In the 1940s, midtown Manhattan, and 52nd Street in particular, were hotbeds of jazz where, in a very small area, one could hear everything from solo piano and Chicago-style jazz to swing and bebop. What was it like to hear a small jazz group there at a club or hotel? The Soundies time machine provides the answer.
Clarinetist Joe Marsala had led a small combo at Manhattan’s Hickory House in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The group had included, at various times, such talent as Joe’s brother Marty on trumpet, pianist Joe Bushkin, and drum virtuoso Buddy Rich. Adele Girard, later Marsala’s wife, was featured on harp.
The combo that appears in this 1946 Soundie may have lacked “big names,” but had still been active on 52nd Street, at the Copacabana, which briefly had a jazz policy, and at the nearby Dixie Hotel. The backstory of the group remained largely hidden until I spoke with participants Emil Powell and drummer Buddy Christian. The complete story, told by Powell and Christian, is far too long and expansive to be duplicated here; it is told in the upcoming Soundies book. A few brief comments from Powell and Christian’s interviews will do for now:
Joe Marsala: “…so underrated, his work on clarinet was always inventive, especially in the low register…”
Quentin Thompson: “…Quent didn’t have any formal training, and he carried his trumpet around in a paper bag. But he was nothing short of a genius. Sort of a Tom Sawyer sort of fellow…”
Lou Bredice: “…he was very good too and played a little like Jess[Stacy] or Dave Bowman.
Scott Miller: “…Salvatore Mancuso—he later changed his name to Scott Miller, though we knew him as ‘Prof’—was a fine guitar player. He just played rhythm and chords and didn’t do much as a single-string soloist.”
Adele Girard: “How easy can it be to play jazz on the harp and really swing? But she could do it!”
As an added attraction, nightclub dancer Judy Bakay entertains during the song’s last chorus. Bakay was a New York nightclub performer, although she also toured the variety circuit and can be found in the chorus line at the Beverly Hills Country Club, Newport, Kentucky, later in the 1940s.
Joe Marsala wrote the tune “Millennium Jump,” a swing piece based on the changes of George Gershwin’s “Oh, Lady Be Good.” It was a part of the band’s book, something they played regularly but never got to record.
In the 1940s, midtown Manhattan, and 52nd Street in particular, were hotbeds of jazz where, in a very small area, one could hear everything from solo piano and Chicago-style jazz to swing and bebop. What was it like to hear a small jazz group there at a club or hotel? The Soundies time machine provides the answer.
Clarinetist Joe Marsala had led a small combo at Manhattan’s Hickory House in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The group had included, at various times, such talent as Joe’s brother Marty on trumpet, pianist Joe Bushkin, and drum virtuoso Buddy Rich. Adele Girard, later Marsala’s wife, was featured on harp.
The combo that appears in this 1946 Soundie may have lacked “big names,” but had still been active on 52nd Street, at the Copacabana, which briefly had a jazz policy, and at the nearby Dixie Hotel. The backstory of the group remained largely hidden until I spoke with participants Emil Powell and drummer Buddy Christian. The complete story, told by Powell and Christian, is far too long and expansive to be duplicated here; it is told in the upcoming Soundies book. A few brief comments from Powell and Christian’s interviews will do for now:
Joe Marsala: “…so underrated, his work on clarinet was always inventive, especially in the low register…”
Quentin Thompson: “…Quent didn’t have any formal training, and he carried his trumpet around in a paper bag. But he was nothing short of a genius. Sort of a Tom Sawyer sort of fellow…”
Lou Bredice: “…he was very good too and played a little like Jess[Stacy] or Dave Bowman.
Scott Miller: “…Salvatore Mancuso—he later changed his name to Scott Miller, though we knew him as ‘Prof’—was a fine guitar player. He just played rhythm and chords and didn’t do much as a single-string soloist.”
Adele Girard: “How easy can it be to play jazz on the harp and really swing? But she could do it!”
As an added attraction, nightclub dancer Judy Bakay entertains during the song’s last chorus. Bakay was a New York nightclub performer, although she also toured the variety circuit and can be found in the chorus line at the Beverly Hills Country Club, Newport, Kentucky, later in the 1940s.
Joe Marsala wrote the tune “Millennium Jump,” a swing piece based on the changes of George Gershwin’s “Oh, Lady Be Good.” It was a part of the band’s book, something they played regularly but never got to record.