Those Other New Orleans Musicians Biodiscographies
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THOSE OTHER NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS BIODISCOGRAPHIES This is a look at some New Orleans musicians (ie musicians born in or near New Orleans or who moved to New Orleans at an early age and “learnt their trade” in New Orleans) who, in the opinion of the writers, have received less attention than they merit in recent years or whose recording careers are obscure. Our choice of musicians is open-ended. If we feel that a musician merits more attention than he or she has hitherto received we will try to put that right by including him or her in our list. We are already working on a number of other musicians who will appear on the list at intervals including a group of piano players. Our aim is to make these players more accessible by listing all their recordings whether or not they were issued. Unissued sessions have a habit of turning up years after the event so, with one or two exceptions, should never be written off. George Buck has acquired a number of catalogues and is gradually issuing previously unissued sessions or sessions unavailable for a long time from the likes of Southland. We eagerly await his future offerings. Some musicians on our list are still being researched by a number of musical scholars (and ourselves!) so we do not claim that this is the last word in many cases. We regard this as a co-operative venture which embraces all those with a love of New Orleans music and we welcome corrections/additions to the information presented and suggestions as to musicians that might be added to the list. We are indebted to those who have trodden this path before us - people like Brian Rust, Dave Carey, W Bruyninckx, Tom Lord, Christopher Hillman, Alan Barrel, John Chilton, Alyn Shipton, Paige Van Vorst, Jempi de Donder and a - 1 - whole host of others who have researched the careers of individual musicians and published the results of their research, often in specialist magazines such as down beat, Footnote and New Orleans Music. It would be remiss of us not to mention the Storyville Team whose contribution to the body of knowledge of New Orleans music is immense. Many of the recordings listed are available on microgroove and/or CD. The chances of coming across an original 78rpm issue are remote as these are mostly in the hands of collectors. Our approach is to quote the matrix number and original 78rpm issue number in order to precisely identify the recording in the case of recordings in the 78rpm era (roughly up to the early fifties) and wherever possible to quote the numbers of CD and microgroove releases. LP and EP issues are the most difficult to track down. Any help you can give in listing issues will be much appreciated. Brian Legan and John Rothwell BRIAN LEGAN 2 Derwent Avenue Churchtown Southport Merseyside UK PR9 7PX. 01704 214075 [email protected] - 2 - ALPHABETICAL LIST DON ALBERT EDDIE ATKINS JOE AVERY CHARLES BOCAGE SIDNEY BROWN RAYMOND BURKE LEE COLLINS ERNEST COYCAULT PERCY DARENSBURG NATTY DOMINIQUE PETER DUCONGE ROY EVANS CIE FRAZIER OCTAVE GASPARD FRANK GOUDIE TUBBY HALL ANDREW HILAIRE CHARLIE JACKSON JIMMIE JOHNSON CLIFFORD JONES WILLIE JOSEPH GUY KELLY KID SHOTS MADISON JOHN MARRERO AL MORGAN EDGAR MOSLEY ARNETT NELSON ROY PALMER FRANK PASLEY ZUE ROBERTSON ERNEST ROGERS ALBERT SNAER BOB THOMAS WILBERT TILLMAN EDDIE VINCENT GENE WARE WADE WHALEY JIM WILLIGAN AL WYNN BERNIE YOUNG ALPHABETICAL LIST BY INSTRUMENT TRUMPET/CORNET DON ALBERT LEE COLLINS ERNEST COYCAULT NATTY DOMINIQUE GUY KELLY KID SHOTS MADISON ALBERT SNAER GENE WARE BERNIE YOUNG TROMBONE EDDIE ATKINS JOE AVERY ROY PALMER ZUE ROBERTSON BOB THOMAS EDDIE VINCENT AL WYNN REEDS RAYMOND BURKE PETER DUCONGE FRANK GOUDIE WILLIE JOSEPH ARNETT NELSON WADE WHALEY BANJO/GUITAR CHARLES BOCAGE PERCY DARENSBURG CHARLIE JACKSON JOHN MARRERO FRANK PASLEY - 3 - BASS SIDNEY BROWN OCTAVE GASPARD JIMMIE JOHNSON AL MORGAN WILBERT TILLMAN DRUMS ROY EVANS CIE FRAZIER TUBBY HALL ANDREW HILAIRE CLIFFORD JONES EDGAR MOSLEY ERNEST ROGERS JIM WILLIGAN - 4 - THE MUSIC OF D0N ALBERT BRIAN LEGAN 2013 BRIAN LEGAN 2 Derwent Avenue Churchtown Southport Merseyside UK PR9 7 PX [email protected] 01704 214075 - 5 - BIOGRAPHY DON ALBERT (rn ALBERT ANITE DOMINIQUE) Cornet, Trumpet, Band Leader and Arranger Born New Orleans 5 August 1908 Died San Antonio 4 March 1980 Son of a cigar maker, nephew of Natty Dominique and second cousin to Barney and alex Bigard. Taught by Lorenzo Tio Jnr. and Milford Piron. Initially played cornet, later trumpet. Played in parades in New Orleans in the early 1920’s. Left New