BIRTHDAYS


1894 Roy Bargy, piano/arranger
b. Newaygo, MI, USA. d. Jan. 16, 1974, Vista, CA, USA.
Red Hot Jazz Bio:
www.redhotjazz.com/bargy.html
MP3 BIO:
www.mp3.com/roy-bargy/ar...iography.html
Biography
Although
somewhat peripheral to jazz, pianist Roy Bargy recorded six piano solos
(mostly in the novelty ragtime style) of interest during 1922-24 that,
along with his 11 piano rolls, were reissued on a Folkways LP. Bargy
had had 12 years of piano lessons starting from when he was five. He
had originally planned to become a classical pianist, but instead
started working in the popular music field. He played piano and organ
at local movie houses, organized his own school orchestra and in 1919
began cutting piano rolls. The following year he was hired as pianist,
arranger and musical director for the Benson Orchestra of Chicago. In
the mid-1920s, Bargy worked for a time with Isham Jones and then gained
his greatest fame as pianist with Paul Whiteman (1928-40), where his
"legitimate" technique allowed him to play both credible jazz and
classical solos (such as "Rhapsody In Blue"). Bargy spent his later
years working in the early '40s with Lanny Ross on radio and served as
Jimmy Durante's musical director from 1943-63 before retiring. Bargy's
best-known composition is "Pianoflage."

~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

1877 Peter E. Bocage, leader
b. Algiers, LA, USA. d. Dec. 3, 1967.
Also see Bocage Orig. Creole Serenaders
MP3 Bio:
www.mp3.com/peter-bocage...iography.html
~Biography
Jazz
man Peter Bocage stands as a giant in the history of New Orleans
traditional jazz. Born across the Mississippi River from New Orleans in
Algiers, Bocage followed in his father's footsteps, playing music at
venues, dances, rent parties, and street parades throughout the
Crescent City area. He soon became a fixture at the famous club,
Storyville, where "people paid to have a good time, any kind of good
time you wanted", as the late, great Danny Barker recalled.

The
music rage of the day was Ragtime. By the age of 21, ocage was the band
leader of one of the most popular ragtime bands, the Superior
Orchestra. At that time, Bocage was playing violin. He hired in a horn
player named Bunk Johnson. The sound Bocage was striving for was soft
and refined, like the Creole culture from which he came. Eventually,
the hotter sound, exemplified by Buddy Bolden won out, but people later
came back around to enjoying the softer tones ocage played for them
years later at the renowned Preservation Hall in the French Quarter of
New Orleans.

In the mid 1910's, Bocage decided to take up the
trumpet himself, an instrument of which he ultimately became master. He
played in all kinds of brass bands in New Orleans, from the Onward, the
Tuxedo and the Excelsior Brass Bands, the last of which he led for 10
years. His musical colleagues included Joe "King" Oliver, Henry Allen,
Sr., and Louis Armstrong. With Fate Marabel, Bocage formed the first
integrated band the South had ever seen. He was a mover and shaker,
once leaving New Orleans to gig at the Cotton Club in New York, and
with Sydney Bechet in Boston.

He recorded with Piron's New
Orleans Orchestra and his own Creole Serenaders. This band appeared in
various permutations from the thirties until not long before Bocage's
death in 1967. In 1961, a CD was pressed as part of the New Orleans
Living Legends series. This one featured Peter Bocage with the Creole
Serenaders & The Love Jiles Ragtime Orchestra. The CD gives the
listener a good feel for that historic time, with tunes like Bocage's
Moma's Gone, Goodbye, and B-Flat Society Blues; Piron's I Wish I Could
Shimmy Like My Sister Kate; along with Bouncing Around, The Purple Rose
of Cairo, and TheHilarity Rag.

Bocage often played at the
Preservation Hall with other musicians of his day, like Sweet Emma
Barrett, Jim Robinson, and Louis Cottrell, Jr.. People from all over
the world flocked to see the old time musicians who spanned the history
of jazz. They are all gone on home now; there will never be an era like
the one Peter Bocage lived through again. But the legacy of that
special time lives on.
~ Rose of Sharon Witmer, All Music Guide

1891 "Big" Crawford, bass
Bass Player Bio:
www.bassplayer.com/story.asp
Livin' Large: Big Crawford
January 2005
Standing
6'5" and weighing 300-plus, Ernest "Big" Crawford loomed large in
Chicago's explosive postwar blues scene. Crawford's slapped upright
lines pushed recordings by the likes of Little Walter, Big Bill
Broonzy, and Memphis Slim, but his work with former plantation hand
Muddy Waters carved Crawford's name for all time in the blues bass hall
of fame.

