceful style.
After stints with Elmer Snowden, Fletcher Henderson, Horace Henderson, the McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and Luis Russell, he joined the Ellington band in 1934, replacing Freddie Jenkins.
Stewart co-wrote “Boy Meets Horn” and “Morning Glory” while with Ellington, and frequently supervised outside recording sessions by members of the Ellington band. After eleven years Stewart left to lead his own little swing bands, that were a perfect setting for his solo playing.
He also toured Europe and Australia with Jazz At The Philharmonic from 1947 to 1951. From the early 1950s on he worked in radio and television and published highly regarded jazz criticism. The book Jazz Masters of the Thirties is a selection of his criticism.
Cornetist Rex Stewart passed away on September 7, 1967.
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