Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clyde Lee McCoy was born December 29, 1903 in Ashland, Kentucky to the family that feuded with the Hatfields. He began mastering the trumpet without formal instruction, after the family moved to Portsmouth, Ohio in 1912. This led him to perform regularly at church and school affairs. Five years later he was performing on the Cincinnati riverboats, and on the Mississippi River side-wheelers the Island Queen and the Bernard McSwain. He became one of the youngest musicians on the river at age 14.
In 1920, accepting an invitation for a small band to play at a Knoxville, Tennessee resort, his Chicago Orchestra rehearsed on the train and won the approval of George Whittle and the patrons of the Whittle Springs Hotel and Spa. After a two month engagement the band officially became known as the Clyde McCoy Orchestra.
In the late 1920s McCoy developed the signature “wah-wah” sound by fluttering a Harmon mute in the bell of his trumpet. In 1967, a similar effect was made for electric guitar with the introduction of the Vox Clyde McCoy Wah-Wah Pedal. Having nothing to do with the use or development of the pedal,Clyde’s name was only used for promotion.
Over the course of a seven decade career Clyde was based at various times in New York City, Los Angeles, California and Chicago, Illinois. He is best remembered for his theme song Sugar Blues, written by Clarence Williams and Lucy Fletcher, and also as a co-founder of Down Beat magazine in 1935. The song was performed with vocals by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, Fats Waller and Ella Fitzgerald.
Trumpeter and bandleader Clyde McCoy, who has a star on the Holywood Walk of Fame, transitioned on June 11, 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee.
More Posts: bandleader,history,instrumental,jazz,music,trumpet
Requisites
Maggie’s Back In Town ~ Howard McGhee | By Eddie Carter
Howard McGhee opens this morning’s discussion with a superb 1961 album, Maggie’s Back In Town (Contemporary Records M3596/S7596). He was one of the earliest jazz musicians to begin playing bebop and became a leading trumpet player during the Forties. Howard was also an excellent arranger and composer who performed with some of the elite musicians during that era. Drug problems derailed his career during the fifties, but he returned in 1960 and recorded two impressive albums for Lester Koenig’s label. A first-class trio joins him on this studio session: Phineas Newborn Jr. on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. My copy is the 1975 US Stereo reissue.
Side One opens with a Howard McGhee original, Demon Chase. The quartet swings easily into the melody; then, Howard gets to the song’s core first. Phineas follows happily along in the second reading. McGhee returns on muted horn with a solo that’s sheer heaven. Leroy closes things out ahead of the finale. Willow Weep For Me by Ann Ronell is one of the most beautiful and recorded song’s from The Great American Songbook. Newborn makes the introduction segueing into McGhee’s muted slow-tempo theme and mellow opening statement. Phineas demonstrates tenderness and intimacy next, and then Howard takes the song out thoughtfully with the mute removed.
Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II is taken at a brisk clip, with the leader’s mute building the melody effectively. Howard delivers the song’s only solo with joyful vitality fueled by the trio’s exceptional support ahead of the closing chorus and climax. Sunset Eyes by Teddy Edwards ends the first side. The rhythm section sets the scene for McGhee’s easygoing melody. The tempo moves upward for a fascinating interpretation by the leader. Newborn also puts together a well-constructed offering preceding the closing chorus and gentle fadeout.
Side Two starts with Maggie’s Back In Town, by Teddy Edwards. The title refers to Howard’s nickname and his return to the jazz scene after battling drug addiction. The quartet’s bluesy theme gets things underway, followed by Howard’s warm welcome in the first solo. Newborn’s second statement is as delicious as a good meal. McGhee returns for a short reading, and then Vinnegar takes a relaxing walk. Manne shares the closing statement with Howard ahead of the ending theme. Summertime by George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward starts at mid-tempo, with the leader back on a muted trumpet. McGhee’s solo is as enjoyable as a day at the seaside until the close.
Brownie Speaks by Clifford Brown takes off with the foursome’s vigorous uptempo workout. Howard generates plenty of heat in the first solo. Phineas takes a scintillating statement next. Leroy follows with a short, robust comment, and the leader’s finale flows vibrantly toward the climax. Lester Koenig produced Maggie’s Back In Town, and Roy DuNann was the recording engineer. It’s a great-sounding reissue with an outstanding soundstage that brings the quartet to your listening room with stunning fidelity. If you’re in the mood for a hard-bop album with great tunes and tight musicianship, I invite you to check out Maggie’s Back In Town by Howard McGhee on your next record shopping trip. It’s an excellent introduction to his music and a terrific album that’s sure to give you many hours of listening pleasure!
~ Together Again! (Contemporary Records M3588/S7588) – Source: Discogs.com ~ Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise, Summertime, Willow Weep For Me – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,trumpet
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
David Louis Bartholomew was born Davis Bartholomew on December 24, 1918 in Edgard, Louisiana and initially learned to play the tuba, then took up the trumpet with lessons from Peter Davis, who also tutored Louis Armstrong. Around 1933 he moved with his parents to New Orleans, Louisiana where he played in local jazz and brass bands, including Papa Celestin’s. He played in Fats Pichon’s band on a Mississippi riverboat and took charge of his band in 1941. After a stint in Jimmie Lunceford’s band he joined the US Army during World War II and developed writing and arranging skills as a member of the 196th Army Ground Forces Band.
At the end of the war he returned to New Orleans and towards the end of 1945 he started leading his own dance band, Dave Bartholomew and the Dew Droppers, named after a now-defunct local hotel and nightclub, the Dew Drop Inn. Their popularity was a model for early rock ‘n’ roll bands the world over. In 1947, they were invited by club owner Don Robey to perform in Houston, Texas, where Bartholomew met Lew Chudd, the founder of Imperial Records.
