Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tiny Parham was born Hartzell Strathdene Parham on February 25, 1900 in Winnipeg, Canada. The pianist and bandleader grew up in Kansas City and worked at The Eblon Theatre, mentored by ragtime pianist and composer James Scott. He would later tour with territory bands in the Southwest before moving to Chicago in 1926.
He is best remembered for the recordings he made in Chicago between 1927 and 1930 working with Johnny Dodds along with several female blues singers and with his own band. Most of the musicians Parham played with are not well known in their own right, though cornetist Punch Miller, banjoist Papa Charlie Jackson, saxophonist Junie Cobb and bassist Milt Hinton are exceptions.
His entire recorded output for Victor are highly collected and appreciated as prime examples of late 1920’s jazz. Tiny favored the violin and many of his records have a surprisingly sophisticated violin solos, along with the typical upfront tuba, horns and reeds.
After 1930 he found work in theater houses, especially as an organist and his last recordings were made in 1940. The cartoonist R. Crumb included a drawing of Parham in his classic 1982 collection of trading cards and later book “Early Jazz Greats” of which Parham was the only non-American born so included in addition to the book’s bonus cd containing a Parham track.
Tiny Parham passed away on April 4, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Eddie Higgins was born Edward Haydn Higgins on February 21, 1932 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and began study of piano with his mother. His professional career began in Chicago while attending Northwestern University. He played the most prestigious clubs in Chicago for more than two decades in the 50s and 60s with his longest tenure at the London House, playing opposite Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Errol Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, and George Shearing among others.
As a leader he amassed a number of recordings during the Chicago years but as a sideman he added many more albums working with Wayne Shorter, Coleman Hawkins, Bobby Lewis, Freddie Hubbard, Jack Teagarden and Al Grey to name just a few.
Equally adept in every jazz circle Eddie was able to work in Dixieland, modal, bebop and swing as well as being a persuasive, elegant and sophisticated pianist whether he was soloing or accompanying a singer.
Higgins eventually moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, played in local clubs, performed the jazz festival circuit, toured Europe and Japan, and continued to record up until his death on August 31, 2009 at 77.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alvin “Junior” Raglin was born March 16, 1917 and started out on guitar but had picked up bass by the mid-1930s. He played with Eugene Coy from 1938 to 1941 in Oregon and then joined duke Ellington’s Orchestra, replacing Jimmy Blanton. Junior remained in Ellington’s employ from 1941 to 1945.
After leaving Ellington’s orchestra, Raglin led his own quartet, and also played with Dave Rivera, Ella Fitzgerald and Al Hibbler. He returned to play with Ellington again briefly in 1946 and 1955, however he fell ill in the late 1940s and quit performing.
Junior Raglin, swing jazz double bassist, died on November 10, 1955 at age 38, never having the opportunity to record as a leader.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Dick Nash was born Richard Taylor Nash on January 26, 1928 in Boston Massachusetts and began playing brass instruments at ten. His interest increased after his parents death and while in boarding school Nash took up the trumpet and bugle.
His first professional work came in 1947 with bands like that of Tex Beneke and after playing during Army service, he joined Billy May’s band. He would later become a first call studio musician in Los Angeles, California.
The favorite trombonist of composer and conductor Henry Mancini, Dick was the featured soloist on several soundtracks beginning with Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, Hatari, Breakfast At Tiffany’s and The Days Of Wine And Rose. By 1959 he was playing bass trombone with saxophonist Art Pepper on his Art Pepper + Eleven – Modern Jazz Classics session.
Over the course of his career Nash has been predominantly associated with the swing and big band genres and besides working on film scores the trombonist has performed and recorded with Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry James, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson, Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, June Christy, Stan Kenton, Les Brown, Don Ellis, Jimmy Witherspoon, Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Erroll Garner, Anita O’Day, Teresa Brewer, Randy Crawford, The Manhattan Transfer, Sonny Criss and the list goes on.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Juan Tizol was born on January 22, 1900 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico and from an early age music was in his life with his first instrument being the violin, but soon switched to valve trombone, his career choice. His uncle Manuel Tizol, music director of the San Juan symphony taught his mostly throughout his youth. He played in his uncle’s band and also gained experience by playing in local operas, ballets and dance bands.
By 1920, Juan joined a band that was traveling to the U.S. to work in Washington D.C. The group eventually made it to Washington, traveling as stowaways, and established residence at the Howard Theater where they played for touring shows and silent movies. At the Howard they also were hired to play in small jazz or dance groups. This is where Juan first came in contact with Duke Ellington.
Tizol got the call to join the Ellington band in the summer of 1929 and became the fifth voice in the brass section of Ellington’s orchestra. This opened up new possibilities for Duke’s writing, as he now could write for trombones as a section instead of just having them play with the trumpets. Juan’s rich, warm tone also blended nicely with the saxophone section, so he was often scored carrying the lead melody with the saxophones.
Juan made many contributions to the Ellington band throughout the 1930s and 40s. One of his major roles in the band was copying parts from Ellington’s scores. Besides copying, Juan also was a band composer. His best-known compositions, Caravan and Perdido are still played by jazz musicians today. Tizol was responsible for bringing Latin influences into the Ellington band with compositions such as Moonlight Fiesta, Jubilesta, Conga Brava, and others.
Juan left Ellington’s band in 1944 to play in the Harry James Orchestra in Los Angeles, to spend more time with his wife. He returned to Ellington in ‘51, but returned to James two years later and remained predominantly on the West Coast for the remainder of his career, playing sporadically with Harry James, Nelson Riddle, and on the Nat King Cole television show.
After another short stint with Ellington in the ‘60s, trombonist Juan Tizol eventually retired in Los Angeles and passed away on April 23, 1984 in Inglewood, California.
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