Selected Indiana Jazz Masters

May Aufderheide (May 21, 1888 – September 1, 1972)
May Frances Aufderheide Kaufman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and an American
composer of ragtime music. The participation of women in the world of ragtime should
not come as a great surprise. May Aufderheide was perhaps the most famous woman to
pen rags. She learned to play the classics on the piano from her aunt May Kolmer, a noted
musician, and was treated to the best music Europe had to offer when her parents took her
on the traditional “grand tour.”
She received training in art music and visited Europe a grand tour, yet decided to compose
in ragtime. May Aufderheide was a member of the Indianapolis ragtime community that
included Paul Pratt, Cecil Duane Crabb, J. Russel Robinson, Will B. Morrison, Julia Lee
Niebergall, and Gladys Yelvington.
Despite a serious grounding in art music, Aufderheide turned her attentions to ragtime.
Her first rag, “Dusty,” was published in 1908, the same year that she wed Thomas Kaufman.
The early years of her marriage inspired a series of other compositions, among them “The Richmond Rag,” “The Thriller
Rag,” and the “Novelty Rag.”
By the 1920s, however, Aufderheide had stopped composing. Problems with an alcoholic husband and a deeply troubled
adopted child allowed her no time or peace for artistic activities. After their deaths in the late 1950s, crippling arthritis and
a series of strokes made it impossible for her to return to the piano. Aufderheide died in California in September 1972.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Aufderheide
Noble Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975)
Noble Sissle was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died in Tampa, Florida. He was
an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer and playwright.
Noble Sissle sang several vocals on the last album recorded by James Reese Europe,
conductor of the 369th Infantry Regiment (United States) “Harlem Hellfighters” Band,
recorded and released in March 1919. He also accompanied the band on the tour that
continued through May, 1919, and was given charge of the band by Europe, who died
that night, May 9, 1919, to continue to the next stop on that tour.
Sissle is noted for his collaboration with songwriter, Eubie Blake. The pair first performed in Vaudeville and later produced the musicals Shuffle Along and The Chocolate
Dandies. Sissle is also, famously, the only African-American artist to appear in the Pathé film archives.
Shortly after World War I, Sissle joined forces with performer Eubie Blake to form a vaudeville music duo, “The Dixie
Duo”. After vaudeville, the pair began work on a musical revue, Shuffle Along, which incorporated many songs they had
written, and had a book written by F. E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles. When it premiered in 1921, Shuffle Along became the first
hit musical on Broadway written by and about African Americans. The musicals also introduced hit songs such as “I’m Just
Wild About Harry” and “Love Will Find a Way.”
In 1923, Sissle made two films for Lee DeForest in DeForest’s Phonofilm sound-on-film process. They were Noble Sissle
and Eubie Blake featuring Sissle and Blake’s song “Affectionate Dan”, and Sissle and Blake Sing Snappy Songs featuring
“Sons of Old Black Joe” and “My Swanee Home”. Blake also made a third film in Phonofilm, playing his composition “Fantasy on Swanee River”. These three films are preserved in the Maurice Zouary film collection at the Library of Congress.
Sissle was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.
His rendition of the song “Viper Mad” was included in the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Sissle
Cole Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana, to a wealthy Baptist family; his maternal
grandfather, James Omar “J.O.” Cole, was a coal and timber speculator who dominated
his daughter’s family. His mother started Porter in musical training at an early age; he
learned the violin at age six, the piano at eight, and he wrote his first operetta (with
help from his mother) at 10. Porter’s mother, Kate, recognized and supported her son’s
talents. She changed his legal birth year from 1891 to 1893 to make him appear more
precocious. Porter’s grandfather J.O. Cole wanted the boy to become a lawyer, and
with that career in mind, sent him to Worcester Academy in 1905 (where he became
class valedictorian) and then Yale University beginning in 1909.
In 1915, his first song on Broadway, “Esmeralda”, appeared in the revue Hands Up. The quick success was immediately
followed by failure; his first Broadway production, in 1916, See America First (with a book by T. Lawrason Riggs), was a
flop, closing after two weeks. Hitchy-Koo of 1919 with star Raymond Hitchcock closed after 56 performances.
