BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER FIRST-CLASS MAIL Box 52252 U.S
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IN THIS ISSUE: k An interview with BUDDY MORROW k Reviews of BIG BOOKS AND RECORDS to consider BAND k A FAMOUS SIDEMEN JUMP TRIVIA QUIZ NEWSLETTER ★ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR about GENE KRUPA, ARTIE SHAW, SAM DONAHUE AND MORE BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER FIRST-CLASS MAIL Box 52252 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Atlanta, GA 30355 Atlanta, GA Permit No. 2022 % \\ \\ BIG BAND NEWSLETTER VOLUME LXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2001 We saw BUDDY MORROW INTERVIEW B u d d y and his The Background wife Carol at This is the second time we’ve interviewed trombonist a plan- Buddy Morrow on these pages. Since that first inter n i n g view in the March-April, 1992 BBJ NEWSLETTER, meeting he has continued to lead the official estate Tommy a b o a rd Dorsey Orchestra, generally considered to be one of the s/s the top road bands in the United States. Buddy Morrow Norway had led the Dorsey Orchestra longer than Tommy d u rin g Dorsey back when the first interview was published; the No now, nearly nine years later, he certainly qualifies as vember, the longest-tenured leader of a so-called “ghost” band. 2 0 0 0 B i g When he was still a teen-ager, Artie Shaw suggested Band that Buddy leave his home in New Haven, Connecticut Jump and move permanently to New York City. If was after Cruise T_. „ ,, , The young Buddy Morrow that move when he got the call to work with Tommy and ar- -------------------------------------------------------- Dorsey. He had previously been a sideman with Eddy ranged a time to get with him in his cabin on the Sky Duchin, Artie Shaw, Vincent Lopez and Charlie Barnet. Deck. At the appointed time, he was relaxed and After discovering Tommy Dorsey was paying his third willing to expand on the answers. He is a nice man and trombone man forty dollars more a week than the an easy interview subject. $125.00 he was making, Buddy went with Paul Whiteman and then worked for CBS radio, Johnny The Interview Green, Bob Crosby and when inducted into the service, as a musician for the Navy during WWII. BBJ: When the companies used to put band musi cians names on record labels, there was a Moe It was in 1945 when Buddy Morrow first formed his Zudekoff listed in the trombone section of Tommy own band and changed his name from Muni (Moe) Dorsey’s BOOGIE WOOGIE. Zudekoff. That band had limited success, and he disbanded in early 1946 to work in the New York BM: That was the guy who played lead trombone, studios until 1951 when he re-formed his band and and the funny part of it is, he’s my double. achieved public acclaim with a series of records in cluding NIGHT TRAIN, a melody with which he is BBJ: How did it start? now permanently identified. BM: In my family there was music all the way Several months ago, Buddy Morrow suffered cancer of around, and my oldest brother played piano, the throat, but he recovered and continues to play the violin and cello and my two sisters.... one played piano trombone with the same warmth and expressiveness and the other played violin. Then came my brother who that has identified his unique sound for decades. is four years older than I who played the trumpet, and by the time it got down to me when I was twelve years The Scene old, why, since we were a musical family with a great VOLUME LXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER JANUARV-FEBRUARY 2001 music background, they needed trombone players in symphonic. To this day I realize what a marvelous thing New Haven, which is where I was bom. I was given a it was to be playing in the senior symphony at Juilliard. King trombone, symphony bore, slightly larger than I was at the time. To this day reaching the seventh BBJ: You said you left Juilliard because they claimed position, which is that one far out almost to the end of they couldn’t teach you anymore. the hom, is a practical impossibility for me. BM: That was my teacher, Ernest Clark. A wonder BBJ: Is there something genetic about your ability ful man who was the principal trombonist with to send your emotions through your hom? the philharmonic at the time. He heard me playing and said, “Son, I don’t think we can teach you anything BM: Oh, sure, definitely. In my family back here. What I would suggest is that you keep on studying ground, my great uncle, my grandfather’s the way you do and towards spring we will prepare a brother.... they were in the Tzar’s orchestra. All my concerto, and perhaps I can be of help there.” uncles on my father ’ s side played musical instruments. When the chore became almost too much.... I was Yeah, the genes were definitely there. I can still working seven nights a week with Eddy Duchin.... and remember as a kid going under the kitchen sink and going to school. I missed a day and a class entirely, I getting the old fashioned tea kettle with the spout and thought it was time to make a choice. I was a product go marching through the house tooting on the tea of the depression. It was very easy to make the choice. kettle. There is a family affinity. The financial situation was such that I was able to send money home to help my folks and also live pretty good After about six months of study with a teacher by the for a kid, making more than the dean of Juliard. Then name of Daniel Carboni, I started liking playing the I was called by Artie Shaw who was organizing his first hom. It was a great emotional outlet, and to this day it’s band. Strangely enough, in that band were four future been a constant companion. I started playing dates bandleaders: Tony Pastor, Moe Zudecoff who became around New Haven when I was fifteen. The Yale Buddy Morrow, Jerry Graziano who became Jerry Collegians needed a trombone player, and they heard Gray and Lee Castaldo who became Lee Castle. I loved me play and decided I was going to be one of the ringers that band because it was based on the classics. in the band, and gave my age as sixteen to the union officials. I became Moe Zudecoff, member of the That all came to a quick ending when we were in Texas union, allowed to travel with the band. We toured all on our first road tour and Ralph Hix who was the Hilton summer long. I made the magnificent salary of $35.00 of his time.... he had a string of hotels.... he came in and a week, of which the members of the band chipped in decided we were too loud and started to tell Artie Shaw for gas and oil. Gasoline at that time was fourteen cents how to run his band, and Artie said, “You run your a gallon, so it wasn’t a big chore. I learned a lot about blankety-blank hotels and I’ll run my band!” That living on the road and playing my hom, and by the time afternoon we were on our way back to New York from I was seventeen I had been heard by Artie Shaw and Dallas. I went back to Eddy Duchin’s band. other New York musicians who decided I was very well equipped to come to New York. BBJ: You worked the New York City studios for a long time. Once again with that magic figure, $35.00 in my pocket, I went to New York and subsequently played BM: The studio work was fabulous. When I came again for Artie Shaw who recommended me to Tommy to New York I could have gone right into the Dorsey who didn’t need a trombone player at the time, studios, but at that time even though I was one of the top but Artie helped me get started with casual dates in trombone players in the country, I didn’t have the New York. I was there about six months.... and I still experience of coming into a highly professional studio hadn’t finished high school.... and I got a scholarship where your first run-through was your best. to Juilliard in open competition. At that time there was no such thing as jazz education, Etc.....it was all Four years later, after my early years, I came back into 2 VOLUME LXXII BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2001 studio work. I had a lot of help from fellow musicians, your ego gets but it was highly competitive, every bit of it. You had pumped up in a cer to be required to read everything and at this time your tain direction you first performance was as good as your last. I broke into gotta’ feed it, and it pretty well. I played with shows like Bob Hope, Fred the fact that you can Allen, Prudential Family Hour, Raymond Scott, Mark emote and tell the Wamow and A1 Goodman, and my sidekick at the time people how you feel was Miff Mole, who used the trombone a lot like Jack by playing.... it’s Teagarden, who I thought was fabulous, even though been a fantastic situ I disagreed with his primal sound, but that’s how ation for me. you’re brought up. Studio work was a great adventure, and years of discovery for me.