BIRTHDAYS
1916     David "Stringbean" Akeman, C&W banjo/comedy, b. Anniville, KY, USA, d. Nov. 11, 1973.
1913     Albert Bright, alto sax, b. Leavenworth, KS, USA.
1952     Mike Buck, drums, b. Texas, USA. Member: 'Fabulous Thunderbirds'
1917     Nick Buono, trumpet, b. San Diego, California, USA, d. Oct. 14, 1993. Nick is perhaps best recalled as lead trmpet with the Harry James Orch. (He joined James in December 1939 )
1947     Glenn Buxton, guitar. b. UK. Member group: Alice Cooper Band.
1957     Philip Chevron, guitar. Member: The Pogues.
1977     Aaron Clark, electric bass/vocals, b. VA, USA. Member: 'The Clark Family Experience', is comprised of the six eldest children of traveling ministers Freddy and Sylvia Clark. Alan (guitar/vocals), Aaron (electric bass/vocals), Adam (mandolin/vocals), Ashley (fiddle), Andrew (drums), and Austin (lap slide guitar/keyboards) were born and raised in Virginia.
1890     Florence Cole-Talbert, vocals, b. Detroit, MI, USA, d. April 3, 1961, Memphis, TN, USA. Both of her parents, Sadie Chandler Cole and Thomas A. Cole, were musicians. Sadie was a talented mezzo-soprano who had toured extensively with the'Fisk Jubilee Singers', while Thomas was an excellent basso. When she was 8 years old, her parents moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1916, Cole graduated from the Chicago Music College, where she was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, even composing the sorority's national hymn. In 1918, she made her professional debut at New York's Aeolian Hall. Florence married pianist-music director Wendell P. Talbert, and in 1924, she appeared in Europe where she was the first Black person to sing a fully staged Aida, with an "all-White" European opera company (1927: 'Teatro Comunale' in Cosenza). Widely acclaimed for her performance, she returned to the United States in 1927. She subsequently married Dr. Benjamin F. McCleave of Memphis, and took up residence in Memphis, TN, where she taught music at her home at 475 Vance Street. She also organized the Memphis Music Association, wrote articles for the Tri-State Defender and gave recitals to raise money for schools and churches. Cole-Talbert taught music at Tuskegee, Fisk and Rust colleges, and was the first Black director of the voice department at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Cole-Talbert was also the first Black Classical artist to record for the historic "race" label, Black Swan. She was also recorded by the Paramount label.
1902     Chris Columbus, Drums, b. Greenville, NC, USA, USA, d. Aug. 20, 2002, New Jersy, USA, né: Joseph Morris Christopher Columbus. (sometimes credited as Joe Morris). (CAUTION: Do Not Confuse with Joe Morris - a "free jazz" guitarist) . In the 1930s, he led his own band that at one period played in New York's famed 'Savoy Ballroom'.. During 1946-'52, he was the drummer in Louis Jordan's group, and even appeared with Jordan in the 1947 film "Reet, Petite and Gone", and in the 1948 film "Look Out, Sister". During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he worked with "Wild Bill" Davis, and in 1967, briefly played with Duke Ellington. In the 1970s, he led his own bands and toured Europe. He lived to be 100, and was still playing at age 90. Chris Columbus was the father of drummer/leader Sonny Payne. (né: Percival Payne, b. May 4, 1926, New York, New York, USA, d. January 29, 1979, Los Angeles, CA, USA.)
1919     Gene DePaul, composer/songwriter, b. New York, NY, USA, d. 1988, USA
1902     Sammy Fain, Composer/vocalist, d. 1989, USA. né Samuel Feinberg. Known as "The Crooning Composer". He was active on stage and Radio.
1922J     erry Fielding, arranger, leader, radio-record-film-television composer, conductor, and musical director. b. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA,, d. Feb. 17, 1980, Toronto, Ontario né: Joshua Feldman
1910     Red Foley, Country and Western vocals/guitar, d. Sept. 19, 1968, USA, né: Clyde Julian Foley
1931     Dominic Frontiere, Leader, composer, accordion, b. New Haven, CT, USA.
1923     Ronnie Gleaves, Vibraphone/Piano, b. Bermonsey, London, England
1939     Gerry "Dickie Doo" Granahan, vocals. b. UK.
1893     "Coot" Grant, vocals, b. Birmingham, AL, USA.