Many of Porter’s songs have become jazz standards. In 1956, Ella Fitzgerald recorded an album called ‘Ella Fitzgerald
Sings the Cole Porter Songbook’, following in 1972 with ‘Ella Loves Cole’. Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, Stephane
Grapelli and Dionne Warwick have all dedicated albums to covers of Porter’s hits. His life was depicted in the 1946 film
‘Night And Day’, a Warner Brothers production in which Cary Grant took on the lead role; however the story was highly
fictionalised. His life was also recounted in the more true-to-life ‘De-Lovely’, directed by Irwin Winkler, with Kevin Kline
portraying the composer and Robbie Williams, Mick Hucknall and Elvis Costello contributing to the soundtrack. Cole
Porter’s Steinway piano is currently located at the Waldorf-Astoria Tower in New York, where he lived from 1939 to 1964.
Official Website http://www.coleporter.org/
Hoagy Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981)
Hoagland Howard Carmichael was born in Bloomington, Indiana. His father was an
itinerant laborer who moved his family throughout the Midwest looking for steady work,
always returning to Indiana. “Home” was back in Bloomington, where they’d left his
wife Lida’s golden oak piano. She helped support the family by playing at the local movie house and for university dances. “Ragtime was my lullaby,” Hoagy said, and though
his mother was thrilled when he picked out a tune on the golden oak, she warned him:
“Music is fun, Hoagland, but it doesn’t buy you cornpone.”
Many years later, when an audience saw the mature Hoagy sitting at the piano singing
“Lazybones” or “Ole Buttermilk Sky” in what he called his ‘native wood-note and flatsy- through-the-nose voice,’ it looked so natural and relaxed that it was easy to assume
he’d led a charmed life. But Hoagy’s road to success was just as bumpy and lurching as
his friend Bix’s was smooth and quick. .After a modest but deceptive early success with
“Washboard Blues” and “Riverboat Shuffle,” Hoagy packed a bag and went to New York. But he soon found himself scuffling around the cold, lonely town; not selling anything but bonds in a bottom-end job at a Wall St. brokerage house. “I’m
singing the music publisher’s theme song-it ain’t a commercial,” he wrote back to Monk. He tried to give up--more than
once--but the words of another old friend kept him going. Reggie Duval, a black barber and dance hall pianist in Indianapolis, was the only teacher Hoagy ever had besides his mother. Reggie had taught Hoagy how to make music ‘jump’ and also
gave him a creed to live by: “Never plays anything that doesn’t sound right. You might not make any money--but at least
you won’t get hostile with yourself.”
‘Hoagy’ was no longer a peculiar name; he was a star, even an American icon. He was also someone you knew, a guy you
wished you could have a drink and share a laugh with. He had the same joys and desires, disappointments and fears you had,
and some of his songs--”Lazy River,” “Heart and Soul”-- became so familiar they sounded as if no one had written them,
they’d just always been there.
Official Website http://hoagy.com/index.htm
Leroy Carr (March 27, 1905 – April 29, 1935)
Leroy Carr was born in Nashville, and died in Indianapolis, Indiana. He moved with
his family to Indianapolis in 1912. A self-taught pianist, Carr was on the road working
with a travelling circus when still in his teens. In the early 20s he was playing piano,
often as an accompanist to singers, mostly in and around Covington, Kentucky. In
the mid-20s he partnered with Scrapper Blackwell. Carr’s singing style, a bittersweet,
poetic interpretation of the blues, brought a patina of urban refinement to the earthy,
rough-cut intensity of the earlier country blues singers. Even though he rarely worked
far afield, his recordings of his own compositions, which included ‘Midnight Hour
Blues’, ‘Hurry Down Sunshine’, ‘Blues Before Sunrise’ and, especially, ‘How Long,
How Long Blues’, proved enormously influential. Although he died young, Carr’s
work substantially altered approaches to blues singing, and powerful echoes of his
innovatory methods can be heard in the work of artists such as Champion Jack Dupree,
Cecil Gant, Jimmy Rushing, Otis Spann, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson and T-Bone Walker, who, in their turn, influenced countless R&B and rock ‘n’ roll singers of later generations. An acute alcoholic, Carr died
in April 1935.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Carr
Eddie Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973)
Albert Edwin Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, and died in New York City,
New York. After working in local bands, guitarist and banjoist Condon moved to Chicago in the early 20s. He quickly associated himself with the very finest young white
musicians based there: Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Teschemacher, Jimmy McPartland, Bud
Freeman, Dave Tough and other members of the Austin High School Gang. In 1928,
soon after making his first record, he tried his brand of music in New York, happily
starving in between recording sessions with, among others, Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong. Despite some indifference amongst audiences, local musicians were impressed
both with Condon and some of the friends he had brought along, including Gene Krupa
and, later, Jack Teagarden. Condon stayed on in New York, building a reputation as an
organizer of concerts and recording sessions. A regular at several clubs, notably Nick’s,
he eventually opened his own club which became synonymous with the best of Chicago-style jazz as played by such long-time friends and musical partners as Wild Bill Davison and Pee Wee Russell.
