Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Monk Hazel was born Arthur Frank Hazel to a drummer father on August 15, 1903 in Harvey, Louisiana. Early on he played drums with Emmett Hardy, who gave him his first cornet, and then with Stalebread Lacombe. In the 1920s he worked with many bands including the Halfway House Orchestra led by Abbie Brunies, Tony Parenti with whom he recorded in 1928, and Johnny Wiggs.
From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, Hazel led his own Bienville Roof Orchestra which played atop the Bienville Hotel at Lee Circle, and made recordings in 1928 and then spent time in New York playing with Johnny Wiggs, Jack Pettis and with his own group from 1929 to 1931.
Hazel relocated to Hollywood in Los Angeles, California for a period working with Gene Austin but eventually returned to New Orleans, Louisiana performing with Joe Caprano in 1937 and the Lloyd Danton Quintet. He spent 1942-43 in the Army and then worked for a time outside of music.
During his final twenty years, Hazel was once again active in New Orleans, recording with his own band in 1945 and performing with Sharkey Bonano from 1949 to 1952, George Girard, Mike Lala, Santo Pecora and virtually every other important name in New Orleans jazz.
As a leader, Monk recorded four titles in 1928 for Brunswick Records and a full album for Southland Records in 1954; Pete Fountain and Al Hirt were among his sidemen on the latter recording.
Drummer and cornetist Monk Hazel, who occasionally took cornet and mellophone solos, died on March 5, 1968 in New Orleans.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Francis Henry “Jumbo Jack” Gardner was born in Joliet, Illinois on August 14, 1903. In the early-1920s he played locally in Denver, Colorado with Doc Becker’s Blue Devils, Boyd Senter’s band and others.
Moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1923, he led his own band in addition to playing with musicians like Wingy Manone, Jean Goldkette, and Gene Austin. He remained in the city through 1937, playing with Jimmy McPartland in 1936.
When he rellcated to New York City he began associations with Sandy Williams’s orchestra and Harry James, but returned to Chicago early in the 1940s, where he led his own group. In 1944, he recorded with Baby Dodds.
He spent much of his later life playing in Dallas, Texas, where he died in 1957. Gardner’s compositions include the song Bye, Bye, Pretty Baby, co-written with George Hamilton.
Pianist Jack Gardner died on November 26, 1957 in Dallas, Texas at the age of 54.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Peter Packay was born Pierre Paquet on August 8, 1904 in Brussels, Belgium and lived with his family in China for part of his childhood, but returned to Belgium in 1912. As a teenager he was crippled in one arm by an accident, but decided to learn to play trumpet anyway at age 20, joining the Varsity Ramblers.
He co-founded a band called Red Beans with David Bee and served as its principal composer of originals. Bee left the group and was replaced by Robert De Kers, and Packay remained its leader until its dissolution in 1929. In the 1930s he formed another group, Packay’s Swing Academy, which played with Coleman Hawkins among others. He also did arrangements for bandleader Billy Arnold.
As a composer, Packay’s works included Alabama Mamma, The Blue Duke, Dixie Melody, and Lullaby for a Mexican Alligator. Following World War II he gave up performance to concentrate on composition and arrangement for songs like Jazz in the Rain, One Day and Grey Skys.
Trumpeter, arranger, and composer Peter Packay died on December 26, 1965 in Westende, Flanders, Belgium.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frederick Charles Slack was born on August 7, 1910 in Westby, Wisconsin and learned to play drums as a boy. He later took up the xylophone and at the age of 13 he changed to the piano. He studied with a local teacher throughout high school and at the age of 17, he moved with his parents to Chicago, Illinois where he continued his musical training.
Meeting clarinetist Rosy McHargue gave him the opportunity to accompany her to hear Bix Beiderbecke and Earl Hines. His first job was with Johnny Tobin before moving to Los Angeles, California where he worked with Henry Halstead, Earl Burtnett and Lennie Hayton.Then in 1934 he joined Ben Pollack.
He went on to play with the Jimmy Dorsey Band in the 1930s and was a charter member of the Will Bradley Orchestra when it formed in 1939. Known to bandmates as Daddy Slack, he played the piano solo on Bradley’s recording of Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar, one of the early white boogie-woogie hits and a classic of the big band era.
Forming his own band in 1942 he signed with the newly founded Capitol Records and recorded three songs at his third recording session. His recording of Cow Cow Boogie was sung by the 17-year-old Ella Mae Morse and was Capitol’s first gold single. Slack continued to record some 80 tracks with Capitol until 1950.
Slack also recorded with Big Joe Turner, Johnny Mercer, Margaret Whiting and Lisa Morrow. He has been mentioned in song, co-wrote the 1945 classic The House of Blue Lights, first recorded with singer Ella Mae Morse.
Swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader Freddie Slack was found dead in his bedroom in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, from undetermined causes on August 10, 1965.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Lawrence Brown was born on August 3, 1907 on August 3, 1907 in Lawrence, Kansas. When he was about six or seven years old his family moved to Oakland, California. He began playing the violin at a young age, but quickly grew tired of it and turned to playing the tuba in his school’s band.
Coming from a musical background, his mother played the organ and the piano and he often sang as a part of his father’s sermons when he preached at the A. M. E. Church. Brown discovered the trombone while doing janitorial work at his father’s church and wanted to replicate the sound of cello on a trombone.
Beginning his career with Charlie Echols and Paul Howard, in 1932 he joined Duke Ellington’s band. He was featured with the band every year on compositions such as Blue Cellophane and Golden Cress. Leaving Ellington’s band in 1951, Lawrence joined Johnny Hodge’s band, where he stayed for four years. After this stint he took a five year position as a session player with CBS.
He rejoined Ellington in 1960 and stayed with him until 1970. After leaving Ellington’s band the second time at the age of 63, Brown stopped performing.
Trombonist Lawrence Brown, whose fast technical style inspired trombonists from Tommy Dorsey to Bill Harris, died on September 5, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 81.
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