[ The Frank and Milt Britton Orchestra ]
b. 1894, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, d. April 29, 1948, New York, NY, USA (heart attack)
né: Milton Levy
Currently No further Information.
Circa 1914, Milt Britton started playing vaudeville. In 1917 he formed a double act (trombone and cornet) with Frank Wetzel, who shortly later changed his name to Frank Britton. Basically, this orchestra traveled the vaudeville circuit. They put on a wacky comedy type of show, in which the leaders would bash various instruments over the heads of the bandsmen. Britton's Orchestra soon became known as "America's Craziest Orchestra" and "The Mad Musical Maniacs." Here's a photograph of the 1932 Frank and Milt Britton Orchestra, (photo courtesy of Mr, Lou Einfalt, who maintains all rights). The legend in the lower right corner reads: "To Joe Our "instrument" man. Sincerely, Frank & Milt Britton April 25/32"

Here's another publicity photo, and here's an enlargement of the Lower Half of the picture. (Photo is the property of, and reproduced here by courtesy of, Trumpeter Irvan Stumph.)

  "All Of Me", (513 kb): Only record recorded by Frank+Milt Britton Orchestra, with "Scrappy" Lambert on vocal. Rec'd: Dec. 4, 1931, New York City. Perfect 15552. Played here on a hand cranked, modified Victor VVXIV (Victrola. Recording courtesy of Mr. Lou Einfalt)

In addition to their vaudeville appearances, the band toured South America, played some Broadway shows, and were even seen in some Hollywood 'shorts' and feature films. Perhaps they are best seen in the 1933 film, 'Moonlight and Pretzels', causing some mayhem during the playing of the title song

   [ Randy Brooks Orch ]
b. March 28, 1917, Sandford, ME, USA. d. March 21, 1967, Maine, USA.
Theme: "Holiday Forever"
Overview
Here's a photo of Randy, who began his trumpet studies at just age six, and by age 11, was already working (for 2 years) with famed singer/bandleader Rudy Vallee, on his "Fleischmann Hour" radio show. Subsequently he was playing in Vince Patti's Cleveland Orchestra. In 1937, he moved to New York City. In 1939, he was playing trumpet in Ina Ray Hutton's orchestra. Later, he was hired by society bandleader Ruby Newman who was then based at The Rainbow Grill in Rockefeller Center. After a brief stay with Newman he joined Hal Kemp, eventually replacing Clayton Cashal as first trumpet. After Kemp died in a car crash, MCA -the booking agent, gave leadership of the band to Art Jarrett. Brooks stayed with Jarrett until the band broke up in early 1942. He then worked for the bands of Bob Allen (who had sung with Kemp), Claude Thornhill and Artie Shaw's U. S. Navy band. He received an early discharge for medical problems and was signed by Les Brown in 1943, and stayed with Brown until late 1944.

A deal where Les Brown would finance a band for him fell through when Brooks had to have surgery on his lip and it was feared he wouldn't be able to play trumpet again. He recovered and, with arranger John Benson Brooks (no relation), borrowed money to form his own band. John Benson Brooks, had a financial interest in the band, and also supplied the arrangements. The band's first engagement was at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. in late 1944. The 1946 band had Stan Getz on tenor sax, Shorty Allen on Vibes, Eddie Kane on Alto sax.

In 1939, Brooks was briefly married to another bandleader, Ina Ray Hutton, and took up residence on the west coast. (Cam Mullins was the band's manager.) (You can read of their relationship in the Ina Ray Hutton entry. Randy was the trumpeter in her band.)

A stroke ended Randy's career in 1950, when he suffered a cerebral hemmorhage that left him paralyzed for life. He had a second stroke in 1960. A visitor to our site, Mr. Paul Auger, has noted that " He lived in an apartment in the Village of Springvale, in Sanford, Maine, and was destitute when he died of smoke inhalation after his apartment burned. His (mother's) home is still standing on School St. in Sanford."
Recorded for: Decca
Vocalists: Harry Prime, Kay Allen, Billy Usher, Margie Woods
Sidemen inc.: Shorty Allen (v), Eddie Kane (as), Stan Getz (ts)
The BigBands Database wishes to Thank Robin Lenhart for his revision and editing of this entry on Randy Brooks.

   [ Brady's Clarinet Orch. ], and [ Vicksburg Blowers ]
King Brady was a 'Southside' Chicago musician who was quite adept on the clarinet and alto sax. He seems to have come to Chicago from New Orleans. King had a band that he called Brady's Clarinet Band. In addition to Brady the band consisted of Ernest "Mike" Michall-clarinet, Leroy Pickett-violin, Tiny Parham-piano, with either Johnny St. Cyr or Ikey Robinson on banjo and perhaps some others from time to time. In the 1920s, they cut a few sides for Champion and some other obscure labels.

King Brady was apparently the leader of another South side Chicago group known as the "Vicksburg Blowers". Mr. Luis Contijoch advises that the personel for the Vicksburg Blowers consisted of Ernest Michall,tp; Sterling Payne,as; Tony Snapp,p; Ferman Tapp,bj.