A tough-talking, hard-drinking, wisecracking entrepreneur, Condon never lost his abiding love for the music of his youth,
dismissing bebop with a joke ‘They play their flatted fifths, we drink ours’, just as he did to outside criticism ‘Do we tell
those Frogs how to jump on a grape?’. Unlike many wits, Condon was able to retain his humor in print and his three books
provide fascinating and funny insights into the world in which he lived and worked. In his later years he made occasional
overseas tours and continued to do recording sessions. Although a good rhythm player, Condon was often disinclined to
perform, leaving his instrument, nicknamed ‘Porkchop’, in its case while he got on with the serious business of talking to
customers and drinking. His reluctance to play often infiltrated record sessions and on many he either laid out or contented
himself with providing a discreet pulse which only the other musicians could hear. Consequently, he is not necessarily always audible on the records which bear his name. His influence, however, is always apparent.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Condon
Speed Webb (July 18, 1906 - November 4, 1994)
With The Show (both 1929).
Lawrence Arthur Webb was born in Peru, Indiana. As a child he learned to play both
violin and mellophone but eventually took up the drums as his main instrument. After
playing locally for a short time, he studied embalming, intent on a career as a funeral
director. However, in 1925 he was co-founder of a band, the Hoosier Melody Lads.
Soon, he took over full leadership of the band which quickly built an enviable reputation in Indiana and Idaho as one of the very best of the territory bands. The band,
which underwent many personnel changes over the dozen or so years of its existence,
made only a 1926 recording session, recording four sides for Gennett which were rejected, and the masters then lost. The band did, however, appear in some early sound
movies: Riley The Cop, Sins Of The Fathers (both 1928), His Captive Woman, On
Although Webb recalled making some later sides for OKeh Records, nothing other than these movies allow a taste of what
members of the band regarded as an outstanding outfit. Among Webb’s sidemen, some of whom contributed lively charts,
were Teddy Buckner, Roy Eldridge, Reunald Jones, John Nesbitt (trumpets), Henderson Chambers, Vic Dickenson, Gus
Wilson (trombones), Leonard Gay, Joe Eldridge, Jimmy Mundy (reeds), Art Tatum, and Teddy Wilson (piano). Despite his
enormous popularity and the acclaim with which his band appears to have been received, by the end of the 30s when the
swing era was at its height, Webb’s fortunes were at a low ebb. He dissolved his band and resumed his studies in embalming, thereafter building up a large chain of prosperous funeral parlours. While reliance upon hearsay evidence is unwise,
the quality of the sidemen named and the arrangers (the Eldridge and the Wilson brothers, Dickenson and Mundy) cannot
but support the view that Webb’s band was of great importance, and the absence of any recordings, other than the movie
appearances, is a great loss to jazz.
Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965)
Claude Thornhill was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. After formal music training
he moved to New York in the early 1930s. Here he met many of the emerging jazz
stars like Benny Goodman and Red Nichols, and soon was playing in the bands of
Hal Kemp, Paul Whiteman and later Ray Noble.
However it was his reputation as an arranger that first brought him fame. In 1937
he arranged the Scottish folk song ‘Loch Lomond’, recorded it with Maxine Sullivan and it became an instant hit.
He was also active in the New York radio studios and was heard on the Saturday
Night Swing Club. In 1940 he formed his first touring orchestra, which he took
West and played in ballrooms in and around Los Angeles. Then on returning to
the East Coast he was managed by the man who had helped both Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw - Si Schribman.
Thornhill was booked all around the New England area and into New York including the important Glen Island Casino
Ballroom. Just as the band was getting noticed for its unusual orchestrations by Thornhill, Bill Borden and Gil Evans the
war finally took America in and it broke up.
