Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Herbert “Herb” Hall was born on March 28, 1907 in Reserve, Louisiana. He began on banjo and guitar with the Niles Jazz Band, then settled on reeds playing clarinet. In 1926 he played with Kid Augustin Victor in Baton Rouge, then moved to New Orleans the following year. Hall played briefly with trumpeter Sidney Desvigne’s outfit, and then teamed up with bandleader Don Albert played for many years from 1929-40. Following this stint he moved to San Antonio with him and remaining there until 1945.
After this Herb moved to Philadelphia playing with Herman Autrey; a few years later he was in New York, working with Doc Cheatham and toured Europe with Sammy Price in the mid-Fifties. He was a regular at the New York clubs of Jimmy Ryan and Eddie Condon in the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1968-69 he was on the road again touring with Wild Bill Davison’s Jazz Giants, and then a stint with an offshoot band of The Jazz Giants, called “Buzzy’s Jazz Family”.
Hall worked with Don Ewell, and appeared in Bob Greene’s Jelly Roll Morton revue show in the Seventies. Herb Hall, the highly skilled stylist, clarinetist, alto and baritone saxophonist who produced an impressive body of work, passed away on March 5, 1996.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Leon Joseph Roppolo was born on March 16, 1902 in Lutcher, Louisiana but by age ten was living in New Orleans. Young Leon’s first instrument was the violin, but being a fan of the New Orleans marching bands he wanted to play clarinet. Soon excelling on clarinet, he played youthful jobs for parades, parties and at Milneburg on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. By his teens he left home with Bee Palmer’s group that evolved into the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, that become one of the hot jazz bands in 1920s Chicago along with King Oliver’s band. Leon’s style influenced many younger Chicago musicians, most famously Benny Goodman.
Following the breakup of the Rhythm Kings he went to New York City jazz scene and recorded with the Original Memphis Five and the California Ramblers. Returning to New Orleans he briefly reformed the Rhythm Kings, made a few recordings but primarily worked with other bands like the Halfway House Orchestra, with whom he recorded on saxophone.
Roppolo soon began exhibiting more eccentric behavior and violent temper outbursts. Too much for his family to take, Leon was committed to the state mental hospital. Aging and feeble far beyond his years in his later life, he would come home for periods when a relative or friend could look after him, and he would sit in with local bands on saxophone or clarinet.
Leon Roppolo, nicknamed “Rap” and who played clarinet, saxophone and guitar, passed away in New Orleans at the age of 41 on October 5, 1943. He left for posterity such compositions as Farewell Blues, Gold Leaf Strut and Make Love To Me, the latter recorded by Jo Stafford in 1954 and that hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and #2 on Cashbox.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Wilbur C. Sweatman was born in Brunswick, Missouri on February 7, 1882 and started playing violin but took up clarinet. He toured with circus bands in the late 1890s, briefly played with the bands of W.C. Handy and Mahara’s Minstrels before organizing his own dance band in Minneapolis, Minnesota by late 1902.
It was there that Sweatman made his first recordings on phonograph cylinders in 1903 for a local music store. These included what is reputed to have been the first recorded version of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag”; however, no copies of these are known to exist today. By 1908, Sweatman was in Chicago as bandleader at the Grand Theater where he attracted notice and in a 1910 article was referred to his nickname, “Sensational Swet.”
By 1911, he had moved to the vaudeville circuit full-time, developing a successful act of playing three clarinets at once, went on to write a number of rags including his most famous “Down Home Rag”. He would move back to New York, tour major vaudeville circuits, befriend Scott Joplin and become his executor, record for Emerson Records, and the first Black to make recordings as Jazz or “Jass” as it was known then and one of the first to join ASCAP, and several notable musicians passed through his band, including Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins and Cozy Cole.
Wilbur Sweatman, ragtime and Dixieland jazz composer, bandleader and clarinetist who continue to record for Gennett, Edison, Grey Gull and Victor record labels, passed away in New York City on March 9, 1961.
More Posts: clarinet
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bill Easley: A Life Lived Through Every Era of Modern Jazz
Some musicians pass through jazz history. Bill Easley has lived it—from Harlem jam sessions to Stax Records, from Arctic military bands to Broadway’s brightest lights.
A Prodigy from Upstate New York
Born January 13, 1946, in Orleans, New York, Easley was already a working professional by age thirteen, gigging with his parents and absorbing the craft from the inside. When he arrived in New York City in 1964, he dove straight into the deep end—studying part-time at the legendary Juilliard School while simultaneously earning his real education in Harlem’s uptown jazz clubs, learning directly from the masters who made the music breathe.
An Unexpected Arctic Interlude
Then came an unexpected detour: the draft. Suddenly, Easley found himself stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the 9th Army Band. It wasn’t exactly 52nd Street, but as any true musician knows, you make music wherever you are—even when surrounded by snow instead of skyscrapers.