Orleans to tour with Trent’s Number Two Band in 1925. Moved to Dallas in 1926 with his new wife Hazel to join a band playing at the Tip Top Club. Played some dates with Terrence Holder’s Clouds Of Joy, The Blue Devils and Alphonso Trent’s Orchestra. Joined Troy Floyd’s Orchestra Of Gold, which had a residency at the Shadowland Ballroom in San Antonio, c. March 1927 as a replacement for Benno Kennedy (pictured at p 36 of Jazz On The Road and at p 103 of Big Band Jazz) and toured extensively throughout Texas for almost 3 years. Made his first recordings with this band in 1928. The muted solos on Wabash Blues and Shadowland Blues are by Albert. The Floyd orchestra made further recordings in 1929 with a line-up which included Herschel Evans (pictured with Don Albert at p 103 of Big Band Jazz), making his debut. Again Albert is a featured soloist. Returned to New Orleans in September 1929 and worked briefly with Bebe Ridgley’s Tuxedo Orchestra. He then received an invitation from Bernard Goldberg to form a band to play at the Texas State Fair and a series of gigs in Dallas and San Antonio. He recruited a band in New Orleans, mainly from the ranks of Bebe Ridgley’s and Sidney Desvigne’s bands, adopted the name Don Albert as his professional name and called his band Don Albert And His Ten Pals. The band played the Texas Centennial Exposition in the Autumn of 1929 and then spent 18 months as the house band at the Chicken Plantation and the Shadowland Club, San Antonio. The band made radio broadcasts at this time. The band then toured extensively from 1931 to 1940 (pictured at pp 79, 87, 110, 182, 193 and 197 of Jazz On The Road , at p 108 of Big Band Jazz and at p 152 of New Orleans Jazz A - 6 - Family Album), in the later years with its own troupe of entertainers, completing 11 tours in all The band included Herbie Hall, Louis Cottrell Jnr. and Ferdinand Dejan, and later Alvin Alcorn (in 1932) and Jimmy Johnson (who played string bass with Bolden). Albert only occasionally played trumpet with his own band after 1935, preferring to lead and arrange for his band and chase gigs. Brunswick recorded his orchestra at the Bluebonnet Hotel in San Antonio in 1936 but he did not play on the session. Toured extensively (38 American states, Mexico and Canada) in 1937/8 with a band which included Earl Fouche. After this the band was disbanded and reformed several times, eventually folding with the advent of World War 2, after which Albert worked as a booking agent, a civil servant and nightclub owner at the Keyhole Club, San Antonio, forming bands only to play specific engagements including a spell at the Broadway Palace Theatre, New York in May 1949. Lived in New Orleans 1948/9 and worked for the Post Office. Moved back to Texas in the early fifties, playing only occasionally. In the 1960s he began to play trumpet more regularly, mainly in the San Antonio area, but occasionally elsewhere, whilst working as a government inspector. On 11 May 1961 Albert was interviewed by Bill Russell and Paul Crawford and on 4 June 1961 he joined with local musicians in San Antonio for a rehearsal which was taped. Copies of the tape were produced but apparently because of a dispute with other musicians at the rehearsal talk of a record deal foundered. I am not aware of the fate of the tape, but for the record the numbers taped included Jelly Roll Morton Blues, Panama Rag, High Society, Come Back Sweet Papa, Mama’s Gone Goodbye, Bill Bailey and Chatanooga Stomp. Continued to play in New Ortleans, where he made recordings on visits in 1962, 1963 and 1974, and in San Antonio. Played with Buddy Tate in New York in 1966 and at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1969 and 1971. Toured with a band which included Louis Cottrell Jnr, Wendell Eugene and Freddy Kohlman in the mid 1970s. Was still musically active until early 1980, despite being involved in a serious road accident in 1978 in which his wife was killed and he was injured, and suffering a stroke, but made no further recordings after the session with Wallace Davenport in 1974. - 7 - RECORDINGS (Incuding recording with his own orchestra in 1936 when he directed the orchestra but did not play trumpet) 14 March 1928 1 TROY FLOYD AND HIS PLAZA HOTEL ORCHESTRA San Antonio OKeh Don Albert Tpt Benny Long Tbn Troy Floyd Clt & Alt N J “Siki” Collins Clt & Alt Scott Bagby Clt & Ten Allen Vann Pno John H Braggs Bjo Charlie Dixon Bbs & Tbn John Humphries Dms Kellough Jefferson Vcl Shadowland Blues - Part 1 400507-A OKeh 8571 Shadowland Blues - Part 2 (3 takes) 400508-C OKeh 8571 Wabash Blues (2 takes) 400509-A-B Microgroove/CD Issues: Parlophone PMC 7082 (LP).