Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra

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The Billy Eckstine Orchestra. The photograph by William P. Gottlieb was taken around 1946/47

Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra was an American big band that existed from mid-1944 to early 1947; it is considered to be one of the most innovative larger ensembles of the late swing era. Members of the band, a "legendary incubator for young bebop talents" ( Richard Cook ), included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie , Miles Davis and Fats Navarro , saxophonists Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon, and drummer Art Blakey and singer Sarah Vaughan .

Band history

Billy Eckstine around 1947. Photo: William P. Gottlieb

After leading the Orchestra of Earl Hines had left in September 1943 and was its successful involvement in the New York Yacht Club to an end, the singer presented Billy Eckstine the Hines band on the advice of his manager Billy Shaw with former musicians Charlie Parker, the arranger and Trombonist Jerry Valentine , trumpeters Gail Brockman and Shorty McConnell and saxophonist Tommy Crump formed a studio band in the spring of 1944. Because of the recruitment for military service in the course of the Second World War, the line-up with Bennie Green (trombone) and Shadow Wilson (drums) could not be realized; after a few rehearsals, Tommy Crump had to leave the band. With the studio band Eckstine recorded some numbers on April 13, 1944 for the small label De Luxe Records , which was based in Linden (New Jersey) , the Good Jelly Blues and I Stay in the Mood for You (DeLuxe 2000 ) and I've Got a Date With Rhythm , with a solo by Oscar Pettiford . The band name chosen on the 78er was Billy Eckstein [sic], accompanied by the DeLuxe All-Stars.

Since the record was well received, Eckstine received an annual contract with Deluxe. In June 1944 he put together his own big band for a tour. She made her debut in Wilmington ; the trumpet group included Dizzy Gillespie (who also acted as musical director), Brockman, McConnell and Eckstine himself, alto saxophones were played by Charlie Parker and Robert Williams, the two tenor saxophonists were Lucky Thompson and Gene Ammons ; Leo Parker played the baritone. Valentine, Howard Scott, Arnett Sparrow, and Rudy Morrison were the trombonists; pianist John Malachi , bassist Tommy Potter , guitarist Connie Wainwright and Art Blakey on drums formed the rhythm section . Since the trombone section was not very well cast, Eckstine also took on the task of playing the valve trombone .

Sarah Vaughan 1946. Photo: William P. Gottlieb

In addition to Eckstine, the young Sarah Vaughan acted as singer , with whom he also recorded songs by Irving Berlin in a duet . The orchestra arranged alongside Gillespie and Jerry Valentine Tadd Dameron and Gil Fuller . Eckstine later remembered the beginning of the group, which had initially only practiced two tracks: “The two arrangements were Night in Tunisia by Dizzy and something that Jerry Valentine had written… We actually only got the band together in St. Louis. … Tadd Dameron was there at that time, and when we got there he usually worked with us and wrote a few things for the band like Cool Breeze or Lady Bird . "

The jazz historian Jürgen Wölfer describes the situation at that time:

“To be on tour with a big band was an adventure back then. Because of the petrol rationing , you usually went by train, of course in the 'colored' part. There was enough trouble. The band flew out of the Plantation Club in St. Louis for using the main entrance. Then there were unpleasant encounters with gangsters, so that every musician got a pistol. "

The tour along the east coast of the USA to Florida, then to Texas and Kansas City (Missouri) turned out to be an artistic success: "Within six months the Eckstine band was established and one of the best-earning black orchestras". They then performed at Club Riviera in St. Louis, the Regal Theater in Chicago, the Howard Theater in Washington DC, Club Plantation in Los Angeles and Club Sudan in New York City.

After the tour, Charlie Parker dropped out to play in the jazz clubs on 52nd Street ; the "Reed section" now consisted of Gene Ammons and "the so-called unholy four : Sonny Stitt , John Jackson , Dexter Gordon and Leo Parker." The touring band then recorded six tracks for DeLuxe on December 5, 1944, including five vocal numbers, Jerry Valentes composition Blowing the Blues Away and John Malachi's Opus X (the only instrumental number of the session, with John Jackson (alto saxophone) and Al Kilian (trumpet) as soloists), also If That's the Way You Feel , I'll Wait and Pray (with Sarah Vaughan, arranged by Tadd Dameron) and The Real Thing Happened to Me .

In December 1944 Dizzy Gillespie resigned to start a solo career; he was replaced as musical director by Budd Johnson . Between May 1945 and the end of 1946 further recordings were made for National Records , of which over 40 titles were published. Most successful titles were soulful ballads such as Willard Robison's A Cottage for Sale , I'm in the Mood for Love , Leo Robins Prisoner of Love and Russ Colombo's You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) .

