(Piano, vocals, composer, 1904–43) Thomas Wright ‘Fats’ Waller developed his playing style during the early 1920s under the tutelage of Harlem stride pianists James P. Johnson and Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith. The son of a Baptist preacher, he began playing in the church and by the age of 15 was the house organist at the Lincoln Theatre. He ...
(Trumpet, 1923–50) Theodore ‘Fats’ Navarro died prematurely and left a limited recorded legacy, most of it as a sideman. Nonetheless, he stood alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis as one of the most significant trumpeters in bebop. He took over Gillespie’s chair in Billy Eckstine’s seminal big band in 1945, and enjoyed a brief but creative relationship ...
Antoine Domino Jr. was born on 26 February 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the youngest of eight children. His father played violin and worked at the Fair Grounds Race Track in New Orleans. Young Antoine studied piano and credits Harrison Varrett, a former member of Papa Celestin’s band, with giving him the advice and encouragement to keep ...
(Piano, singer-songwriter, b. 1928) Signed to Imperial Records, New Orleans-born Antoine Domino’s first million-seller, ‘The Fat Man’ (1949) began a run of over 60 US pop and R&B hits by 1964, many written by Domino with Dave Bartholomew. Other million-selling classics included ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ (1955), ‘Bo Weevil’, ‘I’m In Love Again’ and ‘Blueberry Hill ...
Like a great river that runs endlessly, forming numerous tributary streams as it flows, jazz continues to evolve over time. And no matter how far the River Jazz may flow from its source – whether through stylistic evolution or technological innovation – the essential spirit of the music remains intact. Granted, the more academic and esoteric extrapolations of ...
Albert Clifton Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois in March 1907. As a young man he learned from Jimmy Yancey, who cast a long shadow over Chicago blues pianists through his work at rent parties, social functions and after-hours jobs. Ammons came to know other pianists and the blues specialists gathered together in Chicago to create a coterie ...
(Vocals, 1908–67) A crooner and scat singer, Billy Banks was a protégé of agency impresario Irving Mills. He headlined a handful of legendary records in 1932 by the Rhythmakers – less interesting for his vocals than for the punchy, eccentric work of the all-star band, which included Henry ‘Red’ Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Fats Waller ...
If swing in its most characteristic form was a hot and hard-driving music, William ‘Count’ Basie showed that there was a cooler and softer side to the music, an alter ego that even at swift tempos could move with a relaxed, almost serene restraint that subliminally mirrored the streamlined design forms of the Machine Age, in which ...
(Clarinet, bassoon, 1902–91) Jazz’s first double-reed specialist on bassoon, Bushell played with Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds before a two-year stint with Sam Wooding’s Orchestra (1925–27). In 1928 he formed the Louisiana Sugar Babies with Fats Waller and Jabbo Smith, and he later worked with Otto Hardwick (1931), Fess Williams (1933), Fletcher Henderson (1935–36), Cab Calloway (1936–37) and ...
(Trumpet, 1908–91) This Georgia-born trumpeter (real name Cladys Smith) was on the New York scene by the age of 17 in 1925, working with Charlie Johnson’s house band at Small’s Paradise. In 1927 he played on Duke Ellington’s ‘Black And Tan Fantasy’ and later that year joined James P. Johnson and Fats Waller in Chicago for a production of ...
(Piano, composer, 1894–1955) The seminal figure among the Harlem stride pianists, Johnson was a mentor to Fats Waller and composer of ‘The Charleston’, which launched a Jazz Age dance craze. Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Art Tatum were also directly influenced by Johnson’s skilful stride and compositions, including ‘You’ve Got To Be Modernistic’ – an evolutionary ...
(Violin, 1903–78) Venuti teamed up with guitarist Eddie Lang in 1926 for some classic duet sessions on OKeh. They reprised their intimate chemistry on 1928 sessions and worked together through the 1920s and 1930s on recordings for Jean Goldkette, Paul Whiteman, Red McKenzie and Roger Wolfe Kahn. In 1933 Venuti led small group sessions and in 1935 fronted ...
An incomparable figure in the history of jazz, Armstrong played with an unprecedented virtuosity and bravura, while retaining an individual tone and a deceptively laid-back style. In the early 1920s, he shifted the emphasis of jazz from ensemble playing to a soloist’s art form, while setting new standards for trumpeters worldwide. The sheer brilliance of his playing ...
(Drums, 1898–1975) Arthur ‘Zutty’ Singleton was one of the first New Orleans drummers, along with Baby Dodds, to develop a melodic approach to the kit and the concept of the extended drum solo. He played in the second configuration of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, appearing on OKeh recordings cut in 1928 (including the landmark ‘West End Blues’), ...
Free jazz is seen by many as an avant-garde art form rather than a type of jazz, with its unpredictable rhythm and chord progressions. Evolving out of bebop in the 1940s and 1950s the exponents of free jazz abandoned traditional forms to expand the music’s creative possibilities, challenging mainstream listeners and players alike. The first documented free jazz recordings ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.