Big Band Chronology (June 27 - July 3)

June 27

• Trumpeter Lester "Shad" Collins was born in Elizabeth, NJ, 1910. In the 30's he played with Chick Webb, Benny Carter, Don Redman, and Count Basie. In the early 40's, he replaced Dizzy Gillespie in Cab Calloway's band. He is featured in Calloway's rendition of Ghost of A Chance with reedman Chu Barry, 1940.

• Clarinetist and tenor man, Barney Bigard, 74 dies in Culver City, CA, 1980. In the early 20's, Bigard played with King Oliver. He joined Duke Ellington's reed section in 1927, a gig that would last until 1942. He later worked with Kid Ory and Louis Armstrong. Bigard co- composed Mood Indigo.

• Glenn Miller records the following charts, 1939: The Day We Meet Again (v - Eberle), Want a Hat With Cherries (v - Hutton), Sold American and Pagan Love Call. Recording session started 1:30pm and ended at 4:00 pm.

Band Personnel:
Trombones - Glenn Miller, Al Mastran, Paul Tanner
Trumpets - Clyde Hurley, Legh Knowles, Dale McMicle
Reeds - Hal McIntyre (as), Harold Tennyson (as, clt, bar), Wilbur Schwartz (as, clt), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm - Chummy McGregor (p), Richard Fischer (g), Rowland Bundock (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocalists - Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle

June 28

• Tenor saxophonist and arranger, Jimmy Mundy was born in Cincinnati in 1907. In 1932, he joined the Earl Hines' reed section and was soon providing the band with arrangements. . After selling an arrangement to Benny Goodman in 1935, Goodman hired Mundy as a staff arranger. Mundy eventually was providing arrangements to Basie, Krupa, Gillespie, Spivak and James.

• Louis Armstrong records West End Blues (1928):
  
  

• Cornetist, composer and bandleader, Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols died in Las Vegas, in 1965. In the early 1920's, Nichols teamed up with Miff Mole and made many recordings under a variety of band names (Red Nichols and His Five Pennies, Arkansas Travelers, The Red Heads, The Louisana Rhythm Kings, The Charleston Chasers, and Miff Mole and His Little Molers). These sessions include some of the best musicians of the period: Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Pee Wee Russell Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Gene Krupa, to name a few.

• Lead trumpeter Pete Comdoli was born in Mishawaka, IN, 1923. Condoli play with Sonny Dunham (1940-41), Will Bradley (1941), Ray Mckinley (1942), Benny Goodman (1942), Tommy Dorsey (1943-1944), Teddy Powell (1944), Woody Herman's 1st Herd (1944-1946), Tex Beneke (1947-1949), Jerry Grey (1950-1951), Les Brown (1952), Stan Kenton (1954-1956) and Glenn Gray (1956-1963). Look Magazine named Condoli one of the seven all-time trumpet players. While with Herman's First Herd, Candoli became known for his high-register work and even wore a Superman costume while performing the specialty number Superman With a Horn.

June 29

• Benny Carter records theme Melancholoy Lullaby, 1939.

• Pianist and arranger, Ralph Burns was born in Newton, Ma. He played a significant role in developing the sound of Woody Herman's first herd. Among his early jazz compositions, The Moose and a vocal chart to Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe were recorded by the Herman band in 1945. He also wrote or collaborated on Northwest Passage, Caldonia and Apple Honey, later scoring Bijou as a vehicle for trombonist Bill Harris.

July 1

• Benny Goodman records King Porter Stomp, 1935. Also recorded at that session were Sometimes I'm Happy, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Jingle Bells.

Band personnel:
Trombone: Joe Harris, Red Ballard
Trumpet: Bunny Berigan, Ralph Mazillo, Nate Kazebier
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Hymie Schertzer (as), Bill De Pew (as), Arthur Rollini (ts), Dick Clark (ts)
Rhythm: Allen Reuss (g), Harry Goodman (b), Gene Krupa (d), Jess Stacy (p)
Vocal: Helen Ward

• Pianist and bandleader Claude Thornhill dies in NYC, 1965.

• Alto saxman Earle Warren was born in Springfield, Ohio, 1914. Warren played with Basie from 1937-1949.
  

July 2

• Gene Krupa records Rockin' Chair Choir with Roy Eldridge, 1941.

• Alto saxophonist and blues singer, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, died in LA, 1988. In the 30's, he played with Milton Larkin's Orchestra. From 1942 through 45, Vinson played for Cootie Williams.

July 3

• Arranger, composer, bandleader, and violinist, Jerry Gray was born Generoso Graziano in East Boston, MA., 1915. In 1936, Artie Shaw hired Gray as a violinist. Within a year, Gray started arranging some of Shaw's greatest hits including including Carioca, Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise, Any Old Time and Begin the Beguine. In 1939, the day after Shaw broke up his band and retired to Mexico, Glenn Miller hired Gray as a staff arranger. Gray is responsible for most of Miller's subsequent hits. He arranged Elmer's Tune, Moonlight Cocktails, and Chattanooga Choo-Choo among others, while his compositions included Sun Valley Jump, The Man in the Moon, Caribbean Clipper, Pennsylvania 6-5000 and A String of Pearls. In 1943, Captain Glenn Miller was able to have Gray posted as chief arranger for Miller's "Band of the Training Command". Gray co-wrote the march version of St. Louis Blues, as well as help Miller incorporate a 21 piece string section. After the war, Gray was passed over by the Miller Estate for leadership of the post war Miller ghost band. In 1949, as a result of his growing fustration with other bands capitalizing during the Miller revival, Gray formed a Miller-style band. His personnel included many Miller alumni including Al Klink, Trigger Alpert, Wilbur Schwartz, Zeke Zarchy, Jimmy Priddy, Ernie Caceres, Bernie Privin, and John Best from the Miller dance bands plus George Ockner, David Sackson, and Harry Katzman from the AAF string section. He continued with the band through the 50's

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
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