Charlie Shavers

Charlie Shavers was born in New York city on August 3rd 1917, and took up trumpet in his early teens. He joined Tiny Bradshaw’s band in 1937 and, the same year, played with Jimmy Noone and John
Kirby. He stayed with Kirby for seven years, working as both trumpeter and arranger. Among his compositions was "Undecided", which became a jazz standard and—with lyrics added, proved as smash hit for
Ella Fitzgerald. In 1944 Shavers joined Tommy Dorsey, with whom he was a featured soloist for a decade. Shavers was featured with various bands throughout these years, including sessions with Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich. Shavers passed away in 1971, at the age of 54.

Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw was born in New York, May 23, 1910, and was raised in Connecticut. He took up the alto-sax when he was 12, and just a few years later he was already playing in some local Connecticut bands. After leaving home at age 15 for a job in Kentucky, which never happened, he had to work in traveling bands to get back home.
In 1926, Artie switched to the clarinet, and spent the following three years in Cleveland working on and off as arranger/musical director for the Austin Wylie band.
As 1929 was ending, Artie came to New York City. He played with pianist Willie 'The Lion' Smith at 'Pod's and Jerry's', a Harlem night spot. Often sitting in at after hours sessions at local clubs, he earned a reputation as a technically brilliant clarinetist. He enjoyed a number of record dates (as a sideman) with various jazz bands, including some with Teddy Wilson; backing Billie Holiday; and others such as Vincent Lopez, Paul Specht, Roger Wolfe Kahn, and finally with Red Nichols at the Park Central Hotel in 1931.
In late 1931, he worked in the Fred Rich band for a year and then re-joined the Roger Wolfe Kahn band for a year long tour during 1933.
In May 1936, Shaw formed a small band - strings, clarinet, and three rhythm - for an engagement at the Imperial Theater. The date was so successful, that he was able to obtain financial backing to form a larger group, with regular dance band instrumentation, for a recording contract and a Boston debut. This band, too, was rather short lived. In April 1937, he formed a more conventional big band that was an immediate success, due greatly to the fine Jerry Gray melodic arrangements. This band made several recordings including the hugely successful "Begin The Beguine". The success of this recording propelled his band to the forefront of leading dance bands.
During 1938, the band had Billie Holiday as it's vocalist, but the singer was forced to quit after a succession of disagreeable incidents due to racial discrimination then prevalent in New York's hotels an radio studios. Stomp". Shaw's dislike for the public life caused him to disband, and once again he re-formed a big band only to be forced to fold when America entered WW2.
Incidentally, during the late '30's - early 1940's, Shaw was set up as a rival to Benny Goodman. The antagonism was pure invention on the part of the public relations men. In real life, the two were very amicable towards each other.
Artie's capacity to form and disband many orchestras carried over to his personal life. He also had the same type of unfortunate capacity to marry any girl he met, and divorcing them shortly thereafter. All told, he had eight wives. Among the women he married were; Lana Turner; Ava Gardner; Kathleen Windsor; Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes. After the 6th or 7th divorce, he disappeared suddenly from his band, and surfaced in Mexico. (Alimony Payments to 6 wives is such a drag.) His theme song, Nightmare was truly prophetic!
Like Benny Goodman, Shaw was a technical marvel who played with real precision, yet always swinging. Even so, Shaw's erratic band leading career, together with his erratic personal life, precluded his ever reaching the same level of Benny Goodman's musicianship. Nevertheless, he always had a very delightful and musical band, which with his frequent hiring of black musicians such as Oran "Hot Lips" Page; Billie Holiday, and Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge, helped in bringing down racial barriers. America is richer because of Artie's music.

Arvell Shaw:

Arvell Shaw was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 15th, 1923. He began playing bass with the Fate Marable band in the early 40’s and after World War Two he joined Louis Armstrong—a jobb which lasted, on and off for a quarter of a century. In the late 50´s and 60´s Shaw continued to play with Armstrong, but also found time to perform with Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson and others, and after Satchmo´s death in ´71, he joined some mainstream artists like Buddy Tate and Earl Hines.