The Real Education Begins
Back in action by the late ’60s, Easley was playing the legendary rooms that defined the era—Minton’s Playhouse, the Plugged Nickel, The Jazz Workshop, The Hurricane—standing shoulder to shoulder with George Benson. These weren’t just gigs; they were nightly master classes in jazz history happening in real time, each set a conversation with the greats.
Memphis Soul and Stax Swagger
The ’70s brought a southern migration to Memphis, where Easley entered Isaac Hayes’ orbit, laying down tracks at the iconic Stax and Hi Records—the studios where soul music was being redefined. Even while pursuing his formal education at Memphis State University, he was out there every night with big bands and show bands, whatever was swinging.
Then came the gig that changes everything for any jazz musician: touring with the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington in the mid-’70s. To play that book, to carry that legacy—it’s a responsibility and an honor few ever experience.
The Great White Way Calls
By 1980, Broadway beckoned, and Easley answered. His theater credits read like a greatest-hits compilation: Sophisticated Ladies, The Wiz, Black and Blue, Jelly’s Last Jam, Fosse—the shows that defined an era of musical theater and kept the jazz tradition alive on the world’s most famous stages.
Never Just a Pit Musician
But here’s the thing about Bill Easley: he never stopped being a jazz cat. Between curtain calls, he was in recording studios with pianists Sir Roland Hanna and Mulgrew Miller, organists Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith, vocalist Ruth Brown, and drummers Grady Tate and Billy Higgins. He recorded for respected labels like Sunnyside and Milestone, keeping one foot firmly planted in the jazz tradition even as the other tapped out Broadway rhythms.
Master of Many Voices
Saxophone, flute, clarinet—Easley commands them all with the hard-won wisdom of someone who’s witnessed every chapter of modern jazz unfold firsthand. From bebop to soul jazz, from Broadway pits to intimate club dates, he’s been there, absorbed it, and made it part of his musical DNA.
Still Writing the Story
And the best part? Bill Easley is still out there, still playing, still adding new chapters to a story that now spans six decades and counting. In a world obsessed with the next new thing, there’s something deeply reassuring about a musician who has mastered the art of being present—in every era, in every room, in every note.
That’s not just a career. That’s a life lived in service to the music itself.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Haywood Henry: The Baritone Voice Behind a Thousand Hits
Born Frank Haywood Henry on January 10, 1913, in Birmingham, Alabama, this future jazz great started his musical journey on clarinet before discovering his true calling in the rich, resonant tones of the baritone saxophone. Though the baritone became his signature voice, Henry never abandoned the clarinet entirely, keeping both instruments close throughout his remarkable six-decade career.
From College Band to the Big Time
In 1930, Henry joined the Bama State Collegians, getting his first taste of professional music-making. When he returned to the group in 1934, now led by the dynamic Erskine Hawkins, it marked the beginning of a musical partnership that would last into the 1950s. Hawkins’ orchestra became Henry’s proving ground, where his big-toned baritone work became an essential part of the band’s sound.
A Journeyman’s Journey
After his years with Hawkins, Henry became one of those invaluable musicians who could fit into any setting. He worked with guitarist Tiny Grimes, saxophonist Julian Dash, and the Fletcher Henderson Reunion Band. Perhaps most notably, he occasionally substituted for the legendary Harry Carney in Duke Ellington’s Orchestra—a testament to his skill, given that Carney was widely considered the greatest baritone saxophonist in jazz history.
The 1960s found Henry in equally distinguished company: Wilbur DeParis, Max Kaminsky, Snub Mosley, Louis Metcalf, Earl Hines, Sy Oliver, and the New York Jazz Repertory Company all benefited from his steady presence and warm sound.
The Secret Session King
Here’s where Henry’s story takes a fascinating turn: during the 1950s and ’60s, he became one of the anonymous giants of the recording industry, playing on over 1,000 rock and roll records. While teenagers danced to the latest hits, few knew that a Birmingham-born jazz baritone saxophonist was helping create the sound they loved. In the 1970s, he brought that same professionalism to Broadway pit orchestras, proving once again his remarkable versatility.
Coming Full Circle
In 1971, Henry joyfully participated in an Erskine Hawkins reunion ensemble—a chance to reconnect with old friends and relive the glory days. He continued performing well into the 1980s, his passion for music undiminished by age.
A Leader at Last
Though Henry spent most of his career supporting others, he did step forward as a leader on three occasions: recording for Davis Records in 1957, Strand in the early 1960s, and finally Uptown in 1983. These albums offer rare glimpses of Henry unchained—his baritone taking center stage rather than anchoring the ensemble.
A Well-Earned Honor
In 1978, Alabama recognized one of its own when Haywood Henry was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. When he passed away on September 15, 1994, the jazz world lost one of its most reliable, versatile, and underappreciated voices—a master musician who made everyone around him sound better, whether on a jazz bandstand, a rock and roll session, or in a Broadway pit.
Haywood Henry may not be a household name, but his baritone saxophone spoke to millions, often without them ever knowing it. That’s the mark of a true professional.
More Posts: clarinet,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone