Tricky Sam Nanton

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Joe Nanton born, usually named as Joseph N. Irish, "Tricky Sam" Nanton, (* 1. February 1904 in New York City ; † 20th July 1946 in San Francisco ) was an American jazz - trombone player known for his innovative growl and mute technique ( wah-wah ) is known in the Duke Ellington Orchestra .

Live and act

Nanton was with Cliff Jackson , Frazier's Harmony Five (1923/4) and Elmer Snowden ( 1925 ) in the early 1920s before joining Duke Ellington in 1926 . Here he perfected the mute game developed by trumpeter Bubber Miley in the Ellington Band and contributed significantly to the band's distinctive jungle sound. In doing so, he played with a cone damper inserted into the horn in addition to the plunger , which technically simplified the game, as the constant readjustment of the tuning with the lips was reduced. Due to his innovative use of mutes, which enabled him to imitate the most varied of voices with the trombone, he was nicknamed Tricky Sam . He knew how to play his melodically simple, but tonally and rhythmically nuanced way of playing in a wide range between poignant plaintive singing and a humorous imitation of the human voice.

In addition to his engagement in the Ellington Band, Nanton played records with Ellington musicians such as Johnny Hodges , Rex Stewart , Sonny Greer and Cootie Williams .

Nanton died of a stroke in a hotel in San Francisco in 1946 after he had been absent for long periods of time due to health problems (he was an alcoholic). Ellington kept looking for people who resembled Nanton in sound and ability, but never found an equivalent substitute.

The best recordings with solos by Nanton, all with Duke Ellington's orchestra, include Black And Tan Fantasy , Washington Wobble , Red Hot Brand 1927, Jubilee Stomp , Tishomingo Blues , The Blues With A Feeling 1928, Flaming Youth, Tiger Rag, Harlemania, Harlem Flat Blues, Stevedore Stomp, Nights In Harlem, Old Man Blues 1930, Echoes Of The Jungle 1931, It Don´t Mean a Thing , Lightin 1932, Harlem Speaks 1933, In A Jam 1936, New Black and Tan Fantasy 1938, Ko Ko, Side Walks Of New Yorks, Chloe 1940, Blue Serge, Jump For Joy 1941, Main Stam 1942, Work Song 1944, Black And Tan Fantasy 1945.

Discographic notice

  • Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
  • The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts # 1 - January 1943
  • The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts # 2 - December 1944
  • The Uncollected Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Vol. 1 (1946)
  • The Uncollected Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Vol. 3 (1946)

literature

  • Kurt Dietrich: "Dukes bones - Duke Ellingtons trombonists" , Advance Music 1996

Web links

Notes and sources

  1. ↑ He had already used the dampers before, but after Ellington learned a lot from band member Miley, Collier Ellington , knaur, 1992, p. 103
personal data
SURNAME Nanton, Tricky Sam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nanton, Joe; Nanton, Sam; Irish, Joseph N. (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trombonist
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 20, 1946
Place of death San Francisco