Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Zilner Trenton Randolph was born in Dermott, Arkansas on January 28, 1899 and matriculated at Biddle University, the Kreuger Conservatory, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Randolph played in St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1920s, then in Bernie Young’s band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1927 to 1930. A move to Chicago, Illinois in 1931 and was a trumpeter and arranger with Louis Armstrong until 1932 and again in 1933 and 1935.
He played trumpet on a number of Armstrong’s recordings and composed the tune Old Man Mose. In 1934 he played with Carroll Dickerson and Dave Peyton, and led his own Chicago band later in the decade. He arranged for bandleaders Earl Hines, Woody Herman, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington, and led a quartet in the 1940s.
From the 1940s Zilner devoted himself mainly to teaching, but recorded as a pianist in 1951. Trumpeter, arranger, composer and music educator Zilner Randolph, whose children Hattie and Lucious were part of Sun Ra’s band in the Fifties, transitioned on February 2, 1994.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Albert “Abbie” Brunies was born on January 19, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana into a famous musical family, which counted among its members George Brunies and Merritt Brunies.
He was the leader of the Halfway House Orchestra from 1919 to about 1927, playing at the Halfway House Club in New Orleans. This ensemble recorded for Okeh Records in 1925. Among the musicians who played in this group were New Orleans Rhythm Kings members Charlie Cordella, Mickey Marcour, Leon Rappolo, Sidney Arodin, Bill Eastwood, Joe Loyacano and Leo Adde.
He played in New Orleans into the mid-1940s, after which time he moved to Biloxi, Mississippi. There he played with Merritt in the Brunie Brothers Dixieland Jazz Band. Unfortunately, this ensemble recorded sparsely. Cornetist Abbie Brunies transitioned on October 2, 1978.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Willie James Humphrey was born on December 29, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana into a musical family, the son of prominent local clarinetist and music teacher Willie Eli Humphrey. His brothers Earl and Percy also became well known professional musicians.
After establishing himself with such New Orleans bands as the Excelsior and George McCullum’s band, Humphrey traveled north, playing with Lawrence Duhé, and King Oliver in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1920s he made his first recordings in St. Louis, Missouri.
Returning to New Orleans, he played for many years with the Eureka and Young Tuxedo Brass bands, the bands of Paul Barbarin and Sweet Emma Barrett, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Clarinetist Willie Humphrey, whose playing remained vigorous and continued to grow more inventive in his old age, passed away at 93 on June 7, 1994.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Baptiste “Bat” Mosley was born on December 22, 1893 in Algiers, Louisiana, and was the brother of drummer Edgar Mosley. His father played guitar but began the youngster playing drums at age nine when he gave him a snare drum. He and his father would make money playing around town together.
Bat, however, did not work professionally until about 1923, and started with Tom Albert, then Joe Harris’ Royal Jazz Band, and later with Kid Howard. Throughout his career he also performed regularly with brass bands, including Kid Rena’s, Henry Allen’s, and the Eureka.
Drummer Bat Mosley passed away on July 28, 1965 in Algiers.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sonny Greer was born William Alexander Greer on December 13, c. 1895 in Long Branch, New Jersey. He played with Elmer Snowden’s band and the Howard Theatre Orchestra in Washington, D.C., before joining Duke Ellington. Meeting him in 1919, he was Ellington’s first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians. He then moved with Ellington into the Cotton Club.
As a result of his job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company of Indiana, Greer was able to build up a huge drum kit worth over a then-considerable $3,000, including chimes, a gong, timpani, and vibes.
A heavy drinker, as well as a pool-hall hustler when he needed to retrieve his drums from the pawnbroker, in 1950, Ellington responded to his drinking and occasional unreliability by taking a second drummer, Butch Ballard, with them on a tour of Scandinavia. This enraged Greer, and the consequent argument led to their permanent estrangement.
Sonny continued to play, mainly as a freelance drummer, working with musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Red Allen, J. C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, and was there for the iconic 1958 Art Kane black-and-white photograph A Great Day In Harlem. He was part of a tribute to Ellington in 1974, which achieved great success throughout the United States.
Never recording as a leader, he was quite active as a sideman recording with not only seven albums with Duke but another twelve albums with Johnny Hodges, Bernard Addison, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Lionel Hampton, Lonnie Johnson, Brooks Kerr, Oscar Pettiford, Rex Stewart, Victoria Spivey, and Josh White.
Drummer Sonny Greer , best known for his work with Duke Ellington, passed away of a heart attack on March 23, 1982 in Lenox Hill, on the upper East side of Manhattan.
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