BIRTHDAYS
1914   Johnny Aladdin, leader, b. Monessen, PA, USA. d. Jan. 14, 1987 Hilton Head, SC, USA.
1964     Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson, Alto-,soprano sax, clarinet, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Born into a musical family, his father was a drummer.
1919     Tom Archia, tenor sax, d. Jan. 16, 1977, Groveton, TX, USA. né: Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. The family's name was actually 'Archie', but was changed to Archia by Tom's father, Ernest Alvin Archia, Sr. As a chile, Tom was generally known as "Sonny" and was even briefly billed as "Texas Tom".). Originally, he had music lessons on the violin, but then switched to the saxophone. During his teenage years, the family was living in Houston, TX, (in the Fifth Ward), where Illinois and Russell Jacquet were living just down the street. In high school, Archia studied under Percy McDavid, who later became the Supervisor of Music in the Los Angeles school system. Archia's bandmates included Richie Dell on piano, the Jacquet brothers and Arnett Cobb on tenor saxophone, and others. (In 1935, Duke Ellington visited the school to hear the orchestra.) During his college days, he often took off with some touring band, only to be brought back to school by his father. (Tom Archia majored in Education at "Prairie View A & M, graduating in 1939.) To please his father, Tom Archia taught in an East Texas school for one year (1939-1940); he taught history and served as band director in a small town. He then joined Milt Larkin's band, the premiere Swing aggregration in Houston, which by this time had been in operation for 4 years. In 1942, when America entered World War II, Larkin was drafted into the U. S. Army. With his entry into the army, and with his key men gone, Larkin finally disbanded, after which Archia first recorded with a Roy Eldridge octet. In the mid-'40s, Archia relocated to Los Angeles, CA. where he worked with bebop trumpeter Howard McGhee's combo. Members of the McGhee band also recorded behind blues shouter Wynonie Harris for the Philo label. In 1946, Archia led a band behind singer Dinah Washington. In the late '40s, he returned to Chicago, where he recorded (with different lineups) for the Chess, Aristocrat, and other labels, including sessions under the name of "Tom Archia and His All Stars". Though now playing mostly R&B gigs, he did tour and record with Jazz trumpeter Oran "Hot Lips" Page, including sessions backing up vocalists such as Lonnie Johnson and further work with Wynonie Harris. With the demise of the Big Bands era, work became quite scarce. In 1952, following a hiatus of several years, he returned to the studio to backup Dinah Washington in a group that also featured pianist Wynton Kelly and drummer Jimmy Cobb. In the late '50s, Archia was still able to fine work with various Chicago organ trios. Sadly, in the '60s, even trio work became scarce. In 1967, his sister brought Archia, now in dire straits, back to Houston, Texas to recuperate. By the start of the 1970s, Archia was again gigging in Houston, and had acquired a new nickname, "the Devil". In 1973, he played in the Sonny Franklin Big Band, rejoining his old pal Arnett Cobb in the reed section.
1960     Lori Barbero, Drummer/Vocalist, b. Germany. Member group: 'Babes in Toyland', a Rock/punk trio formed by.Kat Bjelland (also in Crunt), Lori Barbero (owns Spanish Fly label, at 2217 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn 55404 ATTN: Tom Duclos), and Maureen Herman.