   [ John Benson Brooks Orch. ]
Pianist, bandleader, arranger, composer.
Overview
John Benson Brooks originally had a stake in the Randy Brooks orchestra, as well as contributing the arrangements. He had also contributed arrangements to the Les Brown, and Tommy Dorsey 0rchestras. As a composer, perhaps his best remembered Pop compositions are "Just As Though You Were Here", and "You've Come a Long Way From St. Louis", with lyric by Bob Russell. The song was a big hit for such stars as Peggy Lee, Perry Como, and Johnny Mercer, among many others. In the late '50s and early '60s, he led his own Septet with Al Cohn on baritone Sax, and Zoot Sims on tenor sax.

He led an orchestra with Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Art Farmer, Barry Galbraith, and Milt Hinton (Riverside 1123), on a recording of his own extended composition "Alabama Concerto". ( First Movement: The Henry John Story; Green, Green Rocky Road; Job's Red Wagon; Second Movement: Trampin', The Loop; Third Movement: Little John Shoes, Milord's Calling; Fourth Movement: Blues for Christmas, Rufus Playboy, Grandma's Coffin ). In the early 1970s, a panel of British critics chose "Alabama Concerto" as one of the 200 essential jazz albums of the previous quarter-century.

In 1960, the Gil Evans orchestra had a release with one of Brooks' pieces, "Where Flamingos Fly", which Brooks had written in collaboration with Harold Courlander (see below). The song had originally be introduced by singer Helen Merrill on a 1956 recording session. (Curiously, the "vamp" for this tune was later also heard in the John Lennon and Paul McCartney release of "Eleanor Rigby".) John Benson Brooks also composed the music for a song called "A Door Will Open", with lyric by Don George.

      The world I look out on holds so many confusions,
      impossible for a simple soul to figure out;
      but the world I look in on holds no doubts or illusions
      for I can see so clearly what will come about.

      A door will open, sometime, somewhere,
      A door will open and you'll be there;
      You'll step inside and kiss me, hold me fast
      and in your arms I'll know you're home at last.

      A door will open, your eyes will gleam
      while I make sure that you're not a dream.
      I'll smile and take you in my arms once more
      and then we'll close the door.

John was also in on the "Birth of the Cool" when he played with a then new Miles Davis band (in New York City), that had Gerry Mulligan doing the arrangements, and others that included, Gil Evans, John Carisi; John Lewis; George Russell, (who had also written a couple of interesting charts for Claude Thornhill's band); John Benson Brooks, (Mulligan called him "our dreamer of impossible dreams"); Dave Lambert; Billy Exiner, (ex drummer with Thornhill); Joe Shulman, (ex bassist with Thornhill); Barry Galbraith, (the Freddy Greene of the Thornhill rhythm section); "Specs" Goldberg; Sylvia Goldberg (no relation to "Specs"); and even Blossom Dearie, -doing some warbling. (The lineup does give some indication of just how good the sidemen in Claude Thornhill's orchestra were, and how good Thornhill's band was.)

An interesting aspect of Brooks' career is his work for Anthropologist Harold Courlander. Courlander had made a field trip to Alabama, and on that trip, recorded the music of an entire Negro community: hollers, spirituals, children's game songs, blues, and various odd bits. Courlander gave Brooks the task of transcribing this material for his upcoming book. This had a rather profound effect on Brooks. Later works, such as his above mentioned "Alabama Concerto", combined his own early Jazz influences with what he learned of pre-Jazz folk music during his transcriptions for Courlander.

   [ Les Brown and his Band of Renown ]
b. March 14, 1912, Reinerton, PA, USA, d. Jan. 4, 2001, Los Angeles, CA, USA. (Lung Cancer)
né: Lester Raymond Brown
Theme Songs:
Early On: "Dance of the Blue Devils
Later On:
In-theme: "Leap Frog".
Out-theme: "Sentimental Journey"
Les was raised in Tower City, PA, the son of R.W. Brown, a baker and musician. (Quoting Les' own words) "My father's love was music, but he was a baker so we could eat." R.W. played soprano sax in a sax quartet that performed the popular music of the day, the marches of John Phillip Sousa. Since Sousa was known as 'The March King', R.W earned the sobriquet, 'March Prince'. As the son of the March Prince, Les Brown was playing music almost as soon as he could walk. By the age of nine, Les joined his first pro band playing using R.W.'s soprano sax, but was hindered by his lack of proper attire: "The only problem was that I didn't have any long pants at the time. A guy lived next door to us who was 16 and very short. I borrowed his pants so I didn't have to play in shorts."

By 14, Les Brown was already a seasoned professional, and he started what would be the first of many bands; 'The Royal Serertadore'. Although the sax remained his main interest, Les also studied and mastered the classical clarinet while at Ithaca Conservatory of Music. (Years later, Les said he ended his solo clarinet playing career after listening to Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, and Woody Herman, and decided that he "wasn't in their class as a soloist and never would be.") After Ithaca Conservatory, he enrolled at Duke University and performed with the 'Blue Devils' for four years, taking over as leader in his junior year. The final performance of Les, and the Blue Devils, was in 1936 at Budd Lake, NJ, the hometown of Georgia Claire De Wolfe. Two years later, in September of 1938, Claire and Les became husband and wife.

