Daily Dose Of Jazz

Sid Phillips was born Isador Simon Phillips on June 14, 1907 in London, England into a Jewish family. He learned violin and piano as a child, and played reeds in his teens as a member of his brother’s European band. He got his start in the music business as a publisher and director for Edison Bell.

In 1930, Phillips began writing arrangements for Bert Ambrose, and joined Ambrose’s ensemble in 1933, remaining there until 1937. Towards the end of the decade he was playing in the United States on radio and freelancing in clubs.

During World War II, Sid served in the Royal Air Force, then put together his own quartet in 1946 and wrote several pieces for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He led a Dixieland jazz band of his own formation from 1949, and his sidemen variously included George Shearing, Colin Bailey, Tommy Whittle, and Kenny Ball.

Phillips’s first recordings under his own name were made in 1928. In 1937 through 1938, a number of his recordings were issued in the United States, through a contract he signed with Irving Mills and issued on Mills’ Variety label, as well as Vocalion, Brunswick and Columbia labels, though most of his recordings were made in England.

Clarinetist, arranger and bandleader Sid Phillips, who continued to record as a leader well into the 1970s, passed away on May 23, 1973 at aged 65 in Chertsey, Surrey, England.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Born Garland Lorenzo Wilson on June 13, 1909 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. and in the 1930s worked in New York City nightclubs.

In 1932 the pianist joined Nina Mae McKinney on a European tour, worked extensively in England with local groups, and recorded with trumpeter Nat Gonella.

In the liner notes of the CD box l’intégrale Django Reinhardt ~ Vol 2 he is quoted as being accompanist of French singer Jean Sablon together with guitarist Django Reinhardt on two sides recorded on November 1, 1935 in Paris, France.

Returning to the United States in 1939, he remained there until 1951, when he moved to Paris, France. Pianist Garland Wilson remained in Paris until he passed away on May 31, 1954.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Leonard Walter Bush was born in London, England on June 6, 1927 and contracted polio as a child which left him with a limp for the rest of his life. He studied and played violin before switching to bass at sixteen. By 17 he was playing professionally in a variety show called The Rolling Stones and Dawn. He played with Nat Gonella in the middle of the 1940s but turned to bebop later in the decade.

From 1950 onwards Lennie did a lot of freelance work and worked with Roy Fox in 1951. He was one of the founding members of London’s Club Eleven, the  first London jazz club to offer performers a paid gig. He played there from 1952-1956 in a band with Ronnie Scott, trumpeter Hank Shaw, pianist Tommy Pollard, and drummer Tony Crombie.

He studied with James Merrett at the Guildhall School of Music and participated in the European tours of Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Zoot Sims, and Roy Eldridge. Becoming a member of Jack Parnell’s ATV Orchestra in 1957, he recorded with Stephane Grappelli, Anita O’Day, and Eddie Vinson. He continued to play in the 1990s as part of the Ralph Sharon Trio with Jack Parnell. During that decade he also appeared with Don Lusher’s Ted Heath tribute band and played in the final Ted Heath concert in 2000.

Double bassist Lennie Bush continued to freelance into the 2000s until his death on June 15, 2004.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Marc Steckar was born on June 1, 1935 in Cherbourg, France. He began learning the cello from age eight, then played the trumpet. During his studies at the Paris National Conservatory, he switched to the trombone in 1953, which he studied with André Lafosse. After an interruption due to his military service in the Algerian War, he completed his training and in 1959 he received the second prize for trombone.

In the next few years he worked in the big band of Benny Bennet, in the Aimé Barelli orchestra in the Monte Carlo casinos and in Olympia where he played Marlene Dietrich and Nat King Cole, with whom he toured Europe. He played in the orchestra of Paul Mauriat accompanying Charles Aznavour, then in the big band of Daniel Janin who played behind Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Gilbert Bécaud and Sammy Davis Jr. in 1961.

Over the next few years he worked as a studio musician, among others for Michel Legrand , Vladimir Cosma and for various television shows, but also again at the Olympia for Roland Petit and Zizi Jeanmaire. Between 1973 and 1983, Marc accompanied Claude Nougaro with Eddy Louiss and Maurice Vander before becoming a member of Martial Solal’s big band. He recorded film music with Vander.

He went on to form Steckar TUBAPACK, and the Elephant Tuba Horde Big Band. Steckar is also on albums by François Jeanneau, Illinois Jacquet and Sonny Rhodes. Tubist Marc Stekar, who played trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, and was a composer, passed away on June 27, 2015 in Bessancourt, Val-d’Oise, France.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Red Holloway was born James Wesley Holloway on May 31, 1927 in Helena, Arkansas, and  started playing banjo and harmonica before switching to tenor saxophone when he was 12 years old. Graduating from DuSable High School, where he had played in the school big band with Johnny Griffin and Eugene Wright, and attended the Conservatory of Music, Chicago, Illinois.

Joining the Army when he was 19, Red became bandmaster for the U.S. Fifth Army Band, and after completing his military service returned to Chicago and played with Yusef Lateef and Dexter Gordon, among others. In 1948, he joined blues vocalist Roosevelt Sykes, and later played with other rhythm & blues musicians such as Willie Dixon, Junior Parker, and Lloyd Price.

In the 1950s, he played in the Chicago area with Billie Holiday, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Ben Webster, Jimmy Rushing, Arthur Prysock, Dakota Staton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Wardell Gray, Sonny Rollins, Red Rodney, Lester Young, Joe Williams, Redd Foxx, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Aretha Franklin. During this period, he also toured with Sonny Stitt, Memphis Slim and Lionel Hampton. He became a member of the house band for Chance Records in 1952. He subsequently appeared on many recording sessions for the Chicago-based independents Parrot, United, States, and Vee-Jay.

From 1963 to 1966, he was in organist Brother Jack McDuff’s band, which also featured guitarist George Benson, who was then at the start of his career. In 1974, Holloway recorded The Latest Edition with John Mayall and toured Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. From 1977 to 1982, he worked with Sonny Stitt, recording two albums together. Following Stitt’s death, he played and recorded with Clark Terry.

Tenor saxophonist Red Holloway passed away in Morro Bay, California, aged 84 of a stroke and kidney failure on February 25, 2012, one month after Etta James, with whom he had worked extensively.

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