By 1942, Thornhill had enlisted in the U.S. Navy and soon found himself part of Artie Shaw’s Navy Band. As the Navy Band
was shipping out from Pearl Harbour in January 1943 Thornhill was reassigned to Admiral Halsey’s staff at Pearl Harbour.
On demobilisation in 1946 he set about reforming a band and many of his old personnel rejoined, including Gil Evans. It was
Evans, closely supported by Thornhill, who created the classic Thornhill sound using French horns and arrangements with a
subtle but swinging rhythm section including a tuba. The critics were ecstatic and when Lee Konitz joined in 1947 the band
was at its peak. Unfortunately this coincided with the slow demise of touring big bands and in 1948 he disbanded again. His
subsequent orchestras of the late forties and early fifties were first class but that innovatory spark had somehow disappeared.
There was a flurry of excitement in 1953 with a session for Trend Records but thereafter Thornhill only toured sporadically.
He died the day before he was due to open a short season at the Steel Pier, Atlantic City in July 1965.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Thornhill
Sidney Catlett (January 17, 1910 – March 25, 1951)
Sidney Catlett was born in Evansville, Indiana and died in Chicago, Illinois. He
was a jazz drummer often referred to as “Big Sid Catlett” because of his large frame.
He started on piano, but switched to drums and entered formal study when his family moved to Chicago. His career began in Chicago in 1928 with Darnell Howard.
In adulthood he moved to New York City and worked with Benny Carter, Fletcher
Henderson, Elmer Snowden, and others. In 1941 he joined Benny Goodman’s band
and after that joined Teddy Wilson’s Sextet. In 1944 he did an album with pianist
Harry Gibson. He also had his own band and played for Louis Armstrong’s All Stars from 1947 to 1949 and became his
drummer of choice. He played bop, Dixieland, and other styles.
In early 1951 he began to suffer from pneumonia. In that same year he died of a heart-attack while visiting friends backstage at an Oran Page benefit concert. In 1996 he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
Additional Resource http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/sidneycatlett/music/
Jimmy Coe (March 20, 1921 - February 26, 2004)
James R. Coe was born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, and died in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He was a jazz saxophonist. He first played in a band with Erroll “Groundhog” Grandy
who mentored J. J. Johnson and Wes Montgomery.
From 1938 to 1940, Coe was with Buddy Bryant’s band and by the age of 20, was
already touring with the Jay McShann band, which included Charlie Parker, Al Hibbler,
Walter Brown, Bernard Anderson, Gene Ramey and Harold “Doc” West. In the 1950s,
Coe recorded for King as a member of Tiny Bradshaw’s band, and then made a session
with his own combo (though the company insisted on billing him as Jimmy “Cole.”)
In 1953, States recorded his Gay Cats of Rhythm. In the late 1950s, Coe led the house
band for the small Indianapolis-based label Note Records; some of the material was
licensed to Checker, which had better distribution. With his mid-60s big band he backed
performers including Aretha Franklin, Roy Hamilton, and Gladys Knight & the Pips.
Other musicians he worked with included Montgomery, Slide Hampton, David Baker, Freddie Hubbard, pianist Carl Per-
kins, Larry Ridley, Leroy Vinnegar, and doo-wop sensations The Students.
Additional Resource http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-coe-mn0000295123
Hitch’s Happy Harmonists (1922-1927)
Curtis Hitch led his band the Happy Harmonists from 1922 to
1927 in Indiana. While playing at Indiana University in Bloomington they met a young law student by the name of Hoagy Carmichael and recorded two of his songs “Bone Yard Shuffle” and
“Wash Board Blues” which were Hoagy’s first recordings. Carmichael joins them at the piano. Curtis Hitch’s Happy Harmonists
were very much influenced by Bix Beiderbecke and the Wolverines who were playing a lot in Indiana at that time. Hoagy and
Bix became friends when the Wolverines were playing at Indiana
University. The Wolverines had recorded Hoagy’s song Riverboat
Shuffle the previous year. If you listen to the piano solo in “Wash Board Blues” you recognize it has the theme from Carmichael’s later song “Lazybones”.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitch%27s_Happy_Harmonists
Wes Montgomery (March 6 1923 – June 15 1968)
Wes Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He came from a musical family;
his brothers, Monk (string bass and electric bass) and Buddy (vibraphone and piano),
were jazz performers. The brothers released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers. Although he was not skilled at reading music, he could learn complex
melodies and riffs by ear.
