Today, another first from DITT: we're going to take a break from listening for once, and go all cartological instead. In the course of writing about our Heroes, an important question I've tried always to bear in mind is the dissemination of musical ideas from drummer to drummer. It's vital to consider, when discussing a … Continue reading Library #8: Drums In The Twenties On The Map: Chicago
Jasper Taylor
Heroes #17: Jimmy Bertrand, 1900-1960
“The leading black show drummer in 1920s Chicago” – James Lincoln Collier KEY RECORDINGS:With ERSKINE TATE'S VENDOME ORCHESTRA, 1923-26JIMMY BERTRAND'S WASHBOARD WIZARDS, 1926-28With PICKETT-PARHAM APOLLO SYNCOPATORS, 1926With JUNIE C.COBB (E.C. Cobb & His Corn Eaters / State St. Stompers / Kansas City Stompers etc.) The overwhelming majority of the Heroes we’ve met so far in … Continue reading Heroes #17: Jimmy Bertrand, 1900-1960
Instruments #2: Jasper Taylor’s Wooden Washboard, c.1924
The tradition of washboard jazz is a deep and wide-ranging one, with numerous legendary players down the decades occasionally having reason to pop the thimbles on at one time or another in search of a bit of down-home gutsiness, a crowd-pleasing showpiece or simply a lightweight and space-saving alternative to the drumset. But the origin … Continue reading Instruments #2: Jasper Taylor’s Wooden Washboard, c.1924
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
Drums In The Twenties 