Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bruce Turner was born on July 5, 1922 in Saltburn, North Yorkshire, England and educated at Dulwich College. He learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto saxophone while serving in the Royal Air Force in 1943 during World War II. He played with Freddy Randall from 1948~53 and then worked on the Queen Mary in a dance band and in a quartet with Dill Jones and Peter Ind.
In 1950 he briefly studied under Lee Konitz in New York City. His first period with Humphrey Lyttelton ran from 1953 to 1957. After leaving Lyttelton he led his Jump Band from 1957~65, which was featured along with his arrangements in the 1961 film Living Jazz. In 1961, Turner recorded Jumpin’ at the NFT (National Film Theatre) and the album was issued later that year on Doug Dobell’s 77 Records label, coinciding with the film’s release.
In January 1963, the British music magazine New Musical Express reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace. The event included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer, Monty Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Alex Welsh, Mick Mulligan and Turner.
Returning to Randall’s group from 1964 to 1966, he then played with Don Byas and Acker Bilk till 1970. He went on to work with Wally Fawkes, John Chilton, Stan Greig), Alex Welsh, and Dave Green. He led small ensembles in the 1990s until his death. His autobiography Hot Air, Cool Music, published by Quartet Books, appeared in 1984. He wrote a column on jazz for the Daily Worker. Saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader Bruce Turner passed away on November 28, 1993 in Newport Pagnell.
More Posts: clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Emmett Louis Hardy was born in Gretna, Louisiana on June 12, 1903 and lived much of his life in the Algiers neighborhood on the west bank of New Orleans, Louisiana. A child prodigy, he was playing marvelously in his early teens. A musical highlight was a 1919 cutting contest where, after long and intense struggle, he succeeded in outplaying Louis Armstrong.
In his early teens he was a member of the Papa Jack Laine band, then worked in the Carlisle Evans Band and Norman Brownlee’s Orchestra of New Orleans. He belonged to a small band that worked with singer Bee Palmer. After moving to Chicago, Illinois he became a member of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. After returning to New Orleans he led his own band and played in the band of Norman Brownlee.
Hardy did not appear on any of the Rhythm Kings recording sessions, and never made any commercial recordings before his early death. He did metal work, made his own mouthpieces for his horn, and modified his cornet to add an additional spit-valve. When advancing tuberculosis started to make his breathing difficult, Hardy taught himself banjo so he could continue playing music.
Hardy and some of his musician friends made some home recordings on wax phonograph cylinders for their own amusement. As Hardy’s tuberculosis worsened and his death seemed inevitable, the friends decided to preserve the cylinders as a memento of Hardy’s playing. At least one cylinder survived to the start of the 1950s, however when Tulane University’s Jazz Archive was established in the late 1950s, however, a diligent search failed to turn up any of these recordings, which are, alas, presumed lost forever.
After returning to New Orleans he led his own band and played in the band of Norman Brownlee. Though he never recorded with Brownlee, he was a big influence on his replacement, Sharkey Bonano. Cornetist Emmett Hardy passed away from tuberculosis in New Orleans, just four days after his 22nd birthday on June 16, 1925. He was buried in Gretna.
More Posts: bandleader,cornet,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Louis Thomas Black was born on June 8, 1901 in Rock Island, Illinois and began playing banjo during early childhood. He became a professional musician in 1917.
By 1921 he had joined the famous New Orleans Rhythm Kings at Friar’s Inn in Chicago, Illinois. With this band, he participated to the first-ever interracial recording session with pianist Jelly Roll Morton.
Leaving the band in 1923, Lou went on to play with other bands. From 1925 until 1931, he was a staff musician for radio station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. He left music in the early 1930s, but came back and began playing in 1961. He sat in with several bands during a brief stay in New York City, then played gigs in Moline, Illinois from the fall of 1963.
An automobile accident landed him in a Rock Island hospital and while recovering from his injuries, he suffered a fatal heart attack. Lou Black, who often went by Lew or Louie and was one of the foremost banjo players of the Jazz Era, passed away on November 18, 1965.
More Posts: banjo,history,instrumental,jazz,music
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Edward Emerson Cuffee was born on June 7, 1902 in Norfolk, Virginia. He moved to New York in the 1920s, where he recorded with Clarence Williams from 1927 to 1929 and played with Bingie Madison.
Playing in McKinney’s Cotton Pickers from 1929 to 1934, he moved to Fletcher Henderson’s band for three years beginning in 1935. Ed went on to play with Leon Abbey in 1940 and subsequently through the decade with Count Basie, Chris Columbus and Bunk Johnson.
He quit playing professionally after the late 1940s. Trombonist Ed Cuffee passed away on January 3, 1959 in New York City.
More Posts: history,instrumental,jazz,music,trombone
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Tom Brown was born in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana on June 3, 1888. He played trombone with the bands of Papa Jack Laine and Frank Christian, and by 1910 he was usually working with leading bands under his own name. The band played in a style then locally known as “hot ragtime” or “ratty music”. In early 1915, his band was heard by Vaudeville dancer Joe Frisco who then arranged a job for Brown’s band in Chicago, Illinois.
Tom Brown’s Band from Dixieland opened up at Lamb’s Cafe in Chicago, this band seems to be the first to be popularly referred to as playing Jass. The term jass, at that time, had a sexual connotation, which drew more people to come to hear the band out of curiosity. Realizing the publicity potential he started calling his group Brown’s Jass Band.
Heading to Chicago, Illinois he enjoyed over four months of success there before moving to New York City, where they played for an additional four months more prior to returning to New Orleans in 1916. Once home, Tom immediately put together another band with Larry Shields, Alcide Nunez, and Ragbaby Stevens, then went to work for Bert Kelly in New York City, replacing the Original Dixieland Jass Band at Reisenweber in 1918. He started doing freelance recording work with New York dance and novelty bands, then joined the band of Harry Yerkes.
Brown also played the Vaudeville circuit in the acts of Joe Frisco and Ed Wynn. Late 1921 he returned to Chicago and joined Ray Miller’s Black & White Melody Boys, with whom he made more recordings. During this period he also co-lead a dance band with his brother Steve. Back in New Orleans he played with Johnny Bayersdorffer and Norman Brownlee’s bands, making a few excellent recordings.
During the Great Depression he supplemented his income from music by repairing radios. He opened up a music shop and a junk shop on Magazine Street. He played string bass in local swing and dance bands. With the revival of interest in traditional jazz he played in various Dixieland bands in the 1950s. Making his last recording just weeks before his death, his trombone playing apparently did not suffer from the fact that he had neither teeth or dentures at the time. Trombonist Tom Brown, who also played string bass, passed away in New Orleans on March 25, 1958.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,string bass,trombone