Montgomery started learning guitar at the relatively late age of 19, by listening to and
learning the recordings of his idol, guitarist Charlie Christian. He was known for his
ability to play Christian’s solos note for note and was hired by Lionel Hampton for this
ability.
Montgomery toured with Lionel Hampton early in his career, however the combined stress of touring and being away from
family brought him back home to Indianapolis. To support his family of eight, Montgomery worked in a factory from 7:00
am to 3:00 pm, and then performed in local clubs from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Cannonball Adderley heard Montgomery in an
Indianapolis club and was floored. The next morning, he called record producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed Montgomery
to a recording contract with Riverside Records. Adderly later recorded with Montgomery on his Pollwinners album. Montgomery recorded with his brothers and various other group members, including the Wynton Kelly Trio which previously
backed up Miles Davis.
He didn’t have very long to live to enjoy his commercial success, however; on June 15, 1968, while at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, he woke one morning, remarked to his wife that he “Didn’t feel very well,” and minutes later collapsed,
dying of a heart attack within minutes.
Montgomery’s hometown of Indianapolis has named a park in his honor.
Official Website http://www.wesmontgomery.com/
J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001)
J. J. Johnson (born James Louis Johnson) in Indianapolis, Indiana, was an
American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
He recorded a number of popular albums with fellow trombonist Kai Winding, as well as many solo albums, and was a sideman on many classic jazz
recordings. Several of his compositions, including “Wee Dot,” “Lament,” and
“Enigma” are considered jazz standards. He was part of the Third Stream movement in jazz music in the late 1950s and early 1960s and wrote a number of
large-scale works which incorporated elements of both classical and jazz music.
In his early twenties he developed a remarkable, flawless technique and was the first trombonist to rise to the challenge of
bebop music, remaining unchallenged at the forefront of modern jazz throughout his career. In 1970 he ceased performing in
public for most of 17 years, before a comeback in the late 1980s. From the mid-fifties on, he was a perennial polling favorite
in jazz circles, even winning Down Beat’s “Trombonist of the Year” during years he wasn’t active. Voted into Down Beat’s
Hall of Fame in 1995, J. J. Johnson’s recording career spanned 54 years, from 1942 to 1996.
He has long been regarded as the greatest trombonist of the post-Swing Era, a pervasive influence on other jazz musicians,
and one of jazz’s legendary figures.
Additional Resource http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist/default.aspx?aid=2802
Smithsonian Oral History
http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=114#Johnson
Med Flory (Born on August 27, 1926)
Med Flory was born in Logansport and is a Grammy award winning internationally
known entertainer. He has enjoyed successes as a jazz musician, composer, and television and film screenwriter and actor. He has appeared in several television shows and
movies. His saxophone and clarinet work are indicative of the classic bebop sound and
reflect his reverence for the music of Charlie Parker, especially Flory’s work with his
band Supersax. He has played with many greats in the jazz world, including Woody
Herman, Claude Thornhill, and Buddy Clark.
Flory said his mother inspired him to become a musician.
“My mom was the best musician in town,” he said in a telephone interview from Los
Angeles. Flory’s mother, Florence, was a pianist, and she played the organ at church.
Flory started playing the piano in fifth grade, and in ninth grade, he began playing the saxophone. Soon afterward, he was
performing in a local band in Logansport, playing two nights a week, getting paid $3 a night. Flory went on the road when
he was in his early teens, performing in cities such as Lexington, Ky., and Bloomington.
In 1951, he moved to New York City, and five years later, he moved to Los Angeles.
Flory has not only enjoyed success as a jazz musician and composer, but as a screenwriter and actor. He played Clint Rush
on the television western “Bonanza” and played numerous roles in “Lassie,” “Daniel Boone,” “Dallas” and “Maverick.”
He has been nominated a number of times for Grammy awards and is a two time winner.
Additional Resource http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=6744#.UQ3l4aXNaSo
Alonzo “Pookie’’ Johnson (1927- September 3, 2005)
Alonzo Johnson aka “Pookie” Johnson is a jazz saxophonist and was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Attucks High School and attended Butler
University School of Music. He joined the Army Air Forces in 1945 and played in
the special service band. Then he worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years.