Dizzy Gillespie (left) and Big Band in New York between 1946 and 1948, with John Lewis , Cecil Payne, Miles Davis and Ray Brown . Photo: Gottlieb

Between February and March 1945, concerts by the orchestra from Club Plantation in Los Angeles were recorded. In the summer of 1946, Billy Eckstine's Orchestra took part in the musical film Rhythm in a Riff ; his band belongs to at this time u. a. Hobart Dotson , King Kolax , Porter Kilbert , Gene Ammons, Tate Houston , Frank Wess and Art Blakey. Eckstine recorded in Los Angeles in October 1946, and played in his orchestra at that time. a. Miles Davis , Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons and the pianist Linton Garner , who also acted as arranger. In February 1947 Eckstine broke up the big band for financial reasons, first worked with a septet (recordings for National in April 1947, including Ray Linn , Gerald Valentine, Sonny Criss , Wardell Gray, Warren Bracken, Shifty Henry and Tim Kennedy) and began then a solo career.

Several years after the orchestra broke up, Eckstine expressed relief at the demise of his band:

“You feel so much freer when you sing to yourself. You don't have to sing at one tempo all the time ; you have the opportunity to express yourself better. […] So I saw that the best thing I could do was go for a solo career and go to Dizzy when I wanted to listen to hot music. "

When he had greater success with his Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and their modern sound in the late 1940s , Eckstine said sadly:

"We tried to make good music, and I suspect it was a little early for that."

Appreciation

Art Blakey later expressed himself euphorically over the years in the Eckstine band: “ It was the most venturesome and stimulating of all modern big bands ”. According to jazz critic George Hoefer, the musicians in the band liked Eckstine and “in return, he seemed to be inspired in his singing by the collaboration with his musicians. He practiced the valve trombone in secret after realizing that he couldn't compete with his trumpeters. "

Tadd Dameron (left) and Fats Navarro between 1946 and 1948. Photo: William P. Gottlieb

Joachim-Ernst Berendt saw in the Eckstine Orchestra the "conscious attempt to play large orchestra bop", which Dizzy Gillespie then successfully continued in 1946 with his own big band. For Martin Kunzler , “the paramount importance of this orchestra for modern jazz” could not only be seen in the names of the permanent or temporary members, but also in the fact that the Eckstine Band “enjoyed the Kansas City Swing and the harmonic-melodic conquests of bebop united in a revolutionary concept. " Jürgen Wölfer in his Gillespie biography limits that the quality of the second DeLuxe session (November 8, 1944) was" quite unsatisfactory ",

“How in general the recorded records of the Eckstine band hardly represented their abilities. The exciting instrumentals were hardly recorded, but plenty of vocals from the leader, because the record bosses also looked at the saleability back then. Then there is the technically poor quality; the DeLuxe recordings were pressed onto replacement shellac used during the war , with a clear loss of brilliance. The 'Jubilee' live recordings from February 1945 would give an idea of ​​the possibilities of the band. "

Even George T. Simon considered the most traditional images of Eckstine's big band critical; Eckstine “sang on [the] records, but many of them were swollen, which was reinforced by pedantic, exaggerated sounding arrangements. To please his fans, he also recorded a few blues, but none of them achieved the popularity of his earlier 'Jelly, Jelly', which he had scratched on wax with Hines. "On some numbers, the orchestra was" in such a small and dead one Studio [recorded] that the band sounded like they were trying to blow out from under a pile of blankets. As a result, many of the performances that would have raised the band's reputation were not in demand, and even when the radio stations were playing their records they sounded so bad that they only did a few Eckstine broadcasts. "Eckstine himself later stated," My band was up the bebop trip, and you can't sing very well with it. "

Musicians of the Billy Eckstine Orchestra. Photo: Bill Gottlieb (around 1947)

According to Arrigo Polillo , the Eckstine big band was “a difficult orchestra for more than one reason. It made very progressive music and it contained people who were, to put it mildly, unpredictable. However, thanks to the popularity of its boss Eckstine, thanks to the voice of Sarah Vaughan, who was just beginning to establish herself as the best singer of her generation, and also thanks to the curiosity that the new jazz aroused in the general public, it was well received. "

Richard Cook and Brian Morton also regret that the Classics compilation of the DeLuxe and National Sessions from 1944 to 1946 mainly contain ballads and features for the band leader. Only in the up-tempo piece The Rhythm in a Riff you can hear fragments by Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons and Fats Navarro. In Sarah Vaughan's debut piece, I'll Wait and Pray , the big band can also be experienced in all its strength. In contrast, the “Jubilee” recordings from February / March 1945 ( Together , Spotlite) are of better sound quality; these gave the best impression of the "caliber" of the Eckstine orchestra. The most impressive soloist is Budd Johnson; There are also interesting impressions from Sarah Vaughan and guest vocalist Lena Horne .

Sessionology

Compiled from Tom Lord : Jazz Discography.

