[Dixielandjazz] Bands in the 1950's -- St Louis

[Walker, Maurice]

>In St. Louis, two of the best known bands in the 1950's were Sam  Gardner's
Mound City Six and Don Gumpert's Dixieland Saints Jazz Band.   Of course,
Sam is no longer with us but, Don is still playing - at  least, he will be
when he recovers from surgery (fingers crossed)!
Sandy Gumpert
>
Another was Singleton Palmer's band.  And I seem to recall that trumpeter
Dewey Jackson un-retired and re-retired several times in the late fifties.
Something of an aside: I went to a Cardinals game where the marching band of
the black musicians' union played - yes, they were still segregated at the
time.  Palmer was in it, but what I remember is Dewey Jackson playing out
clearly over the entire band - and I don't remember the ball game at all.

Two of the lesser known bands in the 1950's were the Dixie Stompers and the
Dixie Wildcats.  The Stompers included banjoist Pete Patterson, who had
recorded with Charlie Creath back in the Twenties, and who was my major
influence on banjo.  I was in the Wildcats, which featured the vocals of
washtub bassist Clay Veninga.  When I left town in 1959, my place was taken
by Al Stricker, later of the St Louis Ragtimers. 

Maurie Walker