Omer Simeon

Was born in New Orleans on July 21st, 1902, and his musical education took place in Chicago where he lived from 1914. While playing with Charlie Elgar’s popular Chicago dance band he appeared on a
number of recording dates with Jelly Roll Morton and also played with Joe King Oliver. In the late twenties he was with Luis Russell in New York and then went back to Jelly Roll Morton’s group.
Back in Chicago in the late twenties, Simeon spent a couple of years with Erskine Tate and then joined Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines for a six year spell. In the 40’s he played with several bands including that of Jimmy Lunceford , and spent most of the fifties with Wilbur de Paris in New York. A bold and imaginative clarinetist, Simeon’s talent comes to full bloom in his playing with small groups.

Nina Simone

Was born on February 21st, 1933 in Tyron, North Carolina, and has been called "A performer of raw power." Her real name, Eunice Wayman, she studied piano at the prestigeous Julliard school of music before
making records. Nina Simone showed strong jazz feelings in a variety of numbers, both traditional and modern.

Zutty Singleton

Was born in Bunkie, Louisiana on May 14^th, 1898. He played drums in early childhood and began professionally in 1915. Following service in World War One Singleton played in the New Orleans Bands of Papa Oscar Celestine and Louis Nelson, and then worked the riverboats with Fate Marable in the
early twenties. After moving to Chicago, he teamed up with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines for record dates and, for a short time, went into partnership with them as co-owners of a c lub. As a member of theCarroll Dickerson Band he went to New York and played with the leading jazzmen of the day, and also led his own band. Singleton recorded extensively during the 30’s with Roy Eldridge, Mess Mezzrow and Sidney Bechet, and in the 40’s he accompanied Charlie Parker, Wingy Manone and Dizzie Gillespie. Singleton went right
on playing and recording extensively throughout the 60’s as well. A stroke in 1970 ended his playing career.

Bessie Smith

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 15^th, 1895, "She was a wild lady with her lips". That’s how Lester Young described her—the ‘Empress of the blues.’ She was indeed the greatest blues singer ever, with a rich, passionate contralto voice that could fill a hall and make the rafters ring with grief or joy—
with the pleasures of gin or sin. Bessie Smith was a protégé´of Ma Rainey and sang In her minstrel show. By 1913, when she was eighteen, Bessie, strikingly beautiful and very black was stopping all shows around the south. By 1920 she had her own show in Atlantic City, and in 1923 made her big career move to N.Y. She signed with Columbia Records, made her first recordings with pianist Fletcher Henderson and began a long year performing for clubs and on tours. She was the star of her own summer tent show "Harlem Frolics" which travelled the south in its own luxury train-car, thus avoiding the problems of racial segregation. Bessie Smith became the highest salaried black star in the world. By 1928 she had recorded with the greatest—James P. Johnson, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong and others. In 1933, she made her last classic recordings with Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman and Coleman Hawkins.
In 1937, Bessie Smith died in a car crash. Seven thousand people attended her funeral, but her grave went unmarked until Janis Joplin and Juanita Green financed a headstone in 1970. It reads, "The greatest blues singer in the world will never stop singing."

Hezekia Leroy Gordon "Stuff"  Smith ---

From Portsmouth, Ohio, began playing violin as a child and started his professional career at the age of 15. By 1936 he was playing at New York´s Onyx Club with Jonah Jones and Cozy Cole, and wearing a battered top hat and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, Stuff established his reputation as a hard-swinging jazz man with a wierd sense of humor. He was perhaps the most exciting and dynamic of all jazz fiddlers.

Willie (The lion) Smith

            was born in Goshen , New York on November 25th 1897, and began playing the piano at the age of six, encouraged by his mother. In his teens, already, he had established a glowing reputation as a ragtime pianist in New York, and following World War One, Smith became one of Harlem’s best known pianists . Despite his popularity and the high respect payed him bu Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and James P. Johnson, Willy Smith made few records and was relativcly unknown outside of New York. Admiration continues for "The Lion" by all great jazz musicians and jazz fans.