1962     Charlie Benante, drums, b. New York (Queens), NY, USA. Member group: 'Anthrax'
1907     Joe Bishop, Trumpet/Flugelhorn, b. Monticello, AR, USA, d. May 12, 1976, Houston, TX, USA. As a child, he first studied the piano, and later played both trumpet and tuba. Throughout his career, Bishop experimented with a variety of brass instruments, such as the Mellophone, but made the flugelhorn one of his main choices. In the late 1920s, after graduating from Hendrix College, he began playing tuba with the Louisiana Ramblers (1927); then mellophone (hybrid of the tuba and the euphonium) with Mart Britt's Band. Back to the Tuba with the Al Katz, Austin Wylie, and Isham Jones bands. He also played with "Cow Cow" Davenport, and Jimmy Gordon. In 1931, it was the arrangements by Bishop and Gordon Jenkins that gave the Isham Jones band their excellent ensemble sound. With the disbanding of the Isham Jones band, clarinetist Woody Herman used the nucleus to form his own first orchestra. (Musicians referred to the orchestra as "the Isham Jones Alumni Band".) Bishop was one of the founding-members of Woody Herman's Band playing flugelhorn and arranging for Woody until 1940 when he contracted tuberculosis. However, after his recovery a few years later, he returned to Herman's band as Woody's chief arranger. Bishop arranged (and co-wrote with Herman) Woody's all-time favorite, "Woodchopper's Ball." Many other Bishop compositions and arrangements would become major hits of the Swing era, and among them were "Be Not Disencouraged", "Ain't It Just Too Bad", "Out of Space", "Blue Prelude", "Blue Evening", and "Blue Flame," which was used as the Herman band theme in the early 1940's. (Woody Herman, clarinet, b. May 16, 1913, Milwaukee, WI, USA, d. Oct 29, 1987, Los Angeles, CA, USA.) One interesting sidelight on Bishop's career is that many of his "Swing" era tunes have, over the years, been "covered" by such widely divergent groups as Western Swing bands, Lawrence Welk's "Champagne Music" orchestra, and even hard rock groups such as the British blues band 'Ten Years After'. In the early 1950s, Bishop's health again became quite fragile, and he retired from the Big Band business, opening a store in the small village of Saranc Lake, in New York. Eventually, Bishop gave up the store and retired in Texas, where he died in Houston in 1976.
1962     Mike Bordin, rock drums, b. San Francisco, CA, USA. Member group: 'Faith No More'
1945     Randy Brecker, Trumpet, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. Member group: 'Blood, Sweat & Tears' in 1967, also played with Horace Silver, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, and Duke Pearson, led his own group, 'Dreams' and co-led the 'Brecker Brothers' with his brother Michael Brecker (b. March 29, 1949 d. Jan. 13, 2007)
1959     Charlie Burchill, guitar/singer/Songwriter, b. Glasgow, Scotland. Member group: 'Simple Minds'
1952     Judy Carmichael, piano
1945     Michelle Castell, vocals, b. Northwood, UK.
1929     Stan Daly, jazz drummer, b. England, d. Nov. 23, 1997 at age 67
1944     Trevor Davis, singer/songwriter/guitar (left handed), b. La Jolla, CA, USA. Trevor was the "Dozy" in group 'Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich'.
1924     Werly Fairburn, C&W singer-songwriter, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. Member: "Louisiana Hayride"
1930     Raymond Fonseque, Trombone, b. Paris, France
1961     Rebecca Coupe Franks, trumpet, b. San Jose, California, USA
1944     Paul Anthony Furniss, reeds/flute/singer/leader/arranger/composer, b. Sydney-nsw, Australia. Played With Paul Baker; Graeme Bell; Bob Learmonth's Jazz Bandits; Geoff Bull's Olympia JB 1965; Eclipse Alley Five; Adrian Ford's Big Band; Saxafari; Tom Baker San Francisco JB; toured US 1978; Bill Dillard's Blues Serenaders 1983; John Bates; Viv Carter; John Bartlett; Hans Karssemeyer
1893     Cristopher "Black Happy" Goldston, drums, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. March 17, 1968, New Orleans, LA, USA. Played with Papa Celestin; Crescent Orchestra; Octave Crosby; Golden Leaf Band; Bill Matthews; Onward Brass Band; Tulane Orchestra
1962     Euge Groove, sax, b. Hagerstown, MD, USA. In 1990 he entered the University of Miami's music program. Groove played on the band 'Expose's' hit "Seasons Change", and was in horn section for 'Huey Lewis and the News'. He went on to play with Richard Marx, Joe Cocker and Tina Turner. Euge's first single "Vinyl" was the longest charting single on the R&R NAC/Smooth Jazz chart with 27 weeks and was picked as the #1 Breakout artist of the Year.
1940     Mileham Geoffrey Hayes, clarinet/banjo/leader, b. Brisbane-qld, Australia. Played with Varsity Five 1964 to 1974, and then retired from music to concentrate on his career as a doctor.