In April 1948, fellow South Side denizens Waters and
Crawford recorded "I Can't Be Satisfied" for the Chess brothers'
Aristocrat label. (Seven years earlier in Mississippi, Waters had
recorded the song as "I Be's Troubled" for musicologist Alan Lomax.) On
the''48 track, Crawford's slap-bass accompaniment begins with a simple
root-5 pattern (Ex. 1a) that hangs on the I chord's G and D notes even
when Waters goes to the IV. On the turnaround (Ex. 1b), Crawford pedals
an A under the V chord (and tosses in a non-chord E), and on the IV he
introduces a chromatic lick with a syncopation that returns on the next
bar's tonic G. Crawford plays the pattern on the intro and first verse,
but then on the second verse he shifts the syncopated figure to the
first two bars (Ex. 2). It's all a buildup to the guitar solo, where
Crawford lays into wildly syncopated riffs that fully match the
virtuosic intensity of Waters's slide lines (Ex. 3). Throughout the
tune, Crawford keeps his rhythms crisp as his slapped acoustic drives
the track in the twin roles of bass and percussion.

Spurred by
the local success of "I Can't Be Satisfied" and its
straight-from-the-Delta sound, Phil and Leonard Chess paired Waters and
Crawford on classics like "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "Rollin' Stone"
before Waters began filling out his studio band with local aces like
harp man Little Walter and guitarist Jimmy Rogers. Then, in the early
'50s, Waters teamed with the musician who would create blues history as
a bassist, songwriter, and producer: Willie Dixon.

You can hear
Waters's early recordings with Crawford and Dixon on the essential MCA/
Chess collection Muddy Waters: His Best, 1947 to 1955. For more on the
slap-acoustic style, see Mark Rubin's two-part Lesson in October '00
and December '00, and Roland Guerin's Lesson in July '04.


1918 Henry "Hank" Jones, Piano
b. Vicksburg, MS. USA.
Accompanied Billy Eckstine and Ella Fitzgerald.
He led the Hank Jones Trio
MP3 Bio:
www.mp3.com/hank-jones/a...iography.html
Biography
The
oldest of the three illustrious Jones brothers (which include Thad and
Elvin), Hank Jones was also the first of the great Detroit pianists
(including Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris and Roland Hanna) to emerge
after World War II although by then he had long since left town. Jones
played in territory bands while a teenager and in 1944 he moved to New
York to play with Hot Lips Page. He had stints with John Kirby, Howard
McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk and Billy Eckstine. Influenced by
Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum, Jones' style was also open to bebop and his
accessible playing was flexible enough to fit into many genres. He was
on several Jazz at the Philharmonic tours (starting in 1947), worked as
accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald (1948-53) and recorded with Charlie
Parker. In the 1950s Jones performed with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman,
Lester Young, Cannonball Adderley and many others. He was on the staff
of CBS during 1959-1976 but always remained active in jazz. In the late
'70s Jones was the pianist in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin'
and he recorded with a pickup unit dubbed the Great Jazz Trio which at
various times includes Ron Carter, Buster Williams or Eddie Gomez on
bass and Tony Williams, Al Foster or Jimmy Cobb on drums. Among the
many labels that Hank Jones has recorded for as a leader are Verve,
Savoy, Epic, Golden Crest, Capitol, Argo, ABC-Paramount, Impulse,
Concord, East Wind, Muse, Galaxy, Black & Blue, MPS, Inner City and
Chiaroscuro. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

1915 George Kelly, Tenor Sax
b. Miami, FL, USA. d. 1985. Worked with Tiny Grimes
MP3 Bio:
www.mp3.com/george-kelly...iography.html
Biography
George
Kelly was the only musician to be a regular member of both Al Cooper's
Savoy Sultans of the 1940's and Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans of 40
years later. Kelly began on the piano when he was nine before switching
to alto and finally tenor. He played locally in Florida and Panama
Francis was an early sideman in his band the Cavaliers; Kelly also
gigged with Zack Whyte in 1938. After moving to New York, the tenorman
was with the Sultans during 1941-44. Other associations included Rex
Stewart (1946), bassist Lucille Dixon (1948-50) and Tiny Grimes'
Highlanders. Kelly mostly worked with lesser-known groups in the 1950's
and 60's (other than Cozy Cole in 1965), toured Europe with Jay McShann
and Tiny Grimes in 1970 and during 1970-76 he was part of the Ink
Spots' backup band. During his last decade he had a higher profile,
visiting Europe with Ram Ramirez (1976) and being part of both the new
Savoy Sultans and the Harlem Jazz and Blues Band. Kelly had a strong
tenor tone that looked back towards the swing era while he was clearly
aware of later developments. In addition to many sideman appearances
during the 1976-84 period, George Kelly recorded as a leader for Dharma
(1976), Black & Blue (1979), Barron (1982), Vanacore (1982), Sam
Hot (1984) and Stash (a tribute to Don Redman in 1984). ~ Scott Yanow,
All Music Guide


