Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Cedric Wallace was born August 3, 1909 in Miami, Florida. Moving to New York City in the 1930s he played in a band led by Reggie Johnson at the Saratoga Club. Later in the decade he worked with Jimmie Lunceford before joining Fats Waller’s band from 1938-1942, the association for which he is best known. Wallace played with Waller at the peak of his popularity and plays on many of his biggest hits.
He would go on to record with Una Mae Carlisle, Maxine Sullivan, Champion Jack Dupree, Pat Flowers, Gene Sedric, and Dean Martin. During the Forties Cedric led his own ensemble in New York in the 1940s which featured Eddie Gibbs on bass for a time, and continued to perform into the 1970s.
Double-bassist Cedric Wallace passed away on August 19, 1985 in New York City.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eddie Dougherty was born July 17, 1915 in Brooklyn, New York. Playing drums from age 13, then started working with Billy Gusak before Dickie Wells’s band at 18 in Harlem, New York by the beginning of the 1930s. He gigged regularly up through 1940 with Kenny Watts & His Kilowatts. His recording career started as a sideman in the 1930s, with Taft Jordan, Frank Froeba, Mildred Bailey, Harry James, Billie Holiday, Frankie Newton, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis.
Alongside this he held a gig as the drummer for Keny Watts and his Kilowatts through 1940. He subbed for Dave Tough in the Bud Freeman Orchestra in 1940, then played with Art Tatum, Joe Sullivan, Benny Carter, Benny Morton, and others in the first half of the 1940s. He worked with James P. Johnson several times, including on 1944 recording sessions. His later work included recordings with Cliff Jackson, Mary Lou Williams, Clyde Bernhardt, Wilbur De Paris, Teddy Wilson, and Albert Nicholas. He was still active into the 1980s.
When he finally retired from full-time music decades later, he had amassed a list of credits that not only rivals the length of some short stories, but represented a thorough involvement in many different styles of jazz, vocal music, and rhythm & blues. Drummer Eddie Dougherty passed away on December 14, 1994 in Brooklyn.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Arthur “Traps” Trappier was born on May 28, 1910 in Georgetown, South Carolina and played with Charlie Skeets and Blanche Calloway in the late 1920s. After working steadily through the 1930s, he joined Fats Waller in 1941-42 before serving in the military during World War II.
He led his own trio in various hotels in New York City in the 1950s, and played as a sideman into the 1970s. Among those he played with are Josh White, Wilbur De Paris, Edmond Hall, Sy Oliver, Hot Lips Page, Buddy Johnson, Wingy Manone, Sidney Bechet, Benny Goodman, and Red Allen.
He recorded with Waller, Hall, Conrad Janis, Punch Miller, Mutt Carey, Tony Prenti, Willie “The Lion” Smith, and Rex Stewart. Drummer Arthur Trappier passed away on May 17, 1975 in New York City.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Rossano Sportiello was born in Vigevano, Italy on June 1, 1974 and began studying piano at the age of 9 under the tutelage of Italian classical pianist Carlo Villa and continued until his graduation in classical piano from the Conservatory in 1996. At 16, he was performing professionally at jazz venues in the Milan, Italy area, and in 1992, he joined one of Europe’s historic jazz bands, the Milano Jazz Gang. He toured with the group throughout Italy and West Europe until the end of 2000.
That same year, Sportiello met legendary jazz pianist and educator, Barry Harris, who became a mentor and good friend. Drawing international acclaim at the 2002 Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland while performing with the eight-piece, all-star American band led by Dan Barrett. In 2007, Rossano established himself in New York City and has performed with Slide Hampton, Clark Terry, Kenny Davern, Bucky Pizzarelli, Bob Wilber, Warren Vache, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker, Harry Allen, Howard Alden, Joe Wilder, Eddie Locke, Joe La Barbera, Scott Hamilton, Jake Hanna, Houston Person, Bill Charlap, Dick Hyman, and the list goes on.
As an educator, Rossano has given lectures on jazz and masterclasses on piano at institutions such as the University of Toronto Jazz Studies, University of Central Florida and Claremont College in California and has lectured as a professor in residence at the Master’s Lodge of St. John’s College, Cambridge, UK.
Stride piano player Rossano Sportiello lists his influences have been Harris along with Ralph Sutton, Dave McKenna and Barry Harris, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Earl Hines, Ellis Larkins, and Bill Evans, to name a few. He continues to perform, record, and tour.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Everett Barksdale, born April 28, 1910 in Detroit, Michigan, played bass and banjo before settling on guitar. During early 1930 he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he joined Erskine Tate’s band. He recorded for the first time with violinist Eddie South in 1931, who he remained with until 1939.
A move to New York City saw Everett become a member of the Benny Carter Big Band. Around that same time, he recorded with Sidney Bechet and during the 1940s, he worked for CBS as a session musician.
As a sideman, Barksdale played guitar in many genres, working with vocalists Dean Barlow, Maxine Sullivan, the Blenders, and the Clovers. He played on the hit Love Is Strange by Mickey & Sylvia, was the music director for the Ink Spots, and beginning in 1949, he worked with pianist Art Tatum until Tatum died in 1956.
During the Fifties and Sixties, he was part of the ABC house band and played on recordings with a who’s who list of vocalists and musicians not limited to Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Hinton, Buddy Tate, Chet Baker, Red Allen, Harold Vick, Oscar Brown Jr., J. J. Johnson, Clark Terry, Kai Winding, Louis Armstrong, The Drifters and Ben E. King. He also played guitar in the studio for pop and soul musicians such as.
Guitarist and session musician Everett Barksdale retired from active performance in the 1970s, moved to the West Coast and passed away in Inglewood, California on January 29, 1986.
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