1924     Lorenzo Holden, tenor sax, d. 1987, USA
1965     Richard Hynd, rock drummer, b. UK. Member: 'Texas'
1871     James Weldon Johnson, composer, b. Jacksonville, FL
1911     Tom King, trumpet/promoter, d. Oct. 6, 2003
1905     Don Kirkpatrick, Piano, b. Charlotte, NC, USA. d. May 13, 1956, USA.(pneumonia). Age: 50. Although this swing era player is best-known for his long-time association with Chick Webb (off and on during 1927-37), he also played with many others including Don Redman (1933-37).and with Harry White, Elmer Snowden, Zutty Singleton and Mezz Mezzrow. After leaving Webb, he became a freelance arranger, and contributed arrangements to the Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Cootie Williams orchestras. After the Big Bands era ended, Kirkpatrick continued playing with small Dixieland groups led by Bunk Johnson (1947), Sidney Bechet (1951), Wilbur De Paris' New New Orleans Jazz Band (1952-55) and Doc Cheatham (late 1955). Kirkpatrick never led his own band.
1936     Bobby Knight, leader, trombone, Bass Trombone, b: , Kenton, Goodman, L.A. Studios; 1960-'80. Album: Great American Trombone Company.
1899     Benny Krueger, Alto-tenor-soprano-'c-melody' sax, clarinet, leader, b. Newark, NJ, USA. d. April 29, 1967, USA. Prior to 1920, saxophones were never heard on Jazz recordings, and even rarely in Jazz groups playing 'live'. This situation was ameliorated by RCA and "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band " (ODJB). Someone ( now unknown) in the RCA Victor recording company's management felt so strongly that a saxophone belonged in a 'Jazz group', that the ODJB were 'forced' to use a saxophonist. It turned out to be Benny Krueger, who joined in 1917, and who would remain with the group for half a dozen years. Ever since 1920, the saxophone has been identified with syncopated music and improvisation. Listen now to the ODJB's 1920 recording of "Palesteena", (554 kb). (Conrad - Robinson tune), VIC-18717 - Dec. 4, 1920. (Nick LaRocca, cornet; Eddie Edwards, trombone; Larry Shields, clarinet; Tony Sbarbaro, Drums; Benny Krueger, alto sax; J. Russel Robinson, piano). From this time on, the saxophone would be forever be identified with syncopated, and improvised music. By the mid-1920s, Krueger was leading his own Dance band, and recording both under his own name and under pseudonyms. Among his hit recordings were such tunes as "Lovin' Sam" and "Bye Bye Blackbird. Krueger also worked steadily as a music contractor for various -then brand new- radio stations, In the mid-1930s, he was the musical director.for singer Rudy Vallee's radio show, and soon after for singer Bing Crosby's show too. He was even seen in a Hollywood 'short' " Rambling 'Round Radio Row" (1932), playing himself, and improvising on his saxophone. Krueger also found time to compose and among his hit compositions are "Sunday" (a hit for Bing Crosby), and "I Don't Know Why (I Love You Like I Do)"
1942     Norman Kuhlke, rock drums. Member group: 'The Swinging Blue Jeans'.
1947     Eric Lewis, rock vocals. b. UK. Member group: 'Middle of the Road'.
1946     Barry Manilow, Pop Vocalist. né: Barry Alan Pincus. Did you know that very early in his career, Barry wrote commercial jingles for such companies as Pepsi Cola, McDonald's, Dr Pepper, State Farm Insurance, and the Band Aid Corp.