1907 Roy Milton, Blues Vocals/Drums
b. Wynnewood, OK, USA. d. Sept. 18, 1983, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
MP3 Bio:
www.mp3.com/roy-milton/a...iography.html
Biography
As
in-the-pocket drummer of his own jump blues combo, the Solid Senders,
Roy Milton was in a perfect position to drive his outfit just as hard
or soft as he so desired. With his stellar sense of swing, Milton did
just that; his steady backbeat on his 1946 single for Art Rupe's
fledgling Juke Box imprint, "R.M. Blues," helped steer it to the
uppermost reaches of the R&B charts (his assured vocal didn't hurt
either).

Milton spent his early years on an Indian reservation
in Oklahoma (his maternal grandmother was a Native American) before
moving to Tulsa. He sang with Ernie Fields's territory band during the
late '20s and began doubling on drums when the band's regular trapsman
got arrested one fateful evening. In the mood to leave Fields in 1933,
Milton wandered west to Los Angeles and formed the Solid Senders. 1945
was a big year for him -- along with signing with Juke Box (soon to be
renamed Specialty), the band filmed three soundies with singer June
Richmond.

"R.M. Blues" was such a huge seller that it
established Specialty as a viable concern for the long haul. Rupe knew
a good thing when he saw it, recording Milton early and often through
1953. He was rewarded with 19 Top Ten R&B hits by the Solid
Senders, including "Milton's Boogie," "True Blues," "Hop, Skip and
Jump," "Information Blues," "Oh Babe" (a torrid cover of Louis Prima's
jivey jump), and "Best Wishes." Milton's resident boogie piano
specialist, Camille Howard, also sang on several Milton platters,
including the 1947 hit "Thrill Me," concurrently building a solo career
on Specialty.

After amassing a voluminous catalog as one of
Specialty's early bedrocks, Milton moved on to Dootone, King (there he
cut the delectable instrumental "Succotash"), and Warwick (where he
eked out a minor R&B hit in 1961, "Red Light") with notably less
commercial success. Sadly, even though he helped pioneer the postwar
R&B medium, rock & roll had rendered Milton an anachronism.

The
drummer remained active nonetheless, thrilling the throng at the 1970
Monterey Jazz Festival as part of Johnny Otis's all-star troupe. It's a
safe bet he was swinging until the very end.
~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

1919 David Saxon, songwriter
b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
Wrote for Louis Jordan Orch.


Notable Events on this date include:

1966. Famed Swing era pianist Bud Powell died in New York City. Age: 41.
1986. Teddy Wilson, piano, died in New Britain, CT, USA. Age: 73

Songs Recorded/Released this date include:

1919 "Mandy Medley", - Ben Selvin's Orch.
1919 "Novelty One Step", - Ben Selvin's Orch.
1919 "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", - Ben Selvin's Orch.

1928 "I'm On The Crest Of A Wave", - Harry Richman vocal.
1928 "Nagasaki", - The Six Jumping Jacks. (Harry Reser Orch.)
1929 "Because You Said You Loved Me", - Dan Russo's Oriole Orch.
1931 "You Can't Stop Me From Loving You", - Abe Lyman's Calfornia Orch.
1931 "I'm Happy When You're Happy", - The Radiolites. (Ben Selvin Orch)
1931 "Were You Sincere", - The Radiolites. (Ben Selvin Orch)
1942 "I've Heard that Song Before", -Harry James orch., with Helen Forrest vocal
1942 "Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition", - Kay Kyser Orch.
1942 "(It Seems to Me) I've Heard That Song Before", - Harry James Orch. Helen Forrest vocal.
1965 "Unchained Melody", - The Righteous Brothers



1928 "Nagasaki" - The Six Jumping Jacks. (Harry Reser Orch.)
(Tom Stacks vocal, no vocal on German issue)
(Dixon & Warren)

Hot gingerbread and dynamite,
Boy, I drink nothing but that each night,
Back in Nagasaki where the fellows chew tobaccky
And the women wicky-wacky-woo!

Aw, man, how they entertain,
I mean, they hurry a hurricane.
Back in Nagasaki where the fellows chew tobaccky
And the women wicky-wacky-woo!

Fujiama, got a mama,
Then your troubles increase, boy!
It's a bottle in a, bottle in a, bottle in a, bottlein a, bottle in a
Nagasaki!

They hug and kiss each night,
By jingo, boys, worth that price!
Back in Nagasaki where the fellows chew tobaccky
And the women wicky-wacky-woo!
Back in Nagasaki where the fellows chew tobaccky

And the women wicky-wacky-woo!