James, Grable Marterie Refuses To Do Theater Team Chicago- -Harry James and Bet­ Telecast From Palladium CHICAGO. SEPTEMBER 23, 1953 ty Grable will become a team pro­ fessionally for the first time when Hollywood—“You can’t play dance music for dancers and they play the Thanksgiving week put on a television show at the same time,” says Ralph Mar­ here at tht Chicago theater. Bitty will sing and dance with terie. “Especially a l^-hour show at midnight when the the James band in what will prob­ guys are tired and don’t feel like ably be their only appeamnce to- sitting under those lights, let alon> gethei. She has film commitments, jumping up and trying to he TV and James is scheduled for a string actors.” Shaw Revives of one-niters to follow. This was Marterie’s reason for declining—so he said—to do the Palladium's weekly bandstand tele­ casts KNXT. Gramercy Five Another View New York—Artie Shaw will re­ Staff Sources close to the Palladium's vive his “Gramercy Five” combo management, however, denied that for a booking at the Embers. the decision to cancel the broad­ He ha« been set to open there Changes casts had been Marterie’s. The Oct comment : York location since the fall of 1951, Chicago—Due to the press of his “Marterie’s contract included a fronted Billy Taylor’s .lany other activities, Leonard clause covering the television quartet and called it Shaw’s Gra­ i'cather has relinquished his post shows, and if we had wanted him mercy Five for a stint at Iceland, is Down Beat’s associate editor in to do them we could have forced on the site of the present Band New York. He will, however, con­ him. However, surveys we had been Box. tinue to write regularly for this making among Personnel for the new quintet is magazine on a contributing basis. cated that they preferred to dance not yet set, but Don Elliott, Tai Nat Hentoff, oui Boston corres­ and didn’t really enjoy the thing Farlow, and Denzil Best have beer pondent for thi last three years, enough anymore. That time of mentioned as possibilities. moves into the New York office on night they wanted soft lights and Billy Taylor will not be involved a fulltime basis beginning Sept 10, KITTY KALLEN cut her first side« for Decca last month under the sweet music for the romance this time, since he has been set by where he will associate new pact she signed with them. With her above. und directing the angle.” Watkins to open with his trio at editor duties. dale, are Milt Gabler, Decca VIP, and conductor Jack Plein. Business Great the new Basin Street when it opens In addition, Danny Richman, its doors Oct. 1. former Variety and Billboard staff­ Despite whatevei friction there er and current show business col­ not umnist foi the New York Morn­ self-asserted refusal to do the tele­ ing Telegraph, will assist editorial­ Drummer Tiny Kahn, 29 casts, everybody was happy with Costanza Out ly in the New York office, write the business he was doing at the reviews, etc. boxoffice at this writing. During his first week he did Of Cole Unit Dies Of Heart Attack close to 15,000 paid admissions for the best si San Francisco — Nat (King) New York — Norma» (Tiny) Kahn, one of the finest ar­ ladium has Cole is dropping bongo player Jack rangers and drummers in modern jazz, died suddenly Aug. 19, launched his dance band there in 1950. And there was no question Costanza, longtime member of his while vacationing at Martha’s Vineyard from his job on the that the business was the solid group, and backing him in a small Jack Sterling show at CBS. „_ type, consisting of older customers group of his own. Kahn, who had suffered an at- |j L . who Cole will replace Costanza with tack a few months ago, complained 13* _ K k spending money at tables and hai' of fetling ill, and died of .1 heart ■51” I * * guitarist John Collins and bassist Called Off Welk Success Charlie Harris. Reason for the New York—Count Basie’s Euro­ attack on his way to a hospital. 