1914     Sing Miller, Piano, b. New Orleans, LA, USA, d. May 18, 1990
1962     Michael Monroe, vocals. Member: 'Hanoi Rocks'.
1946     Jake Moore, piano, b. West Point, MS, USA.
1940     Chuck Rainey, Guitar/bass/electric bass, b. Youngstown, OH, USA
1947     Greg Rolie, vocals. b. UK. Member: 'Santana.'
1983     Lee Ryan, vocals. b. UK. Member: 'Blue'. His 2002 single "If You Come Back" reached No. 1 on the UK charts.
1921     Tony Scott, Tenor-Bari sax, Clarinet, compose, arranger, piano, electronics, percussion, vocals, b. Morristown, NJ, USA, d. March 28, 2007, Rome, Italy. (complications of prostate cancer) Age: 85. né: Anthony Joseph Sciacca. (his family name is pronounced “Shaka”). A graduate from Juilliard School of Music and New York City Contemporary School of Music, Scott first found work in the 1940s local N.Y. venues of Greenwich Village, Harlem and 52nd Street. In 1950, Scott worked with producer John Hammond on a Sarah Vaughn album alongside Miles Davis. He also played at the Metropole Jazz Cafe, and while there was introduced to Dizzy Gillespie. He developed a friendship with Charlie Parker, and also accompanied Billie Holiday on her Carnegie Hall live album "Lady Sings the Blues", and at times served as clarinetist, pianist, arranger and orchestra leader. In 1957, Scott received a U.S. Government commendationand towards the end of that year, he embarked on a seven-month exploration of Europe. Eventually, his travels led him to South Africa, where he recorded with African RCA and an African women’s vocal group at a time when integrated jazz ran in sharp juxtaposition to apartheid rule. In 1959, he again left America after several quartet recordings reflecting the loss of many of his close musician friends. He taught, recorded and performed music around the world, spending five years drifting through Asia where he became vastly popular. A DownBeat readers poll in Japan in 1960 confirmed Scott as the best clarinetist. In 1965, The Newport Jazz Festival drew Scott back to the States, until 1967, when he accepted an invitation to play with the Indonesian All Stars at the 1967 Berlin Jazz Festival. After that, he spent the next two years traveling throughout Africa, recording with local musicians.The 1970s found him wandering through Europe, where he eventually made Italy his primary home. His latter years involved festival and club appearances throughout his adopted country, and in 2000, he was asked to speak and play at Bird 200 in Japan, a celebration for Parker’s 80th birthday. Scott was an avid photographer who captured many portraits of his Jazz colleagues. Later in life, he started painting, and over the years he amassed a number of film credits, both as actor and musician. In a 1953 review of the Tony Scott Quartet published in DownBeat magazine, renowned jazz critic Nat Hentoff referred to Scott as “our finest contemporary jazz clarinetist”. Hentoff said, “no other modern clarinetist has the fire, the drive, and the beat Tony generates.” Scott will always be remembered for his accomplishments as a clarinetist in the post-Benny Goodman jazz arena.
1907     Gene "Honey Bear" Sedric, Tenor Sax/clarinet/vocal, b. St. Louis, MO, USA. d. April 3, 1963, New York, NY, USA. A longtime member of "Fats Waller's Rhythm" His father was a ragtime pianist and Sedric started his own career playing with Charlie Creath in St. Louis, MO. Other early gigs included associations with Fate Marable, Dewey Jackson and Ed Allen (1922). He also worked with Sam Wooding (see below)
1935     Peggy Seeger, vocalist/guitar.
1949     Russell Smith, vocals, b. Nashville, TN, USA. Member: 'The Amazing Rhythm Aces'
1944     Chris Spedding, guitar/bass/electric bass, b. Great Britian
1915     Stringbean, d. Nov. 10, 1973. né: David Akeman
1929     Earl Taylor, C&W vocals/strings, b. Lee County, VA, USA. Member: 'Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys', -a hard-driving "Baltimore-style" bluegrass group. It's not often remembered today, but in the 1950s and '60s, Baltimore was a major center for bluegrass music. It was in Baltimore rowhouses that Hazel Dickens first met Mike Seeger (co-founder of the New Lost City Ramblers), and where Alice Gerrard and Dickens formed the first major female bluegrass duo. Baltimore was where Del McCoury got his big break when he met bluegrass godfather Bill Monroe, and a Baltimore band, 'Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys', became the first bluegrass act to ever play in New York's famed Carnegie Hall.
1969     Kevin Thornton, vocals. b. UK. Member: 'Color Me Bad'.
1951     Vladimir Tolkachev, Reeds/Percussion/flute/leader/piano, b. Serov, Sverdolvsk, Russia
1957     Tom Varner, French Horn, b. (b. Morristown, New Jersey, USA In 1979, Varner earned his B.M. degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Ran Blake, George Russell, and Jaki Byard. In 2005, he earned his M.A. degree from the Ciity College of New York, where he studied with Jim McNeely, Scott Reeves, and John Patitucci. During his career, he has performed and recorded with Steve Lacy, Dave Liebman, George Gruntz, John Zorn, Bobby Watson, La Monte Young, Miles Davis with Quincy Jones, Bobby Previte, Jim McNeely, McCoy Tyner, while also appearing on over 70 albums. He also has 11 albums out as a composer/leader. . Varner has been in the Down Beat Critics Poll Top Ten annually since the mid-1990s
1895     Sam Wooding, Piano/Arranger/leader, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. d. August 1, 1995, New York, NY, USA. Did you know that Gene Sedric (mentioned above) joined Sam Wooding's Orchestra in 1925. He toured with Wooding in Europe for the next six years, not leaving until the band broke up in 10 1931.