Les took jobs arranging for the bands of Isham Jones, Larry Clinton and others, but he was keen to lead his own band again, and with the help of two 'angels', a new Les Brown band was born. Here's a photo of a young Les Brown, at the start of his bandleading career. His first big hit was a novelty tune written by Ben Homer and "deejay" Alan Courtney. It was "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" based on Joe DiMaggio's amazing 56-game hitting streak that had the entire U.S.A. talking that summer of 1941. Les wasn't able to record the song for two years, however, due to a musician's union recording ban imposed in 1942.

As soon as the recording ban was lifted, Les and the band resumed recording with some great vocals by Henry "Butch" Stone (sax and vocals), and Doris Day, shown here with Les, whose recording of "Sentimental Journey" became the perfect theme song for all the young men returning home from the war. It remained the number one song in the country for sixteen weeks, stayed on the Hit Parade for months, and has since become an undeniable standard in the lexicon of what composer Alec Wilder called 'American Popular Song'.

By this time, the band was known as "Les Brown and the Band of Renown", a name born on the spot when the band was about to perform live one night on the radio from the Palladium. In 1955, Les Starred in the Universal Pictures B&W film short Les Goes To Town, Here's a Clip from that film with Les Brown introducing the Bell Sisters (née: Kay and Cynthia Strother) singing Cynthia's own hit composition "Bermuda". (Please note that this is a million Byte file, and users with slower modems may have to wait a few minutes for the file to load.) Since the 60s, Les and his band never stopped performing. They continued making records and still performed about 60 dates a year making them the oldest existing band in America. In April of 1996, the Guiness Book of World Records awarded Les with the distinction of being the leader of the longest lasting musical organization in the history of popular music. Brown's career included a close association with famed comedian Bob Hope. In 1950, he joined Hope for the first of 18 Christmas tours to entertain American troops at military bases around the world. Doris Day also often participated.

When Les died in Jan. 2001, Bob Hope told one reporter
"The world has lost a great musician. I have lost my music man, my sideman, my straight man and a special friend."

Brown, who formed his Band of Renown in 1936, co-composed "Sentimental Journey," which was sung by Doris Day. It became a theme song for men and women returning home from World War II. "The happiest times in my life were the days when I was traveling with Les and his band," Day said when interviewed after Les's demise. "I loved Les very much, I am going to miss his phone calls."

Les, who was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, helped make the Grammy Awards a televised event. He convinced Hope, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby to participate in the first telecast. In addition to his daughter, Brown was survived by his wife, Evelyn; and son, Les Brown Jr.
These notes on Les Brown were kindly contributed by Mr. Joseph Roche.

   [ Brown's Dixieland Jass Band ]
One of the very early "White" Dixieland Jazz bands. and the very first white dixieland band to go north and play in Chicago. (also see: Our Dixieland Page Entry, Tom Brown brought the band to Chicago in 1915. It was simply called The Thomas Brown Orch., and then Brown's Dixieland Orchestra. Local musicians, unhappy with the competition, tried to smear them with the epithet of "Jass" band, which was a term connoting "red light" district activity. But Tom turned the the epithet into a crowd attraction and re-named the group "Brown's Dixieland Jass Band".
Alcide "Yellow" Nunez also played the trombone in the band. He had come north with the ODJB, but was traded to Brown's band due to a personality problem with the members of the ODJB.

   [ Willie Bryant Orch ]
Theme Song: "It's Over Because We're Through"
Led a band for several years at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, N.Y.C. (The Home of Happy Feet) He was known as the "Un-Official Mayor of Harlem". Cozy Cole worked in the band for awhile. So did Teddy Wilson. in 1935, had Lionel Hampton and Benny Carter (playing trumpet)

   [ Teddy Buckner Orch ]
b: July 16, 1909, Sherman, Texas, USA, d: Oct 4, 1994, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Teddy was born John Edward Buckner in Texas, but was raised and lived most of his life in the Los Angeles area. In the early 1930's he played trumpet with Sonny Clay and in 1934 he worked with Buck Clayton's band. Clayton gave him the opportunity to develop his own riffs and even featured Buckner on many solos when the band toured Shanghai. After the tour he returned to L. A. where he joined Lionel Hampton's group.

In November 1936, Benny Goodman was returning from a gig when he discovered the talents of the young Hampton playing at the Paradise Club. Buckner took over leadership of the band when Goodman took Hampton to New York. During the war most of the band members joined the armed services and the band disappeared. At the war's end, Buckner worked and recorded with Benny Carter and Kid Ory (with Ory he was featured on, "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula"). He formed another band in 1954 to record three Dixieland Jubilee Albums. That same band toured the West Coast towards the end of the decade.
(Trivia: His trumpet talents can be heard at the beginning of the 1955 movie, "Pete Kelly's Blues.")