He was honored in July 1985 as a Living Legend of Jazz and inducted into the Hall
of Records of Congress by U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind. He performed from
2001 to 2003 at the Indy Jazz Fest and also played concerts at the Indiana Historical
Society and The Children’s Museum and at Indiana State University.
There are many things that can be said about “Pookie,” especially among musicians
and fans who knew him well. Just as his closet musical ally Jimmy Coe was designated the Dean of Indiana Avenue Jazz,
“Pookie” was the heart and soul who maintained that street’s modern jazz or bebop movement. He played every club on
the Avenue as a leader or sideman. He loved to sing and shout his humorous blues with his self-effacing wit and humor.
Jazz Kitchen owner David Allee fondly remembers “Pookie” as a friend and great musician: “’Pookie’ was the heart; he
was one of those guys like Jimmy Coe, who passed away a year and a half ago. He had so much soul and life coming out
of him musically. He always had something funny to say and could always lift your spirits.” Trumpeter Cliff Ratliff, who
played many a gig with “Pookie,” recalls their relationship: “’Pookie’ to me was like a big brother, a father and a dammed
good friend. He will be sorely missed because I learned a lot from him.” “Pookie” attended Crispus Attucks High School
and Butler University’s Arthur Jordan School of Music. Many honors followed his music career. He was enshrined by Sen.
Richard Lugar in 1985 as a “Living Legend of Jazz” in the Hall of Records of Congress. In 1991, Indianapolis presented
him a key to the city and then proclaimed “Pookie” Johnson Day in 1996. That same year Gov. Evan Bayh proclaimed him
a Sagamore of the Wabash. His recorded output consists of Legacy on Forum Records, featured sideman on Jimmy Coe’s
Say What on Time Records, Russell Webster’s Together Again and Buddy Montgomery’s Three Brothers and Five Others
on Pacific Jazz. He was passionate about passing on his love of jazz and music to kids. In a commercial for the Indy Jazz
Fest, he poked fun at himself about not ever having learned to master the clarinet. Alonzo “Pookie” Johnson did not have to;
he was a master at communicating his love of the art of jazz. His legacy is sound.
Al Cobine (March 25, 1927 - May 21, 2009)
Al Cobine, born in Richmond, Indiana, graduated from Richmond High School,
Earlham College, received his MA from the University of Cincinnati, and continued
his studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. It was in Bloomington, that Cobine formed his band, in the fall of 1956. By 1960 his band received an award from
the National Ballroom Association, and in 1961 the band won an award for being
“best of the new dance bands,” presented by the American Federation of Musicians. Over the years, Cobine’s band has attained a fine reputation for musical excellence
and versatility. As a writer-arranger, Cobine is best known for his “Vermont Suite,”
music for brass, his theme music for the television show “Wild Kingdom,” stage
band works, “October In The Air”, “Love and Joy”, “Jazz Espagnol”, “Short and
Sweet”, “I Won’t Dance”, “My Man Quincy”, and many others. Additional Resource http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/al-cobine/
The Charlie Davis Orchestra (late 1920s)
The Charlie Davis Orchestra was an early jazz band from Indiana
that was active in the late 1920s, had an influence upon the quickly
emerging swing jazz movement and is notable for having had Dick
Powell as its lead vocalist.
One of the most famous bands in the Hoosier state at the time,
The Charlie Davis Orchestra first gained notoriety in the late 1920s
playing the Indiana Theatre and the Columbia Club, and made radio
broadcasts over stations WLW and WFBM - where many of their
recordings were made.
During its lifespan, the band had close connections with The Royal Peacocks, the Jean Goldkette orchestra and the highly
influential Hoagy Carmichael.
As their popularity increased they toured as far as New York and perhaps beyond, with notable appearances at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre and the New York Paramount Theatre, sharing billings with Duke Ellington and Rubinoff.
With the advent of the Great Depression, the band and its band members found the market for small and large orchestras
change overnight and could not weather the shock of fewer bookings. It disbanded in 1929.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charlie_Davis_Orchestra
Parisian Redheads (1920s – 1940s)
The Parisian Redheads were an all-girl band put together by an
Indianapolis show business agent named Charlie Green. Most of
the members were classically trained at music schools, colleges
and high schools, according to Schiedt. Based out of Indianapolis,
they played summer resorts, ballrooms and the vaudeville circuit,
culminating in a performance at the famed Times Square Palace
Theatre in New York in 1928. A year later, they played the Palace
again, receiving top billing over the Marx Brothers. Around this
time they were forced to change their name to the Bricktops after the Babe Egan Hollywood Redheads threatened legal action
against them.
