Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Alfred “Chico” Alvarez was born in Montreal, Canada February 3, 1920 but grew up in Southern California. Upon graduation from high school, he attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.
He was a soloist with the Stan Kenton Orchestra from 1941 to 1943 and rejoined the band after Army service in World War II. He also played with the Red Norvo and Charlie Barnet bands, and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1958 and worked the hotel circuit in the 1960s and 1970s. It was during this time that he would accompany singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.
He recorded two dozen albums with Kenton as well as a single recording session on the self-titled Nat King Cole, Bob Keene and His Orchestra, Vido Musso’s The Swingin’st, and Patti Page’s In the Land of Hi-Fi.
Trumpeter Chico Alvarez, who was the business agent for the musicians’ union, the president of the Allied Arts Council and a member of the Nevada State Council on the Arts, transitioned on August 1, 1992 in Las Vegas.
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Three Wishes
Pannonica asked Miles Davis if he had three wishes bestowed upon him what would his answers be and he replied simply with:
- “To be white.”
*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…
Zilner Trenton Randolph was born in Dermott, Arkansas on January 28, 1899 and matriculated at Biddle University, the Kreuger Conservatory, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Randolph played in St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1920s, then in Bernie Young’s band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1927 to 1930. A move to Chicago, Illinois in 1931 and was a trumpeter and arranger with Louis Armstrong until 1932 and again in 1933 and 1935.
He played trumpet on a number of Armstrong’s recordings and composed the tune Old Man Mose. In 1934 he played with Carroll Dickerson and Dave Peyton, and led his own Chicago band later in the decade. He arranged for bandleaders Earl Hines, Woody Herman, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington, and led a quartet in the 1940s.
From the 1940s Zilner devoted himself mainly to teaching, but recorded as a pianist in 1951. Trumpeter, arranger, composer and music educator Zilner Randolph, whose children Hattie and Lucious were part of Sun Ra’s band in the Fifties, transitioned on February 2, 1994.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Irving “Mouse” Randolph was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 22, 1909 and started off playing on riverboats with Fate Marable’s ensemble. Following this he played in numerous territory bands, including those of Walt Farrington, Willie Austin, Art Sims, Norman Mason, Floyd Campbell, Alphonse Trent, and J. Frank Terry.
From 1931 to 1933 he was in Kansas City, Missouri playing in Andy Kirk’s Twelve Clouds of Joy, and then played briefly with Fletcher Henderson and Benny Carter in 1934. 1935 to 1939 saw Mouse playing in Cab Calloway’s orchestra, then departed to play with the Ella Fitzgerald Orchestra under the direction of Chick Webb for three years ending in 1942.
By 1943 he was playing with Don Redman and from 1944 to 1947 he did a stint with Edmond Hall. Randolph continued to play into the Seventies, including with the Chick Morrison Orchestra. He never recorded as a bandleader, though he recorded copiously with Henderson, Carter, and Calloway.
Trumpeter Mouse Randolph, who was prominent during the swing era, transitioned on December 12, 1997 in New York City, just six weeks shy of his 89th birthday.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John McLevy was born on January 2, 1927 in Dundee, Scotland. He played in Europe with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in the 1970s, alongside George Masso, Hank Jones and Slam Stewart.
He performed with artists such as Max Bygraves, Roy Williams, accordionist Jack Emblow and later in a duo with veteran trumpeter Tommy McQuater.
Trumpeter John McLevy transitioned on November 27, 2002.
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