Arvell Shaw

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From left: Jack Teagarden , Sandy DeSantis, Velma Middleton, Fraser MacPherson , Cozy Cole , Arvell Shaw, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard at the Palomar Supper Club, Vancouver (March 17, 1951)

Arvell Shaw (born September 15, 1923 in St. Louis , † December 5, 2002 in Roosevelt Island, NY ) was an American jazz double bass player who was best known for his work with Louis Armstrong .

Musical career

Shaw, who only learned the trombone and tuba in high school , soon switched to the double bass, with which he made his first experiences in cooperation with Fate Marable on the Mississippi paddle steamers from 1938 to 1941 . After serving for three years in the Navy Music Corps in the early 1940s, Louis Armstrong brought him into his band in 1944 and became his favorite bass player. He was a member of Armstrong's bands with interruptions until 1965. Besides Velma Middleton , he was the only musician who was taken over by Louis Armstrong from his big band into the All-Stars and remained in all All-Star formations.

In the years 1951–1952 he studied composition at the Geneva Conservatory . In addition to his involvement with Armstrong, Shaw worked with Russ Case (1955), Benny Goodman (1958 Europe, 1962 and 1967 Latin America) and for a long time with Teddy Wilson (1957-1958, occasionally later).

In the musical film The Top Ten Thousand , Arvell Shaw can be seen in the appearances of Armstrong's jazz band.

Following his all-star stint, he played as a sideman for Sidney Bechet , Claude Hopkins , Barney Bigard , Earl Hines, and with Red Allen , Wild Bill Davison and Herb Hall . He was also active as a teacher and played on college tours and at international festivals (1982 with Lionel Hampton and Axel Zwingenberger ) but also with his own groups.

In the 1980s and 1990s he played mostly in formations that represented Louis Armstrong's legacy (such as Keith Smith's Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong , the Satchmo Legacy Band and the Armstrong Alumni Allstars ) with Doc Cheatham , Buddy Tate , Vic Dickenson , André Persiany and others.

As a band leader , he only released a recording of a live concert by his Satchmo Legacy Band in 1991.

reception

  • The music journalist Martin Kunzler described Arvell Shaw as "one of the most progressive heirs of Jimmy Blantons ". He marked “ with a full tone on his instrument the limits of what was technically feasible at the time. "He's brilliant," said Louis Armstrong, commenting on the work of his favorite bassist ».
  • Author Hans-Jürgen Winkler quotes a concert report by jazz musician and journalist Hawe Schneider about the Armstrong band's guest performance on October 11, 1952 in Frankfurt: " [...] When the long Arvell Shaw plucks" How High the Moon "together Nordic silence over the arena. Silence and amazement at such dexterity make the crowd freeze. [...] »

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Reclams Jazzlexikon, 2nd edition 2009, p. 482.
  2. ↑ Interview with Ken Burns in Jazz Professional. (PDF; 87 kB) Retrieved June 30, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c d rororo Jazz Lexikon, Martin Kunzler, 1988, p. 1054 f.
  4. ^ Jazz for Everyone, Südwest Verlag Munich, 1961, p. 222 f.
personal data
SURNAME Shaw, Arvell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shaw, Arvel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American early jazz double bass player
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis , USA
DATE OF DEATH December 5, 2002
Place of death Roosevelt Island (New York City) , USA