Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Spike Wells was born Michael Wells in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Wells on the 16th of January 1946 and was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral Choir School. He became interested in jazz after coming across a recording by Dizzy Gillespie, which he found very exciting. He took up playing drums in his early teens and later had lessons from former Miles Davis drummer Philly Joe Jones, who lived in London from 1967 to 1969 He was also very influenced by another of Davis’s drummers, Tony Williams. At Oxford University, Wells put together a quartet with tenor player Pat Crumly and pianist Brian Priestley that played with visitors including saxophonists Bobby Wellins, Tony Coe and Joe Harriott, and blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon.
In 1968 Wells began a Ph.D. course in philosophy at London University, living in a house that was also home to bass player Ron Mathewson, alto sax player Ray Warleigh, trombonist Chris Pyne and pianist Mick Pyne. Mathewson was then playing in the quartet of tenor player Tubby Hayes and asked Wells if he would be interested in joining the group. He arranged an audition with Hayes and guitarist Louis Stewart, at which time Tubby asked if they wanted the job. Wells abandoned his Ph.D. and became a professional musician.
As well as playing with Hayes, in both his quartet and his big band, until the saxophonist’s death in 1973, he spent a year in Humphrey Lyttelton’s band, and also worked with many visiting soloists at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, including Stan Getz, Roland Kirk, Art Farmer, Johnny Griffin and James Moody.
Qualifying as a solicitor, Wells then practiced law for 22 years, eventually working as an in-house legal adviser for Lloyds Bank. He became a deacon in the Church of England at 49, took early retirement from the bank, and took a stipend to curate at St Peter’s Church, Brighton. With music as well as ministry important to him, he went on to decline the stipend and now works as both a priest and a drummer. A selected discography has him recording fifteen albums with one as a leader titled Reverence in 2006.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Steve Jordan was born on January 15, 1919 in New York City and studied with Allan Reuss early in life while Reuss was Benny Goodman’s guitarist. He worked in the Will Bradley Orchestra from 1939 to 1941, then moved to Artie Shaw’s band until 1942. The same year he worked briefly with Teddy Powell before he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.
Following his discharge from the service he played with Bob Chester, Freddie Slack, Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, and Boyd Raeburn.
He became a studio musician for NBC and worked often as a freelance sideman after the big band era was over. He worked with Gene Krupa, Mel Powell, Vic Dickenson, Charles Thompson, Buck Clayton, Ruby Braff, Benny Goodman, Wild Bill Davison, Clancy Hayes, Buddy Tate, Helen Ward, and Ed Polcer. He held a regular gig in Washington, D.C. with Tommy Gwaltney from 1965 to 1972, and was offered the opportunity to succeed Freddie Green in the Count Basie Orchestra but turned it down.
Jordan recorded two sessions as a leader, Here Comes Mr. Jordan and Fat Cat’s Jazz, the latter appearing to be out of print. He published a memoir titled Rhythm Man in 1991. Guitarist Steve Jordan passed away on September 13, 1993 at the age of 74 in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Three Wishes
Earl Coleman’s response to Nica’s question of three wishes reflected his feelings on the state of jazz in America was:
- “To work with conscientiousness…”
- “Preferably in Europe.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats – Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joseph P. Muranyi was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio on January 14, 1928 and studied with Lennie Tristano, however, he was primarily interested in early jazz styles such as Dixieland and swing. After playing in a United States Army Air Forces band, he moved to New York City in the 1950s and attended the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University.
During the 1950s he played under Eddie Condon, collaborating with Jimmy McPartland, Max Kaminsky, Yank Lawson, Bobby Hackett, and Red Allen. During that decade he also played with the Red Onion Jazz Band, Danny Barker, and Wingy Manone.
1963 saw him playing with The Village Stompers, a Dixieland band that reached the pop charts with its song Washington Square. From 1967 to 1971 he was the clarinetist with the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. After initially struggling to pronounce Muranyi’s Hungarian family name, Armstrong introduced him on stage as “Joe Ma Rainey”, to Muranyi’s own amusement. Following this stint, he played with Roy Eldridge, World’s Greatest Jazz Band, Cozy Cole, Lionel Hampton, Herman Autrey, Wild Bill Davison, Zutty Singleton, and others.
He worked extensively as a record producer and wrote liner notes for hundreds of albums. Clarinetist, producer, writer and critic Joe Muranyi, who was also an enthusiastic vocalist and played both soprano and tenor saxophone, passed away in Manhattan, New York on April 20, 2012.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Putney Dandridge was born Louis Dandridge on January 13, 1902 in Richmond, Virginia, and began performing in 1918 as a pianist in a revue titled The Drake and Walker Show. 1930 saw him working as an accompanist for tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, including appearances in the musical Brown Buddies. In 1931, he appeared in the cast of the musical revue Heatin’ Up Harlem, starring Adelaide Hall at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. In the 1932 American film, Harlem Is Heaven, Dandridge, on the piano and reciting lyrics in a speak set, accompanies Robinson as the dancer sings “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t“.
After touring in Illinois and the Great Lakes region, Putney settled in Cleveland, Ohio, forming a band with guitarist Lonnie Johnson. This period lasted until 1934 when he attempted to perform as a solo act. He took his show to New York City, beginning a series of long residences at the Hickory House on 52nd Street and other local clubs. From 1935 to 1936, he recorded numerous sides under his own name, many of which highlighted some major jazz talents of the period, including Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Henry “Red” Allen, Buster Bailey, John Kirby, Chu Berry, Cozy Cole and more.
Appearing to vanish from the music scene in the late thirties, it has been speculated that he may have been forced to retire due to ill health. Pianist Putney Dandridge passed away on February 15, 1946 in Wall Township, New Jersey at the age of 44.
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