1942     Jimi Hendrix, Left handed guitarist, b. Seattle, WA, USA. d. Sept. 18, 1970. (inhalation of vomit after barbiturate intoxication). né: Johnny Allen Hendrix, but was later renamed as James Marshall Hendrix, by his father (James Al Hendrix). While still a child, he taught himself to play guitar (left-handed). As young man, he enlisted in the U. S. Army , and became a parachute jumper. However, an injury resulted in his Service discharge. As a civilain, he found work as a sessions guitarist using the name of Jimmy James, and soon began working with "Little" Richard. A contract dispute led to Jimmy leaving "Little Richard" and forming his own band called "Jimmy James and The Blue Flames". In 1966, booking agent Charles Chandler took Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding to England where they played and recorded as the "Jimmy Hendrix Experience". (Redding: Dec. 25, 1945 - May 12, 2003. Age: 57. Redding wrote two of Hendrix's hits "She's So Fine" and "Little Miss Strange".) Jimi was part Cherokee native American, and the tunes he recorded while in England reflected his Cherokee heritage. His first album, "Are You Experienced" was based on a native American song, 'I Don't Live Today.' His second album "Axis: Bold as Love", was again based on another native American song entitled, 'Castles In The Sand.' Another of the tunes he recorded while in England was "Electric Ladyland". In 1968, the group fell apart, because Hendrix felt that management was cheating him. In 1969, Hendrix appeared at the Woodstock festival in New York. He later formed a new group he called the "Band of Gypsies", -a trio with Billy Cox (an old Army buddy), and drummer Buddy Miles . He also began calling himself Jimi Hendrix. In the mid-1970s, he was preparing to record a double album when death overtook him. In 1992, Jimi was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During his life, often spoke freely and openly to interviewers about the plight of Native Americans.
1910   Ray Herbeck, Leader/Sax, d. Jan. 17, 1989. Both Ray and his lovely vocalist/wife - Lorraine Benson - are buried in the Veteran's Admin. Cemetary in Phoenix, AZ, USA. Over his career, Ray and his various bands recorded over 200 sides for Okeh, Vocalion, and Columbia. His son, Ray Jr., still has the original "book" and has produced a "Live" CD with the 1943 band including his mother Lorraine Benson singing.
1960     Ashley Ingram, singer/songwriter, b. Semilong, England. Member group: Imagination
1935     Al Jackson, Jr., drums, b. Memphis, TN, USA, d. Oct. 1, 1975, Memphis, TN, USA. Member group: 'Booker T. & the MG's' (1975) The son of big band leader Al Jackson, Sr., Al was playing drums on stage with his father's band at the age of five. After playing with Willie Mitchell's band, he was recruited by Booker T. Jones in 1962 to play his first session at Stax. Al played on a great many of the classic soul hits that came out of the Stax studios. He often backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett and many more. In the 1970s, he was responsible for the drumming and part of the songwriting on most of Al Green's greatest hits (recorded at Willie Mitchell's Hi Studio). In 1975, Al Jackson was tragically shot and killed in his home: age 39.
1877     John "Papa John" Joseph, bass/clarinet/guitar/tenor sax, b. St. James Parish, LA, USA. d. Jan. 22, 1965, New Orleans, LA, USA.
1951     Kevin Kavanaugh, keyboards. Member group: 'Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes'. The original Jukes lineup included: Billy Rush (guitar); Kevin Kavanaugh (keyboards); Al Berger (bass); Kenny Pentifallo (drums); Carlo Novi (tenor sax); Eddie Manion (baritone sax); Tony Palligrosi (trumpet); Ricky Gazda (trumpet); and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg (trombone).
1912   Muzzy Marcellino, leader/violin, d. 1997
1953     Lyle Mays, Keyboard, b. Wausaukee, WI, USA.
1924     Thomas Edwin "Tom" Montgomery, drums/trumpet, b. Evanston, IL, USA. Self Taught. Has worked with Hal McIntyre; Ray Anthony, Kai Winding, JJ Johnson, Sonny Stitt. etc.
1937     Wilber Morris, bass d. Aug. 8, 2002 (brother of the cornetist, composer, and conductor Butch Morris.)
1913     Liza Morrow, vocalist, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. June 24, 2001. Married to Dale McMickle. Played with actor/cellist Morrie Amsterdam; Bobby Hackett; Robert Q. Lewis; Mitchell Ayers; Eddie Condon; Benny Goodman; George Paxton; and was heard on NBC & CBS radio programs. At one time, she changed her name to 'Kit Carson', an American Western frontiersman, and Civil War general. In 1955, she recorded the song "Band of Gold" for the Capitol label using the name 'Kit Carson.'