His band made their first recordings for De Luxe Records in 1947 and their first hit was Country Boy, reached No. 14 in the national Billboard R&B chart in early 1950. Prominent members of the band, besides Bartholomew on trumpet and occasional vocals, were the saxophonists Alvin Tyler, Herb Hardesty, and Clarence Hall, the bass player Frank Fields, the guitarist Ernest McLean, the pianist Salvador Doucette, and the drummer Earl Palmer. They were later joined by the saxophonist Lee Allen.
Two years after their first meeting in Houston, Texas he was asked by Lew Chudd to become Imperial’s A&R man in New Orleans. Dave went on to produce singer Jewel King, and a young pianist Fats Domino, who went on to have great success with their collaboration. He went on to work at several labels including his own Broadmoor Records.
The 1970s and 1980s had Bartholomew leading a traditional Dixieland jazz band in New Orleans, releasing an album, Dave Bartholomew’s New Orleans Jazz Band in 1981. He produced numerous hit songs and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger and record producer Dave Bartholomew, who was prominent in the New Orleans music scene and active in rhythm and blues, big band, swing music, rock and roll, New Orleans jazz, and Dixieland, transitioned from a heart attack in Metarie, Louisiana on June 23, 2019.
More Posts: aranger,bandleader,composer,history,instrumental,jazz,music,record producer,trumpet
The Jazz Voyager
The Jazz Voyager is heading off to the Big Apple once again to take another seat in the small uptown Manhattan West Side jazz club Smoke Jazz and Supper Club. This intimate space is located at the junction of 106th and Broadway, also known as Duke Ellington Boulevard, offering legends, modern masters and rising stars.
A new player for me to hear is trumpeter Marquis Hill, one of the leading trumpeters of our time. He will be leading an adventurous group featuring vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Michael King, bassist Junius Paul, and drummer Kendrick Scott. He won the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Both wins helped launch his career.
Smoke is located at 2751 Broadway, New York City 10025. You can get more information at https://notoriousjazz.com/event/marquis-hill.
More Posts: adventure,club,genius,jazz,music,preserving,travel,trumpet
Requisites
Together Again!!!! ~ Teddy Edwards and Howard McGhee | By Eddie Carter
Teddy Edwards and Howard McGhee enter this morning’s spotlight with their excellent 1961 collaboration, Together Again!!!! (Contemporary Records M3588/S7588). The tenor saxophonist and trumpeter initially worked together from 1945 to 1947 when Edwards was a member of McGhee’s sextet. It’s their second collaboration since the Bebop era, but the first time the duo recorded together. The supporting cast is a magical rhythm section: Phineas Newborn Jr. on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. My copy is the 1975 U.S. Stereo reissue, sharing the original catalog number.
The album opener is the title track, Together Again, by Teddy Edwards. The quintet begins the melody harmonizing in perfect agreement. Howard takes the wheel and cruises leisurely on the opening statement. Teddy wails with a vibrant voice in the following solo. Phineas heightens the excitement with an impressive reading; then Ray adds a brisk footnote leading to the theme’s return and summation. McGhee introduces You Stepped Out Of A Dream by Nacio Herb Brown and Gus Kahn on the muted trumpet. He showcases the horn’s warm, lyrical tone in a lighthearted setting during two solos. In between them, Edwards gives a charming reading that bounces along over the rhythm section.
Up There by Ray Brown opens briskly from the pianist’s introduction, which evolves into the ensemble’s aggressive theme. Teddy tackles the first solo with fleet agility, and then Howard flies swiftly in the second statement. Phineas swings with a vengeance until the group’s theme restatement and abrupt finish. Side Two begins with Perhaps by Charlie Parker, featuring McGhee on muted trumpet during the opening and closing chorus. Edwards builds the opening solo exquisitely. Newborn follows with an exceptional interpretation. McGhee opens the horn for a passionately nimble reading, and Ray delivers the exclamation point into the group’s exit.
Teddy and the trio have the honors next on Misty by Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke. The quartet starts with a bass and piano duet. Teddy and Ed join them for the song’s very pretty melody. Edwards is the song’s only soloist and delivers an intimately personal interpretation that, to these ears, is one of the album’s highlights. Sandy by Howard McGhee begins with the quintet’s energetic theme. Howard is off to a rousing start on the lead solo. Edwards follows him with a reading of confident assurance. Newborn goes for the jugular next with vigorous enthusiasm. Brown wraps up the solos with dazzling bass lines preceding the quintet’s return to take the song out.
Lester Koenig produced Together Again!!!!, and Roy DuNann was the recording engineer. The reissue sounds great and possesses a vibrant soundstage, allowing the musicians to emerge from your speakers into your listening room with superb fidelity! Throughout the album, the quintet demonstrates how good West Coast jazz could sound in the right hands. The music is great from start to finish, and the musicians complement each other skillfully. If you’re a fan of Cool Jazz or Post Bop, I invite you to consider Together Again!!!! by Teddy Edwards and Howard McGhee on your next record-shopping trip. It offers the opportunity to appreciate two jazz giants who, after an absence of sixteen years, prove that great music doesn’t have an expiration date and can provide listening pleasure endlessly!
~ You Stepped Out of a Dream, Misty – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ Perhaps – Source: Wikipedia.org
© 2023 by Edward Thomas Carter
More Posts: choice,classic,collectible,collector,history,instrumental,jazz,music,saxophone,trumpet