Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Bobby Sands was born January 28, 1907 in Brooklyn, New York. Learning to play the tenor and baritone saxophones he worked with bandleader Charlie Skeets in the late ’20s. By the end of the decqade his eyes were on an outfit known as the Strand Roof Orchestra under the direction of Billy Fowler. His performances during the 1930s solidified the band’s reputation, both live and recorded.

Sands joined pianist and bandleader Claude Hopkins, sharing star soloing duties with the leader as well as clarinetist Edmond Hall in his early years. The band featured a program of both high-spirited novelty songs and a serious jazz repertoire. I Can’t Dance, I’ve Got Ants in My Pants and In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree were the necessary recordings Hopkins made in order to stay attractive to label producers throughout the ’30s.

A superb arrangement of Jelly Roll Morton’s King Porter Stomp joins with Hopkins’ own Minor Mania in which Bobby is in both section and solo capacity. Tenor and baritone saxophonist Bobby Sands retired from music in the 1940s and became a printer. The date and place of his death are unknown.

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