BIRTHDAYS
1963     Rob Affuso, Drums Member Group: 'Skid Row', a group formed in 1986.
1957     Kristine Arnold, Country Vocals, b. Manhattan Beach, California, USA, née: Kristine Oliver. Her sister is Janis Gill (née: Janis Oliver, b. Nov. 28, 1956, Manhattan Beach, California, USA), and the two sisters recorded as the group 'Sweethearts of the Rodeo'. (See: Janis Gill on our Nov. 28 calendar.)
1946     Tony Ashton, keyboard, b. Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Member Group: 'Ashton, Gardner & Dyke'
1921     Kenny Baker, Composer/Trumpet/flugelhorn, b. Withernsea, England, d. Dec. 7, 1999, Felpham, West Sussex, England, UK. (Viral Infection) Age: 78. As a lad, he started playing Piano (at home), but by age 12, he was playing Cornet in a local Brass Band. In 1939, he joined the Lew Stone band. Subsequently, he worked in Maurice Winnick; Sid Millward; Ambrose and Jack Hylton bands. During 1946-'49, he worked for Ted Heath as lead Trumpet and arranger. 1949-'51 found him working in British film studios where he did sound track works for such films as 'Genevieve', 'Red Shoes' and others. While he has led his own group ("Baker's Dozen"), Kenny has basically been a freelancer in TV and Film studios. Kenny has credited Bunny Berigan and Louis Armstrong as some of his early influences. He has won the prestigious Melody Maker Reader's Poll of "Britian's Best in 1957" award. He considers his best solo to be "Dark Eyes" which he recorded with the Ted Heath Orch.
CAUTION: Do Not Confuse with:
Bluegrass fiddler Kenny Baker who was born on June 26, 1926, in Jenkins, KY, USA. (Both his father and grandfather were fiddlers, and by eight years old, Kenny himself "Fiddlin'" around.)
Kenny Baker (film actor) Born on Aug 24, 1934
1917     Aime Barelli, Trumpet/Vocals/Bandleader, b. Loda, Lantosque, France
1954     Carles Benavent, bassist, b. Barcelona, Spain
1927     Harry Belafonte, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. né: Harold George Belafonte, Jr. Was on track team of his high school(George Washington High School - New York City). In 1944, he left high school and joined the Navy. Harry's second wife, Julie, was a featured dancer in Katherine Dunham's dance troupe, and they have two children (son and a daughter). The daughter, Gina was a 'regular' on a TV series: "The Comish". Harry and Julie are very active in the civil rights struggle.
1957     Jon Carroll, Organ/Piano, b. Washington, D.C., USA. Member Group: 'Starland Vocal Band'
1810     Fryderyk Chopin, composer/pianist, b. Zelazowa-Wola (near Warsaw), Poland, d. Oct. 17, 1849, Paris, France (tuberculosis). Alright, alright! So Freddie isn't a Jazz piano player......but who can resist his music?
1947     Norman Connors, Drums, leader, producer, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1944     Roger Daltrey, vocals, b. Hammersmith, London, England. Sang with "The Who".
1944     Mike D'Abo, vocals, b. Betchworth, Surrey, England. He became a member of the group 'A Band Of Angels' while still attending Harrow School. In 1966, he replaced Paul Jones in the group 'Mannfred mann'. Later appeared in the pantomime show 'Gulliver's Travels'. In 1969, he appeared in the stage play 'Jesus Christ Superstar' singing the role of King Herod. In 1970, he recorded an album for UNI. In 1972, with the group 'Affinity' backing him, recorded perhaps his best known solo "Dawn at Rachel's Place". As a composer, he best known tunes are "Build Me Up Buttercup" (written for group 'The Foundations'), and "Handbags And Gladrags".
1912     Walter Davis, piano, b. Grenada, MS, USA.
1939     Warren Davis, vocals, b. Newark, NJ, USA. Member: 'The Monotones'
1914     Barrett Deems, Drums, b. Springfield, IL, USA. d. Sept. 15, 1998, Chicago, IL, USA. Pneumonia - age 85.
Deems Chronology
1913 - 1931
    Father was a movie theater projectionist and amateur ragtime piano player. Mother no musical background. First drum at age five; by eight had first drum set (Sears-Roebuck $100 starter set); Began music lessons for 25 cents each from local pit musician. Lessons continued for 6 years until became tired of the discipline. At age 14 was playing with his father, usually backing up silent movies in local theaters. At 16, member local musician's union and then had first road gig with the Paul Ash Orchestra. A year later he returned to Springfield.
1931-1937
    In Springfield, formed own band which played locally from 1931 to 1937. At the time, Springfield was enjoying "big-city" nightlife complete with gambling and after-hours jam sessions. The Deems orch., worked the top clubs including, The Gingham Gardens, the Lake Club and The Rex. After hearing Deems (in Springfield), Ben Pollack encouraged him to go to New York or Chicago to get in with big name bands.
1938-1946
    In 1938, Deems joins Joe Venuti band in New York, remaining and recording with Venuti until 1946. Deems worked with Venuti off-and-on for the rest of Venuti's life.