TAB SMITH

Was born as Talmadge Smith on January 11th, 1909 in Kinston, North Carolina. After learning to play piano and saxophone he settled on Alto and soprano sax, and it was on Alto that he made a name for himself.
He worked in bands led by Fate Marable, Lucky Milander and Frankie Newton during the thirties, and he also played in Teddy Wilson’s ill-fated band He was in great demand during the forties, recording with Billy Holiday, Earl Hines, Charlie Shavers, Coleman Hawkins and Count Basie and also led his own band. He continued doing so into the fifties after making some popular rhythm and blues records. Tab Smith dropped out of full time music in the late fifties and ended his career playing the organ in a St. Louis restaurant. Smith was a forceful player and persured a ‘soul-funk’ path during the 70’s, sometimes using a synthesizer.

Muggsy Spanier

Muggsy Spanier was born as Francis Joseph Spanier on November 9th, 1906 in Chicago. He began playing cornet while barely in his teens and within a couple of years was a professional musician. By the end of the 20’s he was hired by Ted Lewis to play in his popular orchestra and, in the mid-thirties joined Ben Pollack. Later, he formed his own band—"The Ragtimers" and made an enormous impact on the public. During the forties he led his own band and played with such notables as Bob Crosby, Pee Wee Russell and Miff Mole, and in the fifties he worked with Earl Hines, playing a numerous hotels, clubs and festivals clear across
the USA. Spanier’s style was simple and direct—very closely related to earlier jazzmen. Spanier was forced to retire in 1964 due to poor health and he died in 1967.

Johnny St. Cyr

Was born in New Orleans on April 17th 1890. After teaching himself to play guitar on a home-made instrument he began leading his own small band in New Orleans during his teens and then played banjo with some of the biggest names—Freddy Keppard, Oscar ‘papa’ Celestin, Joe ‘king’ Oliver, and in 1923 went to Chicago and played with Oliver, Jimmy Noone Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. St. Cyr continued to play
with these giants in the 50’s and 60’s, and for a long time played an instrument which he devised himself: A six string guitar with a banjo head.

Jess Stacy

Jess Stacy was born in Bird’s Point, Missouri on August 11th, 1904, and after teaching himself to play the piano, he played on riverboats for a number of years, arriving in Chicago in the mid-twenties. Stacy worked with numerous bands and was brought to the attention of Benny Goodman in 1935. For the next four years he was a regular member of Goodman’s band, playing at the Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938. Stacy joined Bob Crosby from 1939 to 1942, And then returned to Goodman. 19 1974, Stacy performed at the Newport Jazz Festival to a cheering public, and continued to delight audiences. And even in 1992 he was presented with the Benny Carter Award by the American Federation of Jaz Societies. Stacy died in Los Angeles in 1995.

Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1907. His major contribution to jazz trumpet and cornet was the development of "Half-Valving"—that is, a technique of pushing the trumpet valves half-way down, to create quarter tones and freak sounds to their limits. Like most of his contemporaries in the 20’s, Stewart idolized Louis Armstrong. He said, "I tried to walk like him, talk like him, eat like him, sleep like him and , of course, play like him."
Later on, Stewart found it futile to play like Satchmo. Indeed, that became painfully clear to him when he replaced Louis in Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra. That was, in fact, at Armstrong’s recommendation, but Stewart had to fake his way through passages   that were beyond him. Nevertheless, Rex Stewart was a hard-blowing trumpeter who was lucky to join Duke Ellington—an orchestrator who made the most of Stewart’s basic talent. He remained with the Duke for eleven years—from ‘34- 45. In 1957 he organized the Fletcher Henderson reunion band for the South Bay jazz festival. This is Rex Stewart with his own Big Seven:

Slam Stewart

Leroy Stewart, was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on September 21st, 1914.
He studied bass at the Boston,conservatory of music, and almost from the start, began experimenting with his distinctive style of humming in unison with his bass.
In the forties, following huge recording succeses with Slim Gaillard, Stewart joined Art Tatum, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge and Benny Goodman. In the 60’s Stewart added classical music to his repertoire, and during the next two decades he continued to tour extensively , playing with a wide range of artists, mostly in mainstream-jazz. Stewart always played in an intensely rhythmic manner and was never afraid to display wit and humor.

