"The drummer[’s] success depends entirely on his own originality" – Chauncey Morehouse KEY RECORDINGS: With THE GEORGIANS, 1922-24 With JEAN GOLDKETTE & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1926-27 With FRANKIE TRUMBAUER & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1927 With BIX BEIDERBECKE & HIS GANG, 1927 In jazz, as in many art forms, certain historical figures occasionally acquire a mythical status, as … Continue reading Heroes #9: Chauncey Morehouse, 1902-1980
Heroes
Heroes #8 : Paul Barbarin, 1899-1969
“The warmth, the feeling, the swing, the beat, the everything, were there.” – Louis Armstrong KEY RECORDINGS: With KING OLIVER’S DIXIE SYNCOPATORS / KING OLIVER’S ORCHESTRA, 1926-9 With LUIS RUSSELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA, 1928-9 With JELLY ROLL MORTON’S RED HOT PEPPERS, 1929 With LOUIS ARMSTRONG & HIS SAVOY BALLROOM FIVE / HIS ORCHESTRA, 1929 When … Continue reading Heroes #8 : Paul Barbarin, 1899-1969
Heroes #7: Ben Pollack, 1903-1971
“Now there was a drummer, one of the finest who ever lived.” – Jimmy McPartland KEY RECORDINGS:With THE NEW ORLEANS RHYTHM KINGS [NORK], 1923With THE STOMP SIX, 1925BEN POLLACK & HIS CALIFORNIANS/ HIS PARK CENTRAL ORCHESTRA, 1926-30With BENNIE GOODMAN & HIS BOYS, 1928With IRVING MILLS [small groups under many aliases], 1928-30 When the name Ben … Continue reading Heroes #7: Ben Pollack, 1903-1971
Heroes #6: William ‘Sonny’ Greer, 1895-1982
“We were a pretty wild bunch in those days, myself in particular” – Sonny Greer KEY RECORDINGS: With DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS KENTUCKY CLUB ORCH. / WASHINGTONIANS, 1924-30 Some of the great drummers of the ‘twenties gained their reputations as journeymen, able to slot seamlessly into a wide variety of musical ensembles and consequently to … Continue reading Heroes #6: William ‘Sonny’ Greer, 1895-1982
Heroes #5: Victor Berton, 1896-1951
“A true pioneer, for the timekeeping methods he introduced and for his role in determining the very equipment [...] subsequent drummers would play.” – Richard M. Sudhalter KEY RECORDINGS: With THE WOLVERINE ORCHESTRA, 1924 With RED NICHOLS & MIFF MOLE, 1925-30 (aka. The Red Heads / Red Nichols & His Five Pennies / Red & … Continue reading Heroes #5: Victor Berton, 1896-1951
Heroes #4: Jasper Taylor, 1894-1964
“Away down in Chicago / There is a name, that’s bound to gain fame / He is a brown, known over town / He’s Jasper Taylor, Jasper Taylor” – Julia Davis, ‘Jasper Taylor Blues’ KEY RECORDINGS: With [W.C.] HANDY’S ORCHESTRA OF MEMPHIS, 1917 With JELLY ROLL MORTON & HIS ORCHESTRA, 1923 With JIMMIE O’BRYANT / … Continue reading Heroes #4: Jasper Taylor, 1894-1964
Heroes #3: Tony Sbarbaro, 1897-1969
"The ‘trap drummer, who plays the big drum with his feet and a side drum, the cymbals, and heaven knows what besides, is the most important man of all” – London Daily News, 1919 KEY RECORDINGS: With THE ORIGINAL DIXIELAND JASS/JAZZ BAND (ODJB) 1917-24. When I first started making a list of ‘Twenties jazz drummers … Continue reading Heroes #3: Tony Sbarbaro, 1897-1969
Heroes #2: Arthur ‘Zutty’ Singleton, 1898-1975
"Zutty and I played together pretty nearly all our lives.” - Louis Armstrong KEY RECORDINGS: With FATE MARABLE’S SOCIETY SYNCOPATORS, 1924 With CHARLES CREATH’S JAZZ-O-MANIACS, 1924-7 With JELLY ROLL MORTON’S RED HOT PEPPERS and MORTON’S TRIO, 1927-8 With LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S [second] HOT FIVE, 1928-9 By popular consensus, Zutty (pronounced ‘Zooty’ - a Creole term meaning … Continue reading Heroes #2: Arthur ‘Zutty’ Singleton, 1898-1975
Heroes #1: Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds, 1898-1959
"In those days I used to love to drum all the numbers." - Baby Dodds KEY RECORDINGS: With KING OLIVER’S CREOLE JAZZ BAND, 1923 With JELLY ROLL MORTON’S RED HOT PEPPERS and MORTON’S TRIO, 1927 With LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S HOT SEVEN, 1927 With JOHNNY DODDS’ BLACK BOTTOM STOMPERS, 1927 ‘TALKING AND DRUM SOLOS’, 1946 If ever … Continue reading Heroes #1: Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds, 1898-1959
Drums In The Twenties 