1965     Fiachna O'Braonain, guitar, b. Dublin, Ireland. Member group: 'Hothouse Flowers'
1927     Frank Ortega, piano, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1935     Michel Portal, Reeds, b. Bayonne, France
1913     "Mr. Q", piano/harmonica, b. Winston Salem, NC, USA. Early on, he played piano (self taught), and later, after migrating to Harlem (New York), he got a job playing harmonica with the Savoy Sultans, then the house band (1937-'46,) at the famed Savoy ballroom. (Leader was reedman Al Cooper (né: Lofton Alphonso Cooper, 1911-'81), his half-brother bassist Grachan Moncur (b. Sept. 2, 1915), Rudy Williams on reeds (b 1909, Newark NJ, USA; d Sept. 1954, and drummer Razz Mitchell, who used a riveted Chinese sizzle cymbal.)
CAUTION: Do not confuswith "Mr. Quintron" (organ/guitar/drums/trumpet, né: Jay Poggi). Born ca 1972 in Bittburg, Germany (Air Base), while his father was stationed there for military service. Or, another "Mr. Q" whose birth name is Cueselle Settle.
1941     Eddie Rabbit, singer-songwriter, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. May 7, 1998, Nashville, TN, USA. Age 53; lung cancer. né: Edward Thomas Rabbit. AKA Edward Thomas. Rabbit got his first break when Elvis Presley recorded his song "Kentucky Rain" in 1970. He was most famous for his song, "I Love a Rainy Night". Among his other hits are "Drivin' My Life Away", and the theme from the 1979 Clint Eastwood movie, "Every Which Way But Loose".
1955     Michael Rabinowitz, bassoon
1960     Maria Schneider, Arranger/Piano/leader/composer, b. Windom, MN, USA.
1908     John Smith, Guitar, b. Atlanta, GA, USA
1904     Eddie South, Violin, b. Louisiana, MO, USA. d. April 25, 1962, Chicago, IL, USA. Intensive study of music from age 10, then at Chicago College of Music, and in Paris, and Budapest. He may have been best musician to play authentic jazz violin (although other violinists such as Joe Venuti, Stephane Grappelli, and Stuff Smith wasn't slouches either). A very happy-go-lucky personality made him a favorite wherever he went.
1952     Daryl Stuermer, guitar, b. Milwaukee, WI, USA. He began playing guitar at age 11. In the 1970's, Stuermer formed the fusion band 'Sweetbottom'. He later played with Jean-Luc Ponty. In 1977, the guitarist began a 20 year relationship when he joined 'Genesis'. In 1982 he became Phil Collins' lead guitar player. Stuermer currently owns his own label "Urban Island Music."
1966     Jacky Terrasson, Piano, b. Berlin, Germany
1914     Warren Vaché, Sr., acoustic bass, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. Feb. 4, 2005, Rahway, NJ, USA (heart failure, complicated by pneumonia and prostate cancer) Age: 90. In 1997, Warren and his wife Madeline (née: Sohl) celebrated their 'Golden Wedding Anniversary'. The couple had two sons, flügelhorn and cornetist Warren Jr., and clarinetist Allan Robert, both professional Jazz musicians. Vaché originally played the drums, but soon discovered that there was a greater demand for bassists. Although he was better known for his writing and jazz advocacy than for his playing, his musical career included jamming with the Eddie Condon gang at Nick's (a very popular New York city Jazz club), frequent gigs with Doc Cheatham, and leading his own traditional Jazz bands, "The Syncopatin' Six", and the "The Syncopatin' Seven" that recorded albums for Jazzology ("Swingin' and Singin'" -1990) and "The Syncopatin' Seven Celebrate the Music of Isham Jones" -1996). Another of his CDs is "Jazz: It's a Wonderful Sound," on which Warren is heard playing with a group consisting of his own son Warren Vache'Jr., Dick Wellstood, Dawes Thompson, George Masso. Johnny Blowers, and the late Clarence Hutchenrider. In common with many other musicians, Vaché had such "day jobs" including electronics and musical sales and repair. Circa 1995, he retired from actively playing music. His son, Warren Vaché Jr., after studying with "Pee Wee" Erwin, gained his early experience playing with the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Vic