“Andrew Hilaire: the perfect drummer for Jelly Roll Morton. Time, taste, technique - all superb.” - Hal Smith KEY RECORDINGS: With 'DOC' COOK (COOK & HIS DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA / COOKIE'S GINGERSNAPS / COOK & HIS 14 DOCTORS OF SYNCOPATION), 1924-28 With JELLY ROLL MORTON’S RED HOT PEPPERS, 1926 At the dawn of the recording industry, … Continue reading Heroes #14: Andrew Hilaire, 1899-1935
New Orleans Drummer
Heroes #12: Alfred ‘Tubby’ Hall, 1895-1945
'I got my press roll from [...] Tubby Hall'– Baby Dodds KEY RECORDINGS:[?] With DOC COOK & HIS DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA, 1924With LOUIS ARMSTRONG & HIS ORCHESTRA, dir. CARROLL DICKERSON, 1927-31 Addressing the early life and work of Alfred ‘Tubby’ Hall, hard on the heels of having finished introducing our previous Hero – Mr. Stan King - is … Continue reading Heroes #12: Alfred ‘Tubby’ Hall, 1895-1945
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 