Snooks Friedman

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Herman Leon "Snooks" Friedman (born February 10, 1906 ; died March 24, 1993 ) was an American jazz musician (drums) and band leader .

Live and act

Friedman began his career as a professional musician in the summer of 1923 with the band Ole Miss Jesters . He then played in the groups of Meyer Davis and Hip Bennett (in Arkansas and Wisconsin); with the latter, the first recordings were made. In 1926 he returned to Memphis and founded the Memphis Stompers , with which until 1931 under various names ( Snooks and His Memphis Ramblers, Snooks and His Paramount Theater Orchestra and Ben Friedman's Paramount Hotel Orchestra ) recordings for the labels Victor , Bluebird , Melotone and Banner Records came into being. These were mostly song numbers (including with Wally Ashby) and jazz standards such as "Some of These Days" (1931), " Sweet Georgia Brown " (Victor 22779), the Kahn - Akst - Whiting number "Guilty" (Melotone 12245), " Dip Your Brush in the Sunshine (and Keep On Painting Away) "(by Andy Razaf ; Victor 22720, with Wally Ashby)," You Don't Need Glasses (To See I'm In Love) "(# 22704)," When It's Sleepy Time Down South "(Melotone 2511)," Smile, Darn Ya, Smile "(# 22662)," I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (and My Baby's Crazy' Bout Me) "(by Alex Hill / Fats Waller ; # 22662), "Wha'd Ja Do to Me" ( Milton Ager ; # 23038) and "The Cutest Kid in Town" (Victor 22813), the latter with the vocal trio (Walter) Ashby, (Elly) Bellare and ( Ken) Herlin.

Roseland Ballroom in New York City

In 1932 Friedman recorded other titles as Calloway's Hot Shots for Bluebird Records ("Why Don't You Get Lost? / Sweet Birds"), also under the pseudonym Roane's Pennsylvanians ("We've Got to Put That Sun Back in the Sky") ). During his engagement in New York's Crazy Cat Club , the band appeared as Snooks and His Krazy Kat Kittens ; they also played in the Roseland Ballroom. Friedman also worked with his band on the soundtrack of an early cartoon by the Fleischer Studios . From 1931 Friedman's band played together with a string quartet for three years at the Paramount Hotel. In September 1931 he and his band accompanied the singer Julia Gerity ("A Good Man Is Hard to Find"; Julia Gerity & Her Boys) at another Victor session .

Although no further recordings were made after 1932, Snooks Friedman remained active as a band leader in New York until the beginning of World War II. During the war years he served in the US Navy. After his release, he worked for a construction company in Memphis as head of a repair department; he also formed a Dixieland band that performed regularly at the Silver Slipper Night Club in Memphis until the club was destroyed in a fire in 1958. Before retiring in 1972, Friedman stayed in his hometown as a band leader and occasionally as a sideman.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cast: Ben Friedman (Snooks) (dr, bl), James Migliore , Estes Monasco (tp), Ken Herlin (tb), Walter Ashby (cl, as), Elly Bellare (cl, as), Al Muller (ts) , Rupe Biggadike (p), Bob Cooke (bj, git), Chuck Jordan (bass), Pat McCarthy (voc).
  2. ↑ Jazz Standards on Record, 1900-1942: A Core Repertory , ed. by Richard Crawford and Jeffrey Magee. 1992, p. 79
  3. ↑ Julia Gerity (born July 21, 1892; died after 1953).
  4. ↑ Alice Rogers: Dance Bands & Big Bands: Documenting over 30,000 Golden Age Dance & Big Band Recordings - All on 78 rpm Singles . Jellyroll Productions, 1986
personal data
SURNAME Friedman, snooks
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Friedman, Herman Leon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1906
DATE OF DEATH March 24, 1993