Kid Ory's band was featured on a live radio remote from the Club Hangover during the mid '50's. The show was aired in New Orleans and heard around the country. Buckner developed a fantastic solo on the old hymn, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" that would often close the show. The announcer remarked that the song was, "one of the most beautiful things you'll ever hear." Recordings of Buckner's unaccompanied muted trumpet lulling the noisy club into silence, are now available. "Teddy Buckner had one of the most beautiful tones on trumpet you'd ever want to hear," recalled Lionel Hampton. "He played so well that Louis Armstrong gave him a horn and said, 'Man, you're a real trumpet player!"'
Notes by Mr Dan Del Fiorentino

   [ Ted G. Buckner Orch ]
b: 1913 St Louis, MO, USA. d: 1976 Detroit, MI, USA.
Theme: "After Hours"
Buckner was a wonderful alto saxist for the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1937 to 1943. After the war he formed his own band in Detroit which remained a headliner in ballrooms and supper clubs until his death in 1976.

There are no known recordings of his band, however lost radio remotes taped during his ballroom gigs of the 1960's may soon be available on CD (19né: 6).
Notes by Mr Dan Del Fiorentino

   [ The Bucktown Five ]
Here's a photo of The Bucktown Five,
Personnel: c.1924. L-R:
      Muggsy Spanier    Cornet
      Guy Carey    Trombone
      Mel Stitzel    Piano
      Volly de Faut    Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
      Marvin Saxbe    Banjo, Guitar, Cymbal

And here they are playing Someday Sweetheart, back in the very early 1920s. (Digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland) To hear this, one must have either WinAmp Version 2.8 or newer, or the Yamaha SoundVQ Player installed as a plug-in in either the Netscape or IE browser program. The player can be downloaded from http://www.yamaha.co.uk/xg/html/midplug/m_mid11.htm 'Click' on 'Download Free Beta Version... it's ver. 2.52b3 - never expires.)
According to those elusive experts, this is an example of the most "authentic" White Jazz of the early twenties to be heard, and may be regarded as the avante garde of a Chicago style which flourished in the succeeding years. Here's the same group playing "Really A Pain", this one is in .ogg format, and is also easily playable with the newer versions of WInAmp. The name of the band has an interesting link with New Orleans, LA, USA. 'Bucktown' was the name of the settlement which opened on the near shore of Lake Ponchartrain soon after the closing of Storyville, and which became a smaller edition of that famous district.
Listen again to The Bucktown Five with Hot Mittens, the fifth tune recorded for Gennett in Richmond, IN, USA, on February 25, 1924 [acoustical 'big tin horn' recording ]. Although without a solo by De Faut, his name is on the label as co-composer, together with Mel Stitzel and Marvin Saxbe. Here's the same 'Bucktown 5' playing "Really A Pain", this is also in .ogg format, and both are easily playable with the newer versions of WinAmp, or Windows Media Player. (Both tunes have been digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland)

There are more theories about how Bucktown got its name 'than you can shake a pair of Mardi Gras beads at'. It seems that the list of quirky legends just keeps growing.

About 150 years ago, Bucktown began as a quiet little village that consisted of fishing and hunting camps on the 17th Street Canal and the shores of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Most of the buildings were just wooden huts on stilts, occupied by squatters who hunted and fished, crabbed and trapped, rented boats, and entertained visitors.

Now for the theories. One theory has it that the area got its name because deer used to be hunted there. Another version of the name came from sailors who said that the "young bucks" who came looking for a good time got into frequent fights there. The most popular story involves a local hunter and fisherman named Oliver "Buck" Wooley who operated a boat rental business for sportsmen. After shooting a very large buck, Wooley hung the antlers on a bridge across the canal that linked Jefferson and Orleans parishes. Visitors started calling the area "Buck's Town."

A favorite story about the village's name involves Buck Wooley and a certain young miss. It seems that Buck was courting a pretty young thing when a dashing soldier appeared on the scene. The pretty young thing was smitten by the soldier's good looks and smart uniform. As you might imagine, Buck did not take this lying down. At a soiree one evening, the soldier and the girl were dancing, and Buck confronted them. He overpowered the soldier and shouted, "This is Buck's girl and this is Buck's town and I never want you to set foot back here again." Then the bold Buck proceeded to carve a "W" on the soldier's backside!

When folks from the city started to head for the lake for weekend entertainment, arriving by steamboat and train, the lakefront became a resort area, which later became the famous West End Park of Orleans Parish. Just across the canal at Jefferson Parish's east end was Bucktown. Gradually, in the early 20th century, Bucktown became a resort as well, and soon there were stores, clubhouses for sportsmen, barrooms, dance halls, gambling houses and, of course, a jail. Best of all were the restaurants that served seafood fresh from the lake and game and wild fowl from the nearby swamps.

Before long, Bucktown got a reputation as the "poor man's sin capital of the South." As a result, many residents claim that Bucktown's name came from the bawdy reputation it acquired. They said that when you went home after a night of dissipation you didn't have a buck left.

Folks from the city came in droves on the weekend to eat, drink and make merry in the burlesque and vaudeville halls. Of course, music was everywhere, and you could hear the likes of the 'Bucktown Five' Band and dance to the "Bucktown Bounce" by Johnny Wiggs and the "Bucktown Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton. The trumpeters would show up on the wharves and blow at one another in friendly competition called "bucking," so named perhaps because of the location.

