[Dixielandjazz] Aristocracy

[Steve Voce]

Most people know of the Basie Septet with Clark Terry, Wardell Gray, Buddy deFranco etc, but perhaps not how it came about.
When the big band business became bad at the end of the Forties Count parked the existing big band at the Woodside Hotel (yes, the Jumpin' At) outside New York and went off to look for work for them. However, whilst the musicians were there, things went differently for Count and he formed the Septet. The first thing the big band, waiting at the Woodside, knew of this was when they heard the Septet on the radio. Count had abandoned them. They were left broke to sort themselves out.
  Harry Edison, who was in the big band trumpet section, thought of a friend in Los Angeles who was a call girl and who had told him that if he was ever stuck he could come and stay with her. He left the Woodside and hitch-hiked to LA.
  While he was staying with her she was in bed with a customer and in the conversation mentioned that she had a trumpet player staying with her. 'What's his name?' asked the client. 
  'Harry Edison,' she said.
  The man leapt out of bed and ran to the 'phone. 
  It was Nelson Riddle and he was phoning Frank Sinatra.
  'Harry Edison is in town,' he said.
 'Bring him in!' said Sinatra.
  So they were put in touch with Edison, who Sinatra wanted on his records. But they found out that Harry couldn't read music properly. So Sinatra paid for him to have lessons.
  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Steve Voce




Sent from my iPad

> On 25 Feb 2015, at 21:54, Marek Boym <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I wonder how many of you know theCount's small band.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a4dbj91Vhw4#t=103
> Enjoy (not all its recordings are as good)
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