[Dixielandjazz] Fw: Tony Spar or Tony Spair?

Sat Oct 24 15:15:52 PDT 2009

Listmates,

Here is some info from Johnny Varro regarding a subject that was discussed here on DJML a couple weeks ago.  

It is always great to hear info from the horses mouth.  All too soon the original guys are gone and then it is much harder to get the info correct.  

HTH --Bob Ringwald

 Bob. Perhaps you can forward this to whomever. Yes, Tony Spair did exist. In fact, he was the trumpet player with a cooperative band called the Empire City Six. I was with Phil Napoleon at Nick's on and off between 1954 and 1959 or '60. On with Phil and when Phil vacationed half the year in Miami, Pee Wee Erwin would take over leadership. The sidemen would stay on. In between some of these times Billy Maxted would fill in and I would slip over and play at Eddie Condon's. I was at Condon's as int. pianist for 8 months in 1957, then either on the road with Eddie or back at Nick's. It was a great and busy time for all of us. One summer they had no one to fill in at Nick's so we talked them in to hiring the Napoleon band sans Phil and using Tony Spair, the Empire City Six was born. With Spair, myself on piano, Harry Di Vito, on trombone, Kenny Davern on clarinet, Pete Rogers on bass and Phil Failla on drums we played the summer at
 Nick's and later at the Rendevous in Trenton, N. J. ABC Paramount approached us to record for them and we did an LP called "The Empire City Six Salutes the Colleges". We played all college fight songs which ired us for we wanted to play the jazz standards, but it worked and we did a second album for Hallmark doing the standards. Don't know what happened to Tony. We lost touch when I moved to Miami to work with Phil again doing the Jackie Gleason show and other gigs around a very swinging Miami Beach at that time. 

I guess that covers it all and yes Spair sounded a lot like Phil and yes Kenny Davern was livid about the Lavern spelling of his name as you can imagine. I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to you but was out of town and just got back to my PC. Best always, Johnny

________________________________
From: Robert Ringwald <rsr at ringwald.com>
To: Johnny Varro 
Sent: Sun, October 4, 2009 8:25:38 PM
Subject: Fw: [Dixielandjazz] Tony Spar or Tony Spair?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Bob Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 04, 2009 1:46 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Tony Spar or Tony Spair?

> Jim Butler and Listmates:
> 
> Tony Spar or Tony Spair, not sure of correct spelling, did indeed exist.
> 
> Perhaps this will shed some light on Trumpeter Tony Spar. (or "Spair") 
> In 2007, the late Ed Metz wrote the below on the DJML and I added my 2 
> cents.
> 
> Ed's note: Aug 2007 in response to a question about trumpeter Tony 
> Spar/Spair
> 
> "Jim, be assured that Tony Spair did exist, although I believe this 
> spelling is improper but phonetically correct. I remember well sitting 
> in with the band that played at a place called the 'Paddock' in 
> Trenton NJ in the 1950s. I was in college in Philadelphia and had a 
> roommate (trombonist Marty Bergen) who came from Trenton with whom I 
> would periodically spend the weekend usually because we had a gig in 
> the area. Tony was a Phil Napoleon 'sound alike' - as a matter of 
> fact, the Paddock house band was a 'Phil Napoleon at Nick's" sound 
> alike band (we often snuck up to the village in NYC to catch the 
> Napoleon band at Nicks, so we knew the sound. They had virtually all 
> of the Napoleon arrangements down cold.
> 
> Angie, one of the owners of the Paddock played clarinet. Ellsworth 
> Felton played trombone, Johnny bCoates Sr. played piano (he was a 
> great stride player and father of John Coates Jr who is still playing 
> around the Poconos). I don't recall the name of the drummer, although 
> Artie Geidlin of Trenton sat in on occasion. I can't tell you anything 
> about Phil Failla."
> 
> My note in reply was: Aug 29, 2007 was:
> 
> "Now that jogged a memory bank. Thanks Ed."
> 
> "I too remember that venue and band. Went there a few times with Jack 
> Fine (trumpet) in the 50s. Remember Angie (but forgot his last name). 
> Also remember Ellsworth Felton and of course, John Coates Sr., who was 
> a great OKOM player."
> 
> "Met Angie again around 1990 when he came into the Temperence House in 
> Newtown PA to hear Derf Nolde's Keystone Five, and I was playing one 
> of my first gigs after a 30 year hiatus. We picked up where we left 
> off when he said, 'You remember me Steve, I used to own that joint in 
> Trenton where you sat in a few times, The Paddock.'"
> 
> "So many fine players in the area back then, including you, eh Ed?"
> 
> My own memory of Spar/Spair is dim, except that he was a Phil Napoleon 
> clone. Like Ed, I often went to Nick's to hear Napoleon, even sitting 
> in once with the band, and like Ed, knew the sound and knew that Spar/ 
> Spair sounded just like Napoleon when I sat in with him in the band at 
> The Paddock.
> 
> 
> Also if you check Johnny Varro's web site, you will find "Tony Spair" 
> listed with the Empire City Six, near the bottom of his discography, 
> on recordings in 1957 and 1958. As Ed and I have noted, and I believe 
> Varro will confirm, he did indeed exist. (And the Empire City Six 
> clarinetist was indeed Davern, not Laverne which was simply a later 
> spelling error as Bill Haesler has opined) See:
> 
> http://www.johnnyvarro.com/names.htm
> 
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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