4 JI 1 He was 29, a native New Yorker, I Asked, incidentally, to explain the change is the building popularity pean trip will definitely not take of Cole as u vocal attraction; his place. and had played with the bands of M I ‘ * jafl if ’ 1 phenomenal Milt Britton, Georgie Auld, Boyd I I " f jA ■tv . Welk, now in his third year at the continuing to work top spots such The tour had been announced in Raeburn, and Buddy Rich (subbing . , T Aragon, Marterie didn’t fumble for as the Fairmont where he has to great detail in recent months by while Buddy fronted) and was ||.jt,77T'—- , work with house bands gives him European music magazines. Col­ words: working mainly on vibes with the Welk different, that’s all more need for a drummer. lapse of the project was attributed Elliot I.awrenc« quartet on ’h< 1 « a vW ■ gi Also he’s u real television person­ by the Willard Alexander office, Sterling show. ality. Anyway, I think Welk could Basie’s bookers, to the European have done the same thing at the promoters’ failure to live up to “I can’t believe Tiny’s gone,” Aragon without television He has terms of the contract, which called sain Terry Gibbs. “We were to­ a great dance hand—(days the kind Egan Readying for a substantial advance cash gether every single evening from of music people like. deposit. the age of 6 to 18. They used to “Lawrence and I both feel the Instead of a foreign jaunt, Count call us ‘Fat and Skinny, Kahn same way about dance music- - Book About TD und the band will go on a joint and Gubenko,’ like a team We don’t play for musicians. If I find tour with Sugai Rav Robinson and started drumming together in the that the guys in my band are be­ New York—Jack Egan, press the Dominoes early in October. corner candy store, playing on ginning to like an arrangement too Beat This venture is now being lined agent and formei Down tables with nickels. much, I get rid of it. scribe, is completing the manu up by Joe Glaser, the ex-fighter’s “We were the same age; went Tiny Kahn “The other night, while I was script of Slide, Dorsey, Slide, A manager. to Winthrop Junior High and Til­ then one day we auditioned for u off the stand, they played two num­ book-length series of reminiscences den High together, and Tiny wrote bers ‘by request.’ When I dis­ about his experiences as a close as­ his first arrangement for oui Til­ real swinging Basie-type band, and of course he ran away with the covered that the only requests had sociate of Tommy Dorsey. den band when he was 14. come from guys in the band I He expects to have it ready for ’Greatest Ear’ told ’em to tear up the parts right New Man \luaye Playing publication within the next couple “He had the greatest ear, the now—and they did!” of months. New York—Tony Bennett in­ greatest memory I’ve ever known. Tiny wa. always playing, always stituted an unusual accompani­ Once he picked up a trombone and writing and thinking of music, re­ ment policy when he reopened started fooling around with it just called Terry. “I took him to my Ben Maksik’s Town und Country for kicks; after two week.-, he teacher once, and he studied drums club in Brooklyn Aug. 21 after sounded like a professional trom­ for six months. That was all the teaching he ever had on any in­ JazztimeU.S.A.’Troupe its summer closing. bonist. Inst< ad of a pianist lie has “Tiny could always cutswing ’em strument; everything else, includ­ Chuck Wayne on guitar as his all. I remember at one time, when ing the arranging, he picked up by regular accompanist. Chuck gute we were both trying to get jobs himself. “Just think if some of the great To Tour Concert Route up his irio lo join Tony. on drums, he would lose out be­ rocking things he did for the big I ast Bennett accompanist was cause he couldn’t play flashy, New York—Jazztime U.S.A., the concert package started pianist Gene DiNovi. ul«o a noted couldn’t make the Sing Sing Sing Chubby Jackson band in 1949 — last January by Brunswick Records in the form of free­ modern jazzman. routine. So I got the jobs because things like Father Knickerbopper I could play Sing Sing Sing. But and of Bourse Tiny’s Blues. And admission performances at the Pythian Temple recording that wonderful arrangement he studio, is coming out into the open. made for Charlie Barnet on Over Starting mid-September, tht Rainbow. Down Beal’s’ Five Star Discs unit bearing the will Kenton Wanted Hint be booked on some concerts in key “Ynu know who was crazy about cities by Associated Booking Corp. Tiny? Stan Kenton. Stan tried for Among those already set are the JAZZ months to get him to go out of combos of Mat Mathews, Terry HELEN MERRILL The More I See You (Rood 575) town and join the band. But Tiny Gibbs, Tony Scott; singer Jackie KENNY DREW TRIO Album (Blu* Noh 5023) was finally beginning to settle Pai is, plus possibly Georgie A ild.