1946-1954
    Gigged with a large number of famous bands and groups including Red Norvo, Charlie Barnet and Muggsy Spanier.
1954-1958
    Joined Louis Armstrong's All-Stars. In 1956, the the U.S. Dep't of State sponsored All-Stars tour of Europe and Africa, incl. the Ghana's Independence Day Celebration before 100,000 fans. The band was the guest of Premier Kwame Nkrumah. Later in 1956, he appeared with Armstrong and, Bing Crosby in the movie 'High Society'; -in the sequence that accompanies the song "Now you has jazz." Fred Astaire was Bing's co-star.
1959-1960
    Played with many well-known small groups and big bands.
1960-1964
    Recorded with Jack Teagarden's band.
1964-19??
    Mostly working around Chicago, backing up visiting performers. Also as a member of the Dukes of Dixieland.
1976
Toured Eastern Europe with Benny Goodman's Orchestra.
1977-present
Toured South America with Wild Bill Davison. Featured with Arvell Shaw in a BBC documentary of a 1984 tour of England, "The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong". He has played at the Chicago Jazz Festival with his own big band. And, in 1994, received the Living Art of Music (LAMA) Award for Big Bands
1950     Connie Eaton, (C&W) vocals, b. Nashville, TN, USA.
1911     Kathleen (Kay) Finegan, singer, b. San Diego, CA, USA. As a singer, Kay worked in Speakeasies, Nightclubs, Bands, Radio, and Theatres. She appeared with the 'Major Bowes Troupe', that plied the Monongehela & Ohio Rivers on the famous "Showboat". In 1936, she married Bill Finegan, orchestrator & composer, and also joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra as part of his writer, copyist team. In 1951, (after returning from France) she helped to form the "Sauter-Finegan Orchestra" with duties including management, publicity, personnel, etc. After her divorce from Finegan, she did Artist management, recording, public relations. Later, she formed a food catering service (Call Cuisine) which she eventually sold and became a "Travel Junkie".
1942     Jerry Fisher, (Background) Vocals, b. Dekalb, TX, USA. Member Group: 'Blood, Sweat & Tears'
1917     Ralph J. Gleason, Writer/music critic, b. New York, NY, USA. d. 1975.
1956     Vinny Golia, woodwinds, b. New York, NY, USA
1966     Clinton Gregory - C&W vocals/fiddler, b. Martinsville, VA, USA.
1928     Bob Hardaway, Tenor Sax, b. Milwaukee, WI, USA.
1963     Sara Hickman, (C&W) singer-songwriter/guitarist, b. Jacksonville, NC, USA.
1969     Dafydd Ieuan, drums, b. Cardiff, Wales, UK. Member Groups: 'Super Furry Animals', and 'Catonia', a group, formed in Cardiff, Wales (1993), consisting of singer/songwriter Cerys Matthews (née: Elizabeth Philip Matthews in Cardiff, Wales in spring 1969), guitarist/vocalist Mark Roberts, bassist Paul Jones, drummer Dafydd Ieuan, and keyboardist C. Pegg. In 1994, this group released "Hooked", after which both Pegg and Ieuan left the band; Dafydd joined 'Super Furry Animals', and drummer Aled Richards replaced Ieuan
1922     Edward Jablonski, writer/historian, b. Bay City, MI, USA, d. Feb. 10, 2004, New York, NY, USA. (Heart Failure) Jablonski befriended some of America's finest Pop composers, including the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, and Irving Berlin, with whose help he wrote some landmark biographies. Working with Ira Gershwin, his first book was entitled The Gershwin Years. In 1961, he published a biography an still another close family friend, Harold Arlen, entitled Harold Arlen: Happy with the Blues. Among Arlen's over 400 songs are "It's Only A Paper Moon", "Stormy Weather" (a Lena Horne hit), and "Over The Rainbow" (with lyric by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg). In 1973, Jablonski's second edition of The Gershwin Years was the basis of a TV documentary narrated by another famous songwriter, Richard Rodgers. In this revised edition, Jablonski wrote of his friend Ira Gershwin "....that he is one of the great lyricists in American song is obvious....that it went generally unheralded for so long is one of the curiosities of our musical history." Also in 1973, Jablonski's book The Gershwin Years in Song was published, and in 1992 the book Gershwin Remembered. In 1981, his first large scale reference work, The Encyclopedia of American Music, was published. In 1987, on the 50th anniversary of of George Gershwin's demise, Jablonski's 951 page definitive opus Gershwin was published. In 1999, his Irving Berlin, American Troubador was published. Berlin, who composed well over 1500 songs, and who could only play the piano in one key, was called "America's Franz Schubert" by George Gershwin. At his death, Jablonski was working on a second large scale reference work. Interestingly, Jablonski also pursued a second interest, - Aviation. Among a handful of books he published on the topic were The Knighted Skies: A Pictorial History of World War I In The Air (1964), Ladybirds: Women in Aviation (1968), and Doolittle: A Biography (1976), which was a biography of still another one of his close friends.
