Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alvin “Abe” Aaron was born on January 27, 1910 in Toronto, Canada on January 27, 1910. His father, a bandleader with a theater band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had him playing reeds in the band for more than ten years. Early in the 1940s he left this group to play alto saxophone in the big band of Jack Teagarden, with which he recorded in 1942.
Moving to Hollywood, California in 1943, Abe played with Horace Heidt on radio. From 1945 to 1947 he played with Skinnay Ennis, then returned to work under Heidt through 1949. Through the 1950s he played in Les Brown’s Band of Renown, touring Europe and East Asia. He recorded often as a member of Brown’s band for Coral and Capitol record companies. In the band, he played clarinet and alto saxophone in the early 1950s, then switched to tenor and baritone. He also recorded on bass clarinet with Billy Usselton.
Clarinetist and saxophonist Abe Aaron transitioned on January 31, 1970.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Willie James Humphrey was born on December 29, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana into a musical family, the son of prominent local clarinetist and music teacher Willie Eli Humphrey. His brothers Earl and Percy also became well known professional musicians.
After establishing himself with such New Orleans bands as the Excelsior and George McCullum’s band, Humphrey traveled north, playing with Lawrence Duhé, and King Oliver in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1920s he made his first recordings in St. Louis, Missouri.
Returning to New Orleans, he played for many years with the Eureka and Young Tuxedo Brass bands, the bands of Paul Barbarin and Sweet Emma Barrett, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
Clarinetist Willie Humphrey, whose playing remained vigorous and continued to grow more inventive in his old age, passed away at 93 on June 7, 1994.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Sven Arne Domnérus was born on December 20, 1924 in Stockholm, Sweden and began to play the clarinet at the age of 11. By the time he left school he had taken up the saxophone and turned professional. In 1949 he performed at the Paris Jazz Festival and with Charlie Parker when he was on tour in Sweden in 1950.
A few years later Arne recorded with Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, and James Moody. From the middle 1950s to the middle 1960s he was a featured soloist in the Swedish Radio Big Band. With Bengt-Arne Wallin, Rolf Ericson, and Åke Persson (the latter two were former members of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra), he participated in the Jazz Workshops organised for the Ruhrfest in Recklinghausen by Hans Gertberg from the Hamburg radio station.
He recorded several times with Quincy Jones in Sweden and is featured throughout The Midnight Sun Never Sets, composed and arranged by Jones and recorded under Jones’ direction by Harry Arnold’s orchestra in 1958. Domnérus’ playing in his early career was typical of the cool, sophisticated, technically accomplished and lyrical style of Swedish modern jazz during the 1950s.
As a leader Domnerus recorded forty~four albums and another 104 as a sideman with Alice Babs, Lars Gullin, Bengt Hallberg, Dizzy Gillespie, Thad Jones, George Russell, Toots Thielemans, Red Rodney, James Moody, Leonard Feather and Monica Zetterlund, among others too numerous to mention.
Saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Arne Domnerus, who wrote for film and television, and retired from playing due to his declining health, passed away on September 2, 2008 in his hometown.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Irving Fazola was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 10, 1912 and receiving the nickname “Fazola”, he used it as his last name. Influenced early by Leon Roppolo, he was playing professionally by age 15. He worked with Sharkey Bonano, Candy Candido, Armand Hug, and Louis Prima. He joined the Ben Pollack band when it came throughNew Orleans and performed with it in Chicago, Illinois and New York City.
After brief time with Glenn Miller and Gus Arnheim, Fazola became a member of the Bob Crosby band in 1938. He achieved some fame with this band, ranking as top clarinetist in the DownBeat magazine polls of 1940 and 1941. After leaving Crosby, he worked in bands in Chicago, New York, and New Orleans, including time with George Brunies at the Famous Door, before settling in New Orleans in 1943.
A heavy drinker, which contributed to his weight and failing health, clarinetist Irving Fazola, who influenced Pete Fountain, passed away of a heart attack at 36 on March 20, 1949.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Born in Boggs, Oklahoma on December 7, 1906, George James began his career late in the 1920s, in the bands of Charlie Creath and Johnny Neal. Moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1928, he played with Jimmie Noone, Sammy Stewart, Ida Marples, Jabbo Smith, and Bert Hall.
In 1931 on into 1932 he toured with Louis Armstrong, then remained in New York City at the end of the tour. He went on to join the Savoy Bearcats and, later, Charlie Turner’s Arcadians. Fats Waller assumed leadership of the Arcadians in the middle of the decade, and James played under him until 1937.
Finishing the Thirties decade playing in the Blackbirds Revue, in the early 1940s George worked with James P. Johnson, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, and Lucky Millinder. He led his own band in 1943-44 and later in the decade he played with Claude Hopkins and Noble Sissle.
He was active both as a leader and a sideman into the 1970s, playing with Clyde Bernhardt and the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band in that decade. Saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist George James passed away on January 30, 1995 in Columbus, Ohio.
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