Band name Label date occupation
Billy Eckstine with DeLuxe All-Star Band DeLuxe April 13, 1944 Billy Eckstine with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Webster , Shorty McConnell, Al Killian (tp), Trummy Young , Howard Scott, Claude Jones (tb), Budd Johnson, Jimmy Powell (as), Wardell Gray, Thomas Crump (ts), Rudy Rutherford (bar), Clyde Hart (p), Connie Wainwright (g), Oscar Pettiford (b), Shadow Wilson (d), Gerald Valentine (arr)
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra DeLuxe December 5, 1944 With Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty McConnell, Gail Brockman, Boonie Hazel (tp) Gerald Valentine, Taswell Baird , Howard Scott, Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt (tb), John Jackson, Bill Frazier (as), Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons (ts) , Leo Parker (bar), John Malachi (p), Connie Wainwright (g), Tommy Potter (b), Art Blakey (dr), Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan (vcl), Jerry Valentine, Tadd Dameron, John Malachi (arr )
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra Spotlite February / March 1945 dto, Fats Navarro (tp) and Budd Johnson (ts, arr) replace Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon; additionally Lena Horne (vcl). AFRS Jubilee Broadcasts Club Plantation , Los Angeles
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National May 2, 1945 dto., but with Budd Johnson, without Bill Frazier, +; Sonny Stitt replaces John Jackson
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National September 1945 Billy Eckstine with Fats Navarro, Shorty McConnell, Boonie Hazel, Raymond Orr (tp) Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt, Gerald Valentine, Howard Scott, Walter Knox (tb), John Cobbs, Budd Johnson (as), Gene Ammons, Arthur Simmons ( ts), Teddy Cypron (bar), Richard Ellington (p), Connie Wainwright (g), Tommy Potter (b), Art Blakey (d)
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National October 1945 dto.
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National January 3, 1946 Billy Eckstine with Boonie Hazel, Shorty McConnell, Raymond Orr, Kenny Dorham (tp), Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt, Gerald Valentine, Robert Scott (tb), Norris Turney, Bob "Junior" Williams (as), Gene Ammons, Arthur Simmons (ts), Tate Houston (bar), Richard Ellington (p),?, Connie Wainwright (git), Bill McMahon (b), Art Blakey (d)
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National February 1946 Fats Navarro (tp), Josh Jackson (ts), Leo Parker (bar), Jimmy Golden (p) replace Kenny Dorham, Arthur Simmons, Tate Houston, Richard Ellington
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National March 1946 dto., with Tadd Dameron
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra Harlequin June / July 1946 Billy Eckstine (v-tb, vcl) with Hobart Dotson, King Kolax, Leonard Hawkins (tp), possibly Rostelle Reese (tp), Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt, Gerald Valentine, Howard Scott (tb), Porter Kilbert (as), possibly Robert "Junior" Williams (as), Gene Ammons, Frank Wess (ts), possibly Jimmy Golden (p), Connie Wainwright (g), Bill McMahon (b), Art Blakey (dr), Ann Baker (vcl). Soundtrack to the short music film Rhythm in a Riff
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra National October 1946 Billy Eckstine with Miles Davis, Hobart Dotson, Leonard Hawkins, King Kolax (tp), Walter Knox, Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt (tb), Jerry Valentine (tb, arr), Sonny Stitt, John Cobbs (as), Gene Ammons, Arthur Simmons (ts) or Frank Wess (ts), Cecil Payne (bar), Linton Garner (p, arr), Connie Wainwright (g), Tommy Potter (b), or Bill McMahon (b), Art Blakey (d) , Billy Eckstine (vcl, v-tb)

Discographic notes

  • Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra - 1944–1945 ( Classics , ed. 1996)
  • Together (Spotlite, 1945), live recordings from Club Plantation, Los Angeles
  • Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra - 1946–1947 (Classics, ed. 1998)

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Lawrence McClellan: The Later Swing Era, 1942 to 1955. Oxford 2004, p. 48 ff. The author was a trombonist for Aretha Franklin , Patti Labelle , Glen Campbell , Nancy Wilson and others. a. active.
  2. a b Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 , p. 439.
  3. a b c Arrigo Polillo : Jazz - History and Personalities . Piper Verlag, Munich 1987, p. 167 ff.
  4. a b c d e Jürgen Wölfer : Dizzy Gillespie. Oreos 1987, p. 34 ff.
  5. Jazz in Its Time . P. 192.
  6. a b c d Band portrait in the Big Band Library
  7. a b c Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed August 1, 2015)
  8. Jan Bäumer: The Sound of a City ?: New York and Bebop 1941–1949 . 2014
  9. a b c d e George T. Simon: The golden era of big bands. Hannibal, Höfen 2004, ISBN 3-85445-243-8 , p. 174 f.
  10. ^ Joachim Ernst Berendt , Günther Huesmann: Das Jazzbuch . Fischer TB, Frankfurt / M. 1994, p. 514.
  11. Kunzler: Jazz Lexicon . Volume 1. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1993, p. 323.