Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Albert Nicholas was born on May 27, 1900 in New Orleans, Louisiana and his primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of New Orleans. Late in the 1910s he played with Buddy Petit, King Oliver, and Manuel Perez.
Spending three years in the Merchant Marines, he then joined Oliver in Chicago, Illinois from 1925 to 1927. After time in East Asia and Egypt, he returned to New York City in 1928 and played with Luis Russell until 1933. During this time in the city Albert played with Red Allen, Charlie Holmes, and J. C. Higginbotham. He would later play with Chick Webb, and Louis Armstrong with Russell and Jelly Roll Morton.
The Dixieland jazz revival of the late 1940s reinvigorated his career, playing with Art Hodes, Bunk Johnson, and Kid Ory. Nicholas had a regular gig with Ralph Sutton in 1948. In 1953 he moved to France and except for recording sessions in the U.S. in 1959-60, he remained there for the rest of his life.
Clarinetist Albert Nicholas, who was active from his teen years until his death, passed away on September 3, 1973 in Base, Switzerland.
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Three Wishes
Nica spoke with Toshiko Akiyoshi and made the inquiry of her three wishes were she blessed with them and she replied with the following:
- “I want to be a pianist who can play everything in my mind. If I had this wish, I think two and three… I know they will come.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Kitty Kallen, born Katie Kallen on May 25, 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was one of seven children. As a child, she won an amateur contest by imitating popular singers. Returning home with her prize camera, her father punished her for stealing it. Only when neighbors subsequently visited to congratulate her did her father realize she had actually won it.
As a young girl, she sang on The Children’s Hour, a radio program sponsored by Horn & Hardart, an automat chain. As a preteen, Kallen had a radio program on Philadelphia’s WCAU and sang with the big bands of Jan Savitt in 1936, Artie Shaw in 1938, and Jack Teagarden in 1939. At twenty she sang the vocals for Moonlight Becomes You with Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra at the second ever session for what was then still called Liberty Records but would soon be renamed Capitol Records. It was her only session for the label.
She joined the Jimmy Dorsey band when she was twenty-one replacing Helen O’Connell. Her recording with Dorsey, They’re Either Too Young or Too Old, was a favorite of American servicemen. She followed this with Dorsey’s #1 hit Besame Mucho. Singing duets with Bob Eberly, when he left to go into the service in 1943, she joined Harry James’s band.
With James she went on to have many hits in the top twenty with two hitting #1. In 1954 she was voted the most popular female singer in Billboard and Variety polls. She followed up with the song, In the Chapel in the Moonlight, which was another million seller. Kittty performed live at numerous prominent venues, as well as popular television shows like the Tonight Show, American Banstand and The Big Beat.
Her final album was Quiet Nights, a bossa nova–flavored release for 20th Century Fox Records. Subsequently, she retired owing to a lung ailment. On February 8, 1960, Kallen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame A compilation of her hits on various labels remains available on the Sony CD set The Kitty Kallen Story. Vocalist Kitty Kallen passed away on January 7, 2016.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Herbert “Kat” Cowans, also spelled Cowens, was born May 24, 1904 in Texas. Working as a shoeshine boy as a child, his first professional engagement as a drummer was with the Satisfied Five, a local Texas ensemble. After moving to Wichita Falls, Texas he played in Frenchy’s New Orleans Jazz Band, then worked with Charlie Dixon. Quitting Dixon’s ensemble to finish high school while still in his teens, he went on to play in theater orchestras early in the 1920s.
Moving to New York City, Cowans played with Cleo Mitchell in the Shake Your Feet revue. Following this, he did work with the Kansas City Blackbirds, Jimmy Cooper’s Black and White Revue, and Eubie Blake in addition to leading his own band.
In the 1930s Herbert played with Fats Waller and Stuff Smith, before joining Eddie Heywood’s band for recordings behind Billie Holiday in 1941. He worked with Garvin Bushell in 1942, then played in the pit orchestra for the Broadway show The Pirate.
Cowans led a USO band in 1943, touring military bases worldwide, then led small ensembles for several decades thereafter. He also worked with Louis Metcalfe in 1963. He worked with USO again in East Asia in the 1970s, then retired to Dallas, Texas. Drummer Herbert Cowans passed away on January 23, 1993.
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Requisites
Open House~Jimmy Smith | By Eddie Carter
During his time at Blue Note, any album by Jimmy Smith was considered something special to have in one’s library. Jimmy knew his instrument and his contributions to help popularize the Hammond B3 organ in Hard-Bop and Soul-Jazz are a notable achievement. Open House (Blue Note BLP 4269/BST 84269) was recorded in 1960 but remained shelved until 1968. The gentlemen joining Jimmy for this informal session are Blue Mitchell (tracks: A1, B1) on trumpet, Jackie McLean (tracks: A1, B1, B2) on alto sax, Ike Quebec (tracks: A1, A2, B1) on tenor sax, Quentin Warren on guitar, and Donald Bailey on drums. This lineup also appears on the companion album, Plain Talk, and my copy used in this report is the 1970 US Stereo reissue.
Side One starts with a visit inside Jimmy’s Open House. The ensemble builds the melody gradually with Jimmy alternating sections with the front line. Blue opens the lead solo with a relaxing informality, then Jackie takes over in low gear on the second reading, building steadily to a satisfying groove. Ike comes in next for a delightful interpretation and Jimmy wails on the closing statement preceding the ending theme and fadeout. Old Folks by Willard Robison and Dedette Lee Hill is one of the prettiest jazz standards ever recorded. It was composed in 1938 and Quebec gets the honors as the only horn, backed by the trio. Ike’s deeply thoughtful stating the pensive theme and also gives a tender first statement. Jimmy closes with a reflective comment before Quebec returns to take the song out with a tender ending.
The sextet begins Side Two with a visit to Jimmy’s Sista Rebecca. After a brief collective theme by the ensemble, Ike moves into a steady medium tempo on the opening chorus with the trio comfortably backing him. Blue follows, sailing smoothly with a sassy groove that’s sure to get the listener to snap their fingers and tap their toes. Jackie’s alto flows nicely on the third reading and Jimmy adds the final touch with some down-home country cooking leading to the theme’s reprise and fadeout. A pretty introduction and melody by McLean begins the 1928 song, Embraceable You by George and Ira Gershwin. The altoist creates a romantic atmosphere with a dreamy lead solo, then Jimmy briefly conveys a loving sentiment into an elegant ending.
Open House was produced by Alfred Lion and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. The good news is the musicians are excellent, the music features great solos from the principals and solid support from Warren and Bailey. The issue I have with the record is the microphone placement for Jimmy’s organ has a tone of harshness as he’s playing on two of the tunes (tracks: A1, B1). I think that’s the reason the album wasn’t released after the session was recorded. That issue aside, if you’re a fan of Jimmy Smith, Soul-Jazz, or enjoy jazz organ, I invite you to audition Open House for a spot in your library. It’s one of the albums deserving greater recognition and with a stellar supporting cast of Blue Mitchell, Jackie McLean, and Ike Quebec is worth the price of admission! ~ Plain Talk (Blue Note BST 84296) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Embraceable You, Old Folks – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2021 by Edward Thomas Carter
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