[Dixielandjazz] Older musicians in early jazz bands

[Don Ingle]

Stan Brager wrote:
> Don;
>
> I believe you're thinking of bassist Steve Brown who played with Goldkette
> and, later, with Paul Whiteman. Steve was a marvelous bassist who backed and
> enhanced many of Bix Beiderbecke's solos. One doesn't hear much about Steve
> Brown after his stint with Whiteman.
>
> Bassist Ray Brown, on the other hand,  came to prominence with Dizzy
> Gillespie's bands of the 40s.
>
> Stan
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Don Ingle" <dingle at nomadinter.net>
> To: "Audrey Van Dyke" <audrey at callitmusic.com>
> Cc: "dixieland jazz mailing list" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 2:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Older musicians in early jazz bands
>
>
>   
>> Audrey Van Dyke wrote:
>>     
>>> I got a piece of 1921 sheet music in the mail today - "The All Star Jazz
>>> Band Blues" by Cecil C. Nixon, featured by the All Star Jazz Band,
>>> published by Nixon Music House in Whitefish, Montana.  It has a  large
>>> photo of the band on the front cover - one of those usual silly 1920's
>>> band photos with five guys in clown suits, a drum, a piano, a violin, a
>>> tenor sax and a banjo.  One of the  main  categories of sheet music I
>>> collect is the 20's sheets with band inset photos.  I've seen hundreds
>>> of them by now, and  one thing they all have in common, whether  well
>>> known  or obscure, is  the hopeful young faces staring out at you.  This
>>> one was different - it strikes you immediately that two of the
>>> clown-suited musicians are probably in their sixties.  It got me
>>> wondering what other older musicians might have played in the early
>>> 1920's jazz bands.  Not taught the kids who were in the bands, but
>>> actually were a part of a band calling itself a jazz band, to the point
>>> of being pictured with the band..  Anyone know of any other examples?
>>> Audrey Van Dyke
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>> I do know that Ray Brown, the fine bassist with Gene Goldkette, (his
>> slap bass solo on My Pretty Gam is a master's course in how to do it
>> right) was called "Pappy" and was older than the others on the band by
>> some years. (My dad was only 19 when he joined Goldkette).  Ray was the
>> brother of New Orleans trombonist Tom Brown.
>> Don Ingle
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>   

> Thanks, Stan. Yeah, Steve Brown. Had a bit of a brain f**t when I wrote Ray instead ofSteve. I have a photo of oneofthe Goldkette bands with my dad in it and also Steve Brown in the stage band photo -- it was Freddie Bergin's Vagabons. Begin was a piano man and the manager of the Goldkette Detrout office. Freddy later lived and worked in Denver and ended up in Santa Barbara, CA where he and my dad recorded specialty records on Fred'slabels. Dad got his job with Goldkette in 1926 thansk to my mom. She was in a Sorority at what is now EMU - a techer's college, and Fred who was at the U. of MI used to coemto their sorotity andplay piano and flirt wit the gals. Dad married mom that June, and came to seek work with the Godkette office ( which booked abouot ten bands at that time) and when he saw my mom he said..."Why, hello Eddie, what brings you here? She introduced dad, and after hearing who he'd been working with, hired him, a gig that later led to his working for periods with the Victor band alongside Bix, Tram, and of course Steve. Brown.So, forgive my lapse of memory -- damn, getting old sure gets the little gray cells fuzzy  at times.
>   
Don ah, ah, ah...oh yeah, Ingle

>
>