The group had two recording sessions, only one of which was released, on the Brunswick label. A number of key players
in the Bricktops went on to join the Phil Spitalny All-Girl Orchestra, a 1940s group that merits much discussion in Sherrie
Tucker’s recent book Swing Shift.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-female_band
David Baker (Born on December 21, 1931)
David Nathaniel Baker, Jr. is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana and currently holds
the position of Distinguished Professor of Music and Chairman of the Jazz Department at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. A virtuosic
performer on multiple instruments and top in his field in several disciplines, Baker
has taught and performed throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, Scandinavia, New
Zealand and Japan. In addition to leading his own group he has performed and recorded with numerous jazz artists and was a member of the bands of Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, Quincy Jones, and George Russell. He was also
the conductor and musical director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
Baker received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Indiana University and has studied with a
wide range of master teachers, performers and composers including J.J. Johnson, Bobby Brookmeyer, Janos Starker, George
Russell, William Russo, and Gunther Schuller. A 1973 Pulitzer Prize nominee, Baker was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 1979, and has been honored three times by Down Beat magazine (as a trombonist, for lifetime achievement, and in their
Jazz Education Hall of Fame). Among his other awards are the National Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame Award,
the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching (Indiana University), the Arts Midwest Jazz Masters Award, and the Governor’s Arts Award of the State of Indiana.
Official Website http://indianapublicmedia.org/davidbakerlegacy/
Carl Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)
Carl Lee Perkins was born near Tiptonville, Tennessee. At 7, he began playing a guitar that his father had made from a cigar box, broomstick and baling wire. He listened
to country music, gospel, and blues, and began to write some of his own compositions.
At age 13 he performed a song that he had written, Movie Magg, at a local talent show
and won. He formed a group with Jay and Clayton called the Perkins Brothers which
began to perform at a local honky tonk bar known as the El Rancho Club in 1947 and
1948. W. B. Holland joined the group as a drummer. They appeared on WDXT radio in
his hometown of Jackson, Tennessee from 1950 to 1952. Meanwhile, Carl spent many
years working during the day at Colonial Baking Company in Jackson Tennessee as a
baker.
Carl signed a recording contract with Flip Records, a subsidiary of Sun in Memphis,
in 1954. His first release was Movie Magg the following year, and it was followed by other songs such as Gone, Gone, Gone,
Let The Juke Box Keep On Playing, and Blue Suede Shoes. He wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” after hearing a boy telling his
prom date not to step on his blue suede shoes. Perkins went back to his home in a housing project and wrote the song on a
brown potato sack. He recorded the song at Sun in December, 1955, was released on the Sun label and took off nationally.
It reached number two on the pop and country charts in 1956.
Carl Perkins was not only an international legend and entertainer, but locally he was a civic minded patron and founder of
the Exchange Club - Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. In 1979, the news media in Jackson carried a
local story about a child who died as a result of child abuse. Carl, a resident of Jackson, saw the child’s picture and thought
the child resembled one of his own children. He was so moved by the tragic story, he helped to organize a successful concert
and the proceeds generated were combined with funds received through a National Exchange Club Grant. This allowed the
center to open its doors in October 1981. This was the first Exchange Club Center in Tennessee and the fourth nationwide.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Perkins
David Young (1933 - 2009)
David Young was born in Indianapolis in 1933; Young was a member of the amazing Indiana Avenue generation of the 1950s, a group that also included Baker, Freddie Hubbard,and
Wes Montgomery. He appears on the Russell albums Jazz in the Space Age, Kansas City,
At the Five Spot, and Stratusphunk. He also recorded a very good album (his only one
as a leader) for the Mainstream label in the 1970s, with a lineup that included fellow Indy
trumpeter Virgil Jones, saxophonist Sonny Fortune, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Richard
Davis, and drummer Idris Muhammad.
A fellow student, along with Baker, at the now-legendary Lenox School of Jazz, Young
in his early period was sometimes influenced by John Coltrane (a hard thing for any young
tenor circa 1961 to avoid), but he always had a distinctive sound that evolved throughout
the 1960s and 70s into a fluid, inside/outside attack of quiet strength (with a biting