Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Will Hudson was born Arthur Murray Hainer on March 8, 1908 in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. His parents immigrated to the United States when he was nearly two years old. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan he graduated from Southeastern High School in 1926. He changed his name sometime between 1931 and 1933 and put together his first big band in Detroit in the early 1930s. Hudson became a United States citizen on April 14, 1941.

In 1934 Hudson joined ASCAP in 1934. At some point during the early 1930s, he became a staff arranger for Irving Mills, writing stock arrangements. Mills was notable in various roles in the development of swing and jazz — was as much a promoter of songwriters, arrangers, and big bands as he was a publisher.

Hudson was a dance-band arranger, and co-leader with Eddie DeLange of the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra. Singers with the orchestra included Ruth Gaylor, Mitchell Ayres, Georgia Gibbs, and Nan Wynn. When the orchestra was at the height of its popularity, around 1940, Hudson had to withdraw for health reasons.

Hudson also led his own band, the Will Hudson Orchestra, from 1939 to about 1941. His vocalists included Kay Kenny, Elisse Cooper, Jayne Dover and Ruth Gaylor.

DeLange and Hudson wrote the lyrics to several songs composed by Hudson and in 1941 he began focusing on arranging, full-time. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943, serving in the U.S. Army Air Force. He became the arranger for the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band until his discharge in 1945.

1948 saw Will enrolled at Juilliard where he studied orchestration and composition, earning a diploma in 1952 and post-grad diploma the following year. He also studied composition privately. His compositions include Moonglow, Tormented, Sophisticated Swing, Mr. Ghost Goes to Town, Devil’s Kitchen, You’re Not the Kind and Witch Doctor.

Composer, arranger, and big band leader Will Hudson, active from the mid-1930s through the mid-Fifties, transitioned on July 16, 1981.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Joseph William Yukl was born on March 5, 1909 in Los Angeles, California and  learned to play violin before switching to trombone as a teenager.

Yukl relocated to New York City in 1927 where he took a position playing in radio bands for CBS, and worked with Red Nichols and The Dorsey Brothers. During 1934 he played with Joe Haymes, then with the Dorseys once again.

Through the end of the decade he played with Louis Armstrong, Ray McKinley, Bing Crosby, Ben Pollack, Frankie Trumbauer, and Ted Fio Rito. The 1940s saw Joe working as a session musician for studio recordings in Los Angeles, California and for film and television.

He played with Wingy Manone and Charlie LaVere in the 1940s. He appears in the film Rhythm Inn in 1951 and is heard playing trombone in the 1953 movie The Glenn Miller Story.

Trombonist Joe Yukl transitioned on March 16, 1981 at the age of 72 in his hometown.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Fernand Coppieters was born in Brussels, Belgium on March 3, 1905. He took up piano in his youth and also played the Hammond organ. His first professional work was with the ensemble Bistrouille ADO in 1920 at age 15. Following this, he played in the Red Mills Ragtime Band and the Rhythmic Novelty Dance Orchestra.

Leaving Belgium for France he landed a place in Fud Candrix’s ensemble in France and Holland. Returning to Brussels in 1929, he played in a trio with René Compère and again with Candrix. Soon after this, he joined the 16 Baker Boys, led by Robert de Kers and, later, Oscar Aleman.

In the early 1930s, he accompanied Josephine Baker on tours of Europe, then worked with Roland Dorsay, Candrix once again, and Willie Lewis. In the 1940s and 1950s, he recorded as a leader and worked as a house pianist for Radio Schaerbeek, an independent Belgian radio station.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, he recorded several albums on Hammond organ, for Fontana Records and Philips Records. Pianist and organist Fernand Coppieters, who also played accordion, saxophone, and violin, transitioned on September 9, 1981 in Brussels.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Louis Metcalf was born on February 28, 1905 in Webster Groves, Missouri. As a youth he first trained on the drums but switched over to cornet permanently. As a teenager in St. Louis, Missouri he played with Charlie Creath.

Moving to New York City in 1923 he participated in the fertile jazz scene there, playing with Willie The Lion Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Carter and King Oliver. In 1926, Duke Ellington hired Metcalf to play in his seminal orchestra, where his mellow tone contrasted with that of Bubber Miley. In the 1930s, he led his own bands and also joined Fletcher Henderson’s band.

1946 saw Louis moving to Montreal, Canada where he formed the International Band, the first to play the nascent bebop style in Canada. Under his leadership the Café Saint-Michel was the hub of the jazz scene in Montreal for a few years, with local musicians such as the young Oscar Peterson and visiting Americans Art Pepper, Fats Navarro and Sonny Rollins among others sitting in with the band.

A drug bust prompted Metcalf to return to New York City in 1951. He released an album titled I’ve Got The Peace Brother Blues in 1966, where he demonstrated that his style had indeed evolved since his days with Ellington.

Becoming less active after falling ill in 1968, trumpeter Louis Metcalf transitioned on October 27, 1981.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Albert Omega Sears was born February 21, 1910 in Macomb, Illinois. His first major gig came in 1928 when he replaced Johnny Hodges in Chick Webb’s ensemble. The Thirties had him first playing with Elmer Snowden, then led his own groups between 1933 and 1941.

In the early 1940s he joined Andy Kirk and Lionel Hampton before he became a member of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra in 1944, replacing Ben Webster. He remained with Ellington until 1949, when first Jimmy Forrest and then Paul Gonsalves took over his chair. He played with Johnny Hodges in 1951–52 and recorded the tune Castle Rock with him. The tune became a hit but unfortunately was released under Hodges’s name.

Sears was in Alan Freed’s band when Freed did live shows, being introduced as “Big Al Sears”. He played as a studio musician on R&B albums in the 1950s and recorded two albums for Swingville in 1960. He also owned several record labels, including Arock, Serock, and Gator.

Tenor saxophonist and bandleader Al Sears, who recorded four albums as a leader, transitioned on March 23, 1990 in St. Albans, New York at the age of 80.

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