Billy Strayhorn

Billy Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio on November 29th, 1915. After studying music at school and privately he began writing music and late in 1938 submitted material to Duke Ellington. The following
year Ellington recorded the first of these works and Strayhorn was soon a mainstay in the Duke’s band. In fact, Strayhorn remained with Ellington almost exclusively for the rest of his life. When he did write
and play for or with other artists, they were Ellington musicians. Strayhorn’s greatest contributions were, of course, immortilized by the Duke. Before he was hospitalized in 1967, Strayhorn continued
composing until his very end.

Buddy Tate

Buddy Tate was born in Sherman, Texas on February 22, 1913, and learned to play saxophone with Southwest territory bands. In 1939 Tate was invited to join Count Basie, to replace Herschel Evans who had died suddenly. Tate stayed with Basie for nine happy years, and then worked with Lucky Millander, Hot Lips Page and Jimmy Rushing’s Savoy Band before getting a residence offer at the Celebrity Club in Harlem where he stayed for twenty-one straight years Throughout the fifties Tate recorded regularly, toured with Buck Clayton and worked at Jazz festivals. Buddy Tate is regarded as a giant of tenor Sax .

Art Tatum

Art Tatum, also came to the world on October 13th—in 1909 in Toledo, Ohio.
Born into a musical family, he was handicapped at birth with impaired sight. Blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, he nevertheless studied piano formally and by his mid-teens was already playing professionally in Toledo. Tatum worked mostly as a solo entertainer—in clubs and on radio, and later became the accompanist of Adelaide Hall during her road tours. Tatum travelled to New York with her in 1932 and made his first recording the following year. In 1937, Tatum’s playing in New York clubs, on radio and recordings earned him a reputation as one of the world’s great Jazz figures. Many jazz experts rate Art Tatum as the greatest Jazz pianist in history and even Fats Waller, an acknowledged master of the keyboard, spotted Tatum in the audience while he was playing one night and declared: "God is in the house tonight."

   Clark Terry:

Born in St. Louis, Missouri on December 14th, 1920, played trumpet in local bands and developed his remarkable technique while playing in the U.S. Navy.
He later joined Charlie Barnet and then became a mainstay with Count Basie’s band for three years—until 1981 when he went to work for Duke Ellington for eight years. Terry continued to play in jazz groups for club and record dates with Bob Brookmeyer, J.J. Johnson and others and laso led his own "Big B-A-D- Band.
During the 70’s, Clark Terry began playing the flugelhorn, eventually making it his main instrument. Terry remains a major figure in the history of jazz trumpet and is one of the most repected and admired ambassador’s of jazz.

Frankie "Tram" Trumbauer

Born May 30, 1901 in Carbondale, Il.
Frankie Trumbauer's accomplishments as a Jazz musician have been overshadowed by the role he played in Bix Beiderbecke's career. In his own right he may have played a greater role in the history of Jazz than Bix, as the grandfather of Modern Jazz. His cool, intellectual style of playing was a major influence on Lester Young, and something of his style can be found in the Cool Jazz movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Trumbauer was unusual in that he played C-Melody saxophone. He got his start playing in several dance bands in the Midwest and eventually became musical director of Jean Goldkette's Orchestra. He led his own band at the Acadia Ballroom in St. Louis that featured Bix. For the next few years Trumbauer's and Beiderbecke's careers became entwined. They played together in Jean Goldkette's orchestra and made many highly influential recordings together, such as For no Reason at all in C, Singing the Blues, and Wringin' and Twistin'. They both joined Adrian Rollini's short lived band and then joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1927. Trumbauer was with Whiteman until 1932, when he left to form his own band. He then rejoined Whiteman in 1933. In the mid-1930s he played with Charlie and Jack Teagarden and then led his own band in California. During World War II he left the music business and worked as a test pilot. After the war he played in the NBC Orchestra and worked for the Civil Aeronautical Authority. He played occasionally for the remainder of his life, but after 1947 he made his living outside of music.<>