1927     Charles Wright, tenor sax, b. AR, USA.
1947     Paul Young, vocals. b. UK. Member: 'Sad Cafe'.
   Noteable Events occuring this date include:
1956.    Bill Dillard, guitar, died in Hollywood, CA, USA. Age: 30
1964.    The song "Come A Little Bit Closer" recorded by 'Jay and The Americans'.
1965.    Milton Roby, violin, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 58 Member: 'Memphis Jug Band'
1966.    Johnny St. Cyr, banjo, guitar died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. (b. April 17, 1890, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)
1968.    Harvey Brooks, piano died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age 69. (b,. 1899 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
1970.    Eddie Cole, vocals/piano, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 59 (Singer Nat "King" Cole's Brother)
1982.    Mynie Sutton, alto sax, leader died in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. ( b. October 9, 1903 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada)
1986.    Famed singer Kate Smith died. Age: 79
1992.    Dewey Balfa, (cajun) violin, died in Eunice, LA, USA. Age: 65
1992.    George Prayer, vocals, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 54 Member: 'The Moroccos'
1993.    Luther Tucker, guitar, died in San Rafael, CA, USA. Age: 57
2004.    Jackie Paris, vocallist, died in New York, NY, USA. ( b. Sept. 20, 1926, Nutley, New Jersey, USA.)
2005.    Billy Bauer, guitarist, died in Melville, Long Island, New York, USA. (complications from pneumonia,) Age: 89. ( b. Nov. 14, 1915, New York, NY, USA)
2005.    Henryk Majewski, trumpeter died (b. April 13, 1936, Lwov, Poland)
   Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1916   "Cavalleria Rusticana", - Deiro Pietro's Band
1926   "Florida The Moon and You", - Carl Fenton Orch.
1928   "That's My Weakness Now", - Abe Lyman and his Californians
1928   "That's My Weakness Now", - Paul Whiteman Orch.
1929   "There Was Nothing Else To Do", - Sam Lanin and his Ipana Troubadors
1932   "Chant of The Weed", - Don Redman and his Connies Inn Orch.
1932   "Reefer Man", - Harlan Lattimore Orch.
1932   "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane", - Boswell Sisters voc.
1935   "Sunbonnet Sue", - Kay Kyser Orch.
1940   "Rose of the Rio Grande", Kay Kyser Orch.
1940   "Blueberry Hill", Kay Kyser Orch.
1942   "Idaho", - Benny Goodman Orch., with Dick Haymes voc.
1942   "Serenade In Blue", - Benny Goodman Orch.
1942   "Conchita Marquita Lolita Lopez", - Glenn Miller Orch.
1943   "Let's Get Lost", - Kay Kyser Orch.
1957   "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter", - Billy Williams
1967   "Don't Sleep In The Subway", - Petula Clark
1967   "Up-Up & Away", - Fifth Dimension
1967   "C'mon Marianne", - Four Seasons
1967   "Tracks Of My Tears, The", - Johnny Rivers
1972   "Too Late To Turn Back Now", - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
1972   "Layla", - Derek & The Dominos
1972   "How Do You Do?", - Mouth & MacNeal
1978   "Grease", - Frankie Valli
1989   "Lay Your Hands On Me", - Bon Jovi
1989   "Once Bitten Twice Shy", - Great White
1989   "So Alive", - Love And Rockets
1972   "Too Late To Turn Back Now", - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
1972   "Layla", - Derek & The Dominos
1972   "How Do You Do?", - Mouth & MacNeal
1978   "Grease", - Frankie Valli
1989   "Lay Your Hands On Me", - Bon Jovi
1989   "Once Bitten Twice Shy", - Great White
1989   "So Alive", - Love And Rockets