1901     Tommy Jarrell, d. Jan. 28, 1985. né: Thomas Jefferson Jarrell
1929     Edward Jones, Bass, b. New York, NY, USA. d. 1997. Eddie was with Count Basie orchestra for ten years before opting for more financial security in the corporate world. In the mid 1980's, he again became an player, and a longterm stint with the "Newport Jazz Festival All-Stars".
1958     Nik Kershaw, guitar/songwriter, b. Bristol, England.
1962     Bill Leen, Bass/(Background) Vocals, b. Tempe, AZ, USA.
1950     Dave Marsh, music critic, b. Pontiac, MI, USA.
1964     Jennifer McCarter, (C&W) vocals/guitar, b. Sevierville, TN, USA. née: Jennifer Lorene McCarter. Member: "The McCarters", consisting of Jennifer, Teresa (Teresa Faye McCarter, vocals, b. November 11, 1966, Sevierville, TN, USA), and Lisa (Lisa Kaye McCarter, b. Nov. 11, 1966, Sevierville, TN, USA)
1904     Glenn Miller, Trombone, b. Clarinda, IA, USA. d. Dec. 15, 1944. né: Alton Glenn Miller. Disappeared on flight over English Channel during WW2
1928     Willie Mitchell, trumpet/arranger, b, Ashland, MS, USA.
1940     Gene Perla, Bass/publisher, b. Hackensack, NJ, USA.
1928     Emory "Johnny" Perry, vocals, b. Sherman, TX, USA. Member: 'Marvin & Johnny'
1930     Benny Powell, Trombone, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. A member of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1951 to 1963. Benny is still active on the jazz performance scene. He also teaches jazz at The New School in New York.
1905     Teddy Powell, Guitar, banjo, arranger, leader, vocal, composer, b. Oakland, CA, USA. né: Alfred Paolella
1912     Joseph Reinhardt, Guitar, b. Paris, France, d. Feb. 1982. Guitarist Django Reinhardt's brother.
1932     Oliver Sain, producer/tenor sax, b. Dundee, MS, USA.
1905     Augie Schelling, Drums, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1951     Elliott ("E#") Sharp, tenor sax, bass clarinet, guitar, composer, arranger b. Cleveland, OH, USA.
1909     Winston Sharples, composer, arranger, leader, b. USA, d. April 1978 Educated at Harvard University (B.A) and subsequently studied at .the Carnegie Institute of Technology (M.F.A in drama). He also studied at the Yale Graduate School of Drama. During his 35 year career, he scored well over 700 'short' films.
1905     Benjamin J. Smith, Alto Sax/clarinet, b. Memphis, TN, USA.
1962     Peter Stephenson, CD cover designer. Member Group: 'The Shamen'
1917     Cliffe Stone, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Bass/Comedy, b. Stockton, CA, USA, d. January 17, 1998, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Age: 80 (heart attack). né: Clifford Gilpin Snyder.
1940     Ralph Towner, Guitar, piano, b. Chehalis, WA, USA.
1943     Piet Veerman, vocals, b. The Netherlands. Member group: The Cats.
1932     Leroy Washington, guitar, b. Palmetto, LA, USA.
1903     E. B. De Priest Wheeler, Trombone, b. Kansas City, MO, USA.. Cab Calloway's great Trombonist. Last known to be with the U.S. Postoffice in the 1950s.

  Notable Events occuring this date include:
1928.    Paul Whiteman orchestra recorded "Ol Man River" with vocal by 29-year-old Paul Robeson. (Victor Records). A Jerome Kern tune first heard in the Broadway musical 'Showboat'.
1968.    Country music stars Johnny Cash and June Carter were married.
1937.    Clarence E. Holiday, guitar, died in Dallas, TX, USA. Age: 38. Billie Holiday's father
1970.    Lucille Hegamin, vocalist, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 75
1974.    Bobby Timmons, piano, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 38
1976.    Dave Kapp, songwriter/publisher/label founder (Kapp Records), died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 72
1976.    Danny Brown, owner ('Jewel Box Revue'), died in Hallandale, FL, USA.
1980.    Joe Harris, alto sax, died in New Orleans, LA, USA
1981.    Raymond Pinder, vocals, died in Nassau, Bahamas, Age: 73 Member: 'The Pinder Family
1987.    Freddie Green, guitar, died in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Age: 75. Best recalled for his work with the Count Basie orch.
1988.    Pearl Butler, Singer-Songwriter and member: "Carl & Pearl Butler", died. Age: 60. (née: Pearl Dee Jones, b. Sept. 20, 1927, Nashville, TN, USA. Carl, Singer-Songwriter/Guitar, né: Carl Roberts Butler, b. June 2, 1927, Knoxville, TN, USA, d. Sept. 4, 1992)
1989.    Odie Payne, drums, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 62

  Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1945    "I Wanna Get Married", Gertrude Nielsen (aka: Niessen),
     1975    "Chevy Van", Sammy Johns
     1975    "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Son", B. J. Thomas
     1980    "Ride Like The Wind", Christopher Cross
     1980    "I Can't Tell You Why", Eagles
     1980    "Fire Lake", Bob Seger
     1980    "With You I'm Born Again", Billy Preston
     1986    "Tender Love", Force M.D.'s