Dickenson, and Bob Wilber. With the demise of the Big Bands era, Vaché Jr worked in local venues and starting in the mid-1970s, led his own small group. He also often teamed with tenorman Scott Hamilton. His other son, Allan, was greatly influenced by the playing of Benny Goodman. In 1975, Allan graduated from Jersey City State College, where he pursued his music interest, and later became a student of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra's David Dworkin. He also studied with traditional Jazz clarinetist Kenny Davern. Allan has since worked with such men as Dick Hyman, Pee Wee Erwin, Lionel Hampton, Max Kaminsky, Bobby Hackett, Gene Krupa, Clark Terry, Dick Wellstood, Bob Wilber, Cliff Leeman, and Wild Bill Davison. He has been heard on radio (A Prairie Home Companion and Riverwalk, Live From the Landing), TV (Austin City Limits), and he has been seen on film (1998's 'The Newton Boys'). In addition to his recordings for the Arbors, Audiophile, and Jazzology, labels, he has about a dozen albums for the German label Nagel-Heyer, (half as leader) with bands that include the Florida All-Stars, Swingtet, and the Big Four. Vaché Sr. was the founder of the American Jazz Hall of Fame, and co-founder of both the New Jersey Jazz Society, and the American Federation of Jazz Societies. For 15 years, he edited the magazine "Jersey Jazz". He also authored six books:
       "This Horn for Hire" (a "Pee Wee" Erwin autobiography)
       "Crazy Fingers" (Claude Hopkins autobiograhy)
       "Back Beats and Rim Shots" (Johnny Blowers biography)
       "Jazz Gentry" (a collection of magazine articles on Jazz and Jazz musicians)
       "The Unsung Songwriters" ("America's Masters of Melody)"
       "Sittin' In With Chris Griffin"
1941    Louis Van Dijk, Piano, b. Amsterdam, Netherlands
         Notable Events on this date include:
1926.    "You Made Me Love You" was recorded by Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong. (Okeh Records)
1954.    Kutte Widmann, leader, died (b. March 2, 1906, Berlin, Germany)
1967.    Walter Gross, arrangerLos Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 58 Worked for Musicraft, and many others
1973.    James "Jimmy" Wiedner", Hank Snow's lead guitarist, was shot and killed in a hold-up in Downtown Nashville, TN, USA.
1973.    Frank Joseph Christian, cornet, tuba, violin, leader, died (b. September 3, 1887, Bywater neighborhood of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Older brother of Emile Christian) Circa 1908, this early jazz trumpeter began working with bandleader "Papa Jack" Laine. He subsequently formed the "Original New Orleans Jazz Band" with whom he recorded on cornet in 1918 and 1919. It is interesting to note that he was the original leader of that band, but later turned leadership over to the band's pianist, Jimmy Durante,
1986.    Bob Attlesey, C&W vocals/guitar/fiddle, died. Age: 77. ( Member "The Shelton Brothers", a duo of Bob Attlesey (b. July 4, 1909) and Joe Attlesey ( vocals, guitar, and mandolin. b. Jan. 27, 1911, b. Reilly Springs, Hopkins County, Texas.)
1987.    Charline Arthur, C&W Singer-Songwriter, Guitar, and Comedy, died. Age: 58. (née: Charline Highsmith, b. Sept. 2, 1929, Henrietta, Texas)
1991.    Harry Smith, producer (Folkways)New York, NY, USA,. Age: 68
2006.    Don Butterfield, tuba, died in Clifton, New Jersey, USA. (b. 1923, Centralia, Washington)
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1933 "Your Mother's Son Inlaw", Benny Goodman Orch, with Billie Holiday vocal.
     1954 "That's All I Want From You", Morgan, Jaye P.
     1954 "Make Yourself Comfortable", Vaughan, Sarah
     1961 "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen", Sedaka, Neil
     1961 "Lion Sleeps Tonight, The", Tokens
     1965 "England Swings", Miller, Roger
     1965 "Fever", McCoys
     1971 "Brand New Key", Melanie
     1971 "You Are Everything", Stylistics
     1982 "You Can't Hurry Love", Collins, Phil
     1982 "Down Under", Men At Work