Things got even wilder in Bucktown during Prohibition when gambling was tolerated in the "free State of Jefferson." Even though gambling was illegal in Louisiana, Bucktown was wide open as authorities closed their eyes and took their cut. There were speakeasies, houses of ill repute, gambling dens and all sorts of places where you could get in trouble. Barroom brawls were frequent.

Things are quieter in Bucktown today, unless you happen to be there during a hurricane. The Great Hurricane in September 1915 demolished most of the original settlement, and others have done their share of damage. But Bucktown and the legends surrounding it live on.
The Big Bands Database Plus thanks Mr. Verne Buland for the above entry on The Buck Town Five.

   [ Chick Bullock Orch. ]
b. Sept. 16, 1908, Mutte, MA, USA, d. 15 Sept. 15, 1981, CA, USA
While his English parents wanted him to be a doctor, Chick was attracted to vaudeville and singing. His career started in the early motion picture studios where he first would sing to a series of pictures changing on a screen behind him, and later to having small parts in silent films. But Chick gained his fame when he became the in-house vocalist for the American Record Corporation (ARC). All during the 1930s, his was one of the best-known singing voices in America, yet today he is all but forgotten. Chick had a somewhat disfiguring ailment that caused the 'White' of one of his eyes to turn 'Black', and this limited his show business career to performances only on records and radio.

In the very early 1930s, most of Chick Bullock's recordings were backed by studio bands, which, while the Leader's name changed, the musicians remained the same. In fact he was listed many times as bandleader when he was in fact only the vocalist on the sessions. In reality, his "Levee Loungers" were an ARC studio orchestra that often included some of the era's top jazz talent in a staff that changed from session to session. Often the very same men in the "Levee Loungers" were heard under different band names. Here are the Levee Loungers with "You".

In the mid 1930's, Bullock worked on radio and records. Among the many songs he recorded were "Swing Mister Charlie", with the 'Bunny Berigan Orch.', "I'm One Of God's Children", with the Nat Shilkret Orch., "Keep A Song In Your Soul", with the Duke Ellington Orch., "Jealous", with Vic Berton's Orch., "It's You I Adore", with the Russ Morgan Orch., and "Somewhere In Your Heart", with Joe Reichman's Orch.

His voice was so recognizable that studios often used pseudonyms for him on the record labels. They could do this because Bullock was not under contract as a solo performer but rather a studio singer. In 1941, his contracts expired and he gave up recording and faded from the music scene. In 1946, he moved to Southern California and opened his own real estate firm.

In 1983, Melotone Records released an album of Bullock's studio works, including four rare songs. Among the rare cuts was, "Darkness On The Delta" recorded in 1933. The session included Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet/alto sax and Bunny Berigan on trumpet.

Chick is, sadly, largely forgotten today, but he was one of the most recorded singers of the 1930's. His voice was virile and easily identifiable.

A Little Record Label History can perhaps help to illustrate how 'band names' were used, and how Chick became a "bandleader".
In 1929, -with the onset of the great world-wide economic depression - ARC (the American Record Corporation) was formed when the Plaza Music Company merged with Cameo Records, who themselves had just merged with the American Pathe label. In 1932, ARC acquired Brunswick Records which became the company's flagship label. In 1934, ARC acquired the well known Columbia label (for only $70,500). The great depression had redefined Records as a 'luxury' item. "Free" radio was supplying music, often by live studio orchestras. As a result, virtually all the early 1920s record labels either ceased to exist or were absorbed by ARC. (Victor, supported by RCA, was one of the significant exceptions. In 1928, the Victor Talking Machine Company sold 37.7 million records. In 1932 Victor sold 2.1 Million records, a drop of over 90%, but with the parent corporation, RCA, backing them, the label was able to hold on.) Most of those companies acquired by ARC had subsidiary labels which were phased out. In 1935, ARC eliminated the Romeo, Perfect, Banner and Oriole labels leaving only their main labels: Brunswick, Vocalion and Melotone. In 1938, ARC was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System and the proud Columbia Records name became the new flagship label.

Band Names. Starting in 1930, ARC used many different orchestra names, but these bands often used the same sidemen. Some of the Orchestra names used by ARC included:
Chick Bullock and his Levee Loungers, was just an ARC "pickup" unit often with such sidemen as Bunny Berigan (tp), Jimmy Dorsey (cl), Fulton McGrath (p), Dick McDonough (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Stan King (dr), unknown (viol), Chick Bullock (vocal). See below for interesting bands discussion.
Will Osborne and his Orchestra was often an ARC House Orchestra with Victor Young directing.
Maurice Sherman and his College Inn Orch. was often Freddie Rich and his CBS Studio Orchestra.
Ralph Bennett and his Seven Aces (All 11 of them) prob. Freddie Rich and his CBS Studio Orch.
Rob Causer and his Cornellians usually a studio Orchestra, directed by Jack Shilkret
Smith Ballew and his Orchestra, usually the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra
Vic Irwin and his Orchestra. An ARC House Band probably directed by Victor Young
Imperial Dance Orchestra, was an ARC House Band. For example, the March 1932 recording probably used Bunny Berigan, and an unknown (tpts), probably Tommy Dorsey (tb), Jimmy Dorsey (as, cl), 2 unknown saxes, Joe Moresco (p), unknown (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Stan King (dr).

