Frank Westphal

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Frank Westphal and his Rainbo Orchestra 1922

Frank Westphal (* approx. 1890 ; † approx. 1945 ) was a German-American pianist and band leader .

Life

He lived and worked in Chicago, initially as a vaudeville pianist. In 1911 he met the singer and entertainer Sophie Tucker , who was six years his senior , and who hired him as a pianist for her shows. The couple married in 1917 and divorced again after only two years.

At the beginning of the twenties Westphal became a pianist and director of the Rainbo Orchestra . The Rainbo Gardens, opened in 1921 on Chicago's North Clark Street and Lawrence Avenue, were one of the largest and most famous venues in the USA with a revolving stage, over 2000 seats and a dance floor for another 1500 people. The bands appearances were broadcast for promotional purposes by the radio station WQJ . In Rainbo Orchestra , among others, played Charles Burns (trumpet), Herb Winfield (trombone), Bill and Jack Richards (saxophones), John Jensen (tuba) and Earl Roberts (banjo). It was one of the first jazz orchestras with several saxophones.

From 1922 to 1924 Frank Westphal and his Rainbo Orchestra played numerous titles for Columbia Records , thereby contributing to the development and spread of Chicago jazz .

Westphal was also active as a composer and wrote, among others, with Gus Kahn the title "When You Come to the End of the Day" later made famous by Perry Como .

Recordings

  • All Wrong , Chicago 1923 (Columbia 17-D)
  • Bugle Call Rag , 1923 Chicago 1923 (Columbia A3872)
  • Carry Me Back To My Carolina Home , Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3755)
  • Choo Choo Blues Chicago , 1922 (Columbia A3743)
  • Dont Bring Me Posies Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3693)
  • Forgetful Blues , Chicago 1923 (Columbia 32-D)
  • Greenwich Witch , Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3786)
  • Home In Pasadena , Chicago 1922 (Columbia 108-D)
  • I've Got A Song For Sale Chicago 1923 (Columbia 17-D)
  • Liza , Chicago 1923 (Columbia A 3814)
  • Never Again , Chicago 1924, Columbia (2-D)
  • Nobody's Sweetheart , Chicago 1924 (Columbia 112-D)
  • Off Again, On Again Blues , Chicago 1923 (Columbia A3929)
  • Oh! Sister, Ain't That Hot! , Chicago 1923 (Columbia 22-D)
  • Railroad Man , Chicago 1923, (Columbia A3872)
  • Stack O'Lee Blues , Chicago 1923 (Columbia 32-D)
  • Stop Your Kidding , Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3786)
  • That Barkin 'Dog , Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3743)
  • That Lullaby Strain , Chicago 1924 (Columbia 108-D)
  • The Duck's Quack , Chicago 1923, (Columbia A3944)
  • Those longing for you blues shelf 9301
  • Those Star Spangled Nights In Dixieland , Chicago 1922 (Columbia A3755)
  • Two Time Dan , Chicago 1923 (Columbia A3929)
  • Wolverine Blues , Chicago 1923 (Columbia A3911)

literature

  • Franc Cullen et al. a .: Vaudeville, old and new , New York 2007
  • William Howland Kenney Chicago jazz: A Cultural History, 1904-1930 Oxford University Press 1994
  • ACESchoenemann: Frank Westphal, the Chicago Exponent of Jazz (1923), in: Karl Koenig (Hrsg.) Jazz in Print 1856-1929. An Anthology of Selected Early Readings in Jazz History . Arbita Springs 2002, pp. 225f.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Westphal, Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American pianist and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH around 1890
DATE OF DEATH around 1945