All these bands drew from a "pool" of Studio musicians that would have included such men (and others not shown here) as: (please also see our entry for Adrian Schubert for still further information on the subject of varying band names and personnel, in the 1920s.
Trumpets
Bunny Berigan
Frank Guarente
Mannie Weinstock
Tommy Thunen
Mickey Bloom
Trombones
Tommy Dorsey
Jack Teagarden
Charlie Butterfield
Glenn Miller
Sammy Lewis
Chuck Campbell
Reeds
Jimmy Dorsey
Arnold Brillhart
Mutt Hayes
Chester Hazlett
'Skeets' Herfurt
Violins
Harry Hoffman
Walter Edelstein
Lou Kosloff
Joe Venuti
Piano
Joe Moresco
Fulton McGrath
Bobby Van Eps
Guitar
Dick McDonough
Perry Botkin
Frank Worrell
Eddie Lang
Bass (and Tuba)
Artie Bernstein
Hank Stern
Dick Cherwin
drums
Chauncey Morehouse
Larry Gomar
Vocals
Chick Bullock
Harlan Lattimore
Dick Robertson
Les Reis

   [ Hal Burke and the Tune Twisters Orch. ]
1930s orch., No Further Info currently available.

   [ The Six Brown Brothers ]
This is a photograph (from the collection of Bandleader Lee Baron) of the Six Brothers. They were Five brothers and the second man from the left was L. T. Brown, who was a nephew of the brothers. Later, L. T. John also worked in the Lee Baron Orchestra, became a bandleader himself, and worked in the bands of Lem Hawkins and Henry Busse. (L. T. died in Arkansas in 1985.) Here's still another photograph of The Six Brown Brothers, a saxophone sextet from Canada that was very active and extremely popular in the 1910's and 1920s. They were basically a vaudeville act but did record many records. One can see from examining the two photos that one of the brothers always appeared in 'Blackface'. They were so popular that other record companys scurried to come up with saxophone combos so they could compete. The Brother's mostly "raggy" music came along at the right time for public acceptance. Listen to them playing (in 1918) When Aunt Dinah's Daughter Bangs On The Piano. as digitally re-engineered by Mr Verne Buland.

   [ The Brunies Orchestras ]
The Brunies were a musical family, - principally active in New Orleans. There were six sons and one daughter, all musically inclined. Their father, Henry, was a baker by trade and a violinist by choice. Their mother, Elizabeth, was a fine pianist.
       Ada guitar (dates unknown)
       Rudy, 1884 - 1955 played double bass earned a living as a brewer.
       Richard (Richie), Nov. 29, 1889, NO, LA, d. March 28, 1961 NO. LA. Cornet.
       Henry (Henny), 1891 - 1932, NO, LA Trombone
       Merritt, Dec. 25, 1895, NO, LA - Feb. 5, 1973 Biloxi, MS, Cornet and trombone
       Albert (Abbie), (Jan. 19, 1900 NO, LA - Oct. 2, 1978, Biloxi, MS, Cornet
       George, Feb 6, 1902, New Orleans, - Nov. 19, 1974. Chicago, IL. Trombone

To confuse matters, there was also a cousin named Albert Brunies -called "Little" Abbie Brunies. b: 1914 New Orleans, LA, USA - d: Feb. 12, 1955 New York, NY, USA
Instrument: Drums
"Little Albie" was a cousin of the Brunies brothers who worked principally in New Orleans, LA. At the time of his death was playing with Sharkey Bonano's band in New York City.
Among his recordings are:
With Irving Fazola's group in 1946:    "Bluin' the Blues/Original Dixieland One Step" (Victor: 40-0140).

Rudy (who basically earned his living as a Brewer), Richie and Henny, never led groups of their own, but rather were active as sidemen. Merritt, Albert and George did lead their own groups.

Henry "Henny" Brunies
b: 1891, New Orleans, LA, USA, - d: 1932, New Orleans, LA, USA
Instrument: Trombonist
His youngest brother, Georg Brunis, considered him the best musician in the family. Early on, Henny played as a sideman in various New Orleans brass bands, and also toured in California. During 1923-'26, he performed and recorded in Chicago with his brother Merritt Brunies' orchestra, where he was billed as "the world's greatest jazz trombonist".

   [ Merritt Brunies and The Friar's Inn Orch. ]
b: Dec. 25, 1895 New Orleans, LA, USA, d: Feb. 5, 1973, Biloxi, MA, USA.
Instruments: Cornet and trombone
Here's a photograph of Merritt Brunies Friar's Inn Orch., with (from L-R) Gordon Pouliot, Bill Paley, Henry Brunies, Maury Friedman, Merritt Brunies, Bill Cregar, Norman Van Hook, Clarence Piper, and Rip Logan.
Almost all jazz fans immediately recognize the name of trombone playing George Brunies (aka: Georg Brunis). However, few now recall that the Brunies family had six sons, and a daughter, Ada, all of whom were musicians. Brother Henry Brunies also played trombone, Brother Merritt played cornet and brother Abbie, also Cornet, was leader of the Halfway House Orchestra in New Orleans.

During the 1916-1918 period, Merritt led bands in both New Orleans and in Chicago. In 1924, his brother George Brunies was leading an orchestra at Chicago's popular Friar's Inn club. When George left the Friar's Inn, brother Merritt Brunies took over leadership of that band for the next three years. They did some recording too, and this is that band; the Merritt Brunies' Friars Inn Orchestra with "Sugar Foot Stomp", recorded for Autograph in Chicago in May of 1925, and here digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland. Some of his other recordings (as leader) include: "Angry"/"I Weep Over You" (1924, Autograph 610); and "Flamin' Mamie"/"Hangin' Around" (1926, Okeh 40579);

   [ Abbie Brunies' Halfway House Orch. ]
b: Jan. 19, 1900 New Orleans, LA, USA, d: Oct. 2, 1978, Biloxi, MS, USA
né: Albert Brunies
Instrument: Cornet
Here's a photograph of the Abbie Brunies Halfway House Orch., with (L-R) Charlie Cordella, Mickey Marcour, Leon Rappolo, Abbie Brunies, Bill Eastwood, Joe Loyacano, Leo Adde.

NOTE: This Joe Loyacano (alto sax/trombone) should not be confused with Arnold "Deacon" Loyacano, (string bass/piano). Both men are from New Orleans, and both played in the "Dixieland" bands in both New Orleans and in Chicago. Joe Loyacano is perhaps best recalled as having played in 'Johnnie Miller's New Orleans Frolickers' (Sharkey Bonano, trumpet; Sidney Arodin, Clar.; Hal Jordy, alto; Johnnie Miller, piano; Joe Capraro, banjo; Joe Loyacano, bass; Leo Adde, drums.) He was also a part of the 'Albert Brunies and His Halfway House Orchestra'.(1923-1928, Abbie Brunies, trumpet; Sidney Arodin, clar.; Joe Loyacano, alto sax; Red Long, piano; Angelo Palmisano, banjo; Chink Martin, bass; Emmett Rogers, drums.)

Arnold Deacon Loyacano played string bass/piano in New Orleans with the "Papa" Jack Laine band, and later was a part of 'Tom Brown's Band From Dixieland' playing in Chicago.

Still, there are other Loyacanos, including Bud Loyacano, who played in the 'Triangle Band' (1917-1925 Tony Magiotta -cornet; Charles Christian -trombone; Sal Magiotta -clar/sax; Tony Schiro -banjo/guitar; Bud Loyacano -String and Brass bass; and Louis Stephens -drums.)

He also played in the 1923-1928 'Halfway House Orchestra', (Leader, Clarinet - Abbie Brunies; Clarinet and Saxophone - Leon Roppolo, Charles Cordilla, Sidney Arodin; Alto Saxophone - Joe Loyacano; Valve Trombone - Merritt Brunies; Banjo - Bill Eastwood, Angelo Palmisano; Piano - Mickey Macour, Red Long; String Bass - Arnold Deacon Loyacano, Chink Martin, Bud Loyacano; Drums, Mellophone, Cornet - Monk Hazel; and Drums - Leo Adde, Emmett Rogers.) (NOTICE the THREE Loyacano's who played in the band. Joe on alto sax, and at times Arnold Deacon Loyacano and Bud Loyacano on string bass.)

Freddie Loyacano who played (1920s - 1930's) in the Johnny Bayersdorffer Dixieland Band, (Johnny Bayersdorffer -leader/trumpet; Tom Brown, Charlie Hartmann -trombones; Nunzio Scaglione, Lester Bouchon, Harry Shields, Elery Master, Biller Creger -reeds; Johnny Miller, Joe Wolfe -piano; Nappy Lamare, Freddie Loyacano, Steve Loyacono -banjo/guitar; Chink Martin -bass; Leo Adde, Ray Bauduc -drums.)

During the 1920s, Freddie also played in 'Norman Brownlee's Dixieland Novelty Band'., (Leader, Piano, Saxophone - Norman Brownlee; Cornet and Trumpet - Emmett Hardy, Johnny Wiggs, Sharkey; Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone - George Barth; Trombone - Tom Brown; Clarinet, Saxophone - Harry Shields, Lester Bouchon; Saxophone - Paul Peque; Mellophone, Saxophone - Billy Braun; Banjo - Behrman French, Bill Eastwood, Freddie Loyacano; Drums (and trombone) - Alonzo Crombie;; and Tuba - Frank Christian.)

During the late 1920s to early 1930's, Freddie also played with the 'Ellis Stratakos Orchestra' (a dance band).
Leader, Trombone and Violin - Ellis Stratakos;
Violin - Freddie Chretien;
Cornet and Trumpet - Johnny Wiggs, Louis Prima, Howard Reed;
Clarinet and Saxophone - Irving Fazola, Dave Winstein, Johnny Reininger, Joe Loyacano, Eddie Powers;
Piano - Joe Wolfe, Freddie Newmann;
Guitar and Banjo - Frank Federico, Al Hessemer, Freddie Loyacano;
Tuba and String Bass - Don Peterson, Louis Masinter; and
Drums - Augie Schellang, Von Gammon.

To make matters worse, there's also a Steve Loyacano who played (ca. 1924) with 'Johnny Bayersdorffer and His Jazzola Novelty Orchestra'.
Leader/Cornet - Johnny Bayersdorffer;
Trombone - Tom Brown;
Clarinet - Nunzio Scaglioni;
Piano - Johnny Miller; Banjo - Steve Loyacano; and
Drums - Leo Adde.

The Loyacanos were one of those 'musical families' of old New Orleans. They can all be found playing in the same New Orleans bands in the same time frame, and were indeed a part of the musical fabric of turn of the 20th Century New Orleans. (If anyone has more definitive information on this, please use this ADD A COMMENT? form to let us know.) It is not well recalled today, but during the Dixieland era, New Orleans had a strong tradition of musical families, as exemplified by such clans as the Bechets, the Bigards, and the Brunies of the early 1900s. The tradition continues today with the talented Marsalis family The Brunlous family is another contemporary (2004) New Orleans musical family. The father, John Sr., played trumpet and wrote for Billy Eckstine and Cab Calloway. Uncles Willie Lester and Burnell Santiago are two of the most respected names in New Orleans Jazz today. The son, Wendell Brunlous, is also very active in New Orleans, including working with the Preservation Hall Orchestra, one of the unmissable landmarks in New Orleans.

The Halfway House was so named because it was physically located just about halfway between New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Though best known as the leader of the Halfway House Orchestra (1919-27), Abbie also played in other local New Orleans clubs. Around 1944, he moved to Biloxi, MS, where he led the 'Brunies Brothers Dixieland Jazz Band'. Among his recordings (as a leader) are:
       "Maple Leaf Rag"/"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (1925, Columbia 476D)
       "Pussy Cat Rag"/"Barataria" (1925, Okeh 40318).

   [ George Brunies Orch. ] aka: [ Georg Brunis Orch. ]
b: Feb. 6, 1902, New Orleans, LA, USA, d: Nov. 19, 1974, Chicago, IL, USA.
né: George Clarence Brunies
Instrument: Trombone
By far and away, George Brunies/Georg Brunis is the best remembered of the six brothers in the Brunies family. At just age 8, he was already playing an alto horn in the Family's own Trio, and he was also marching around New Orleans with "Papa" Jack Laine's Reliance Brass Band. By age 11, he had switched to playing the Trombone.

Circa 1920 he became resident in Chicago, playing with a Paul Mares' band, after which he worked briefly on a Mississippi riverboat. He next re-joined his friend Paul Mares playing in the 'Mares's Friars Society Orchestra', and was still playing with that group when they became known as the 'New Orleans Rhythm Kings'. Brunies made his first recording with this band in 1922.

From 1923 to 1935, Brunis was a member of the Ted Lewis orchestra, touring extensively and making a number of recordings. Circa 1935, Brunies became resident in New York City, playing at "Nick's", a famous Jazz club in New York's Greenwich Village area, as well as in various other venues. In 1939, he joined Muggsy Spanier's Ragtime Band, and also frequently played with Art Hodes and Ted Lewis, as well as with Eddie Condon. In late 1949 - through 1959, he was resident in Chicago, and led his own bands at the '1111 Club', the 'Blue Note' club, etc. George Brunies continued to play into the early 1970s, leading various groups in Cincinnati, OH, and in Madison, WI.

Brunis was a classic tailgate trombonist who was entirely self-taught and never learned to read music. He was well known for his comedic style, - often manipulating the trombone's slide with his foot. Apparently, he never practiced and was able to play without any "warm up". Interestingly, he dropped the "e" in his name on the advice a numerologist who told him the "e's" would bring him bad luck. And so, he changed his name from George Brunies to Georg Brunis.

Among the recording on which he can be heard as a sideman are:
With the New Orleans Rhythm Kings:
       "That's a Plenty"/"Tin Roof Blues" (1923, Gennett 5105)
       NOTE: His solo on Tin Roof Blues (Brunies, Paul Mares and Leon Rappolo composed
       the song) perhaps best shows his lyrical style and his broad tonal range.
With Muggsy Spanier's group:
       "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate"/"Dipper Mouth Blues" (193né: , Bluebird 10506)
       "Dinah"/"Black and Blue" (193né: , Bluebird 10682)
With Wild Bill W. B. Davison:
       "That's a Plenty"/"Panama" (1943, Commodore 1511)
With the All Star Stompers:
       "This is Jazz" (1947, Rarities 33), includes "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home"
As leader of his own band:
       "Ugly Chile"/"That Da Da Strain" (1943, Commodore 546)

   [ "Tim" Brymn and The Black Devils Orch. ]
b: Oct. 5, 1881, Kinston, NC, USA; d: Oct. 3, 1946, New York, NY, USA.
né: James Brymn
Largely forgotten now; he deserves to be better known. This musical conductor, arranger and composer was educated at Christian Institute and Shaw University, before attending the National Conservatory of Music. He came to New York around 1900 and soon began composing. In 1905 he wrote five songs that were used in the Smart Set shows. They included "Morning Noon and Night", "O-San", "Powhatana", "Travel On", and "Darktown Grenadiers". He later served as a musical director for the Clef Club and also led orchestras at Ziegfeld's Roof Garden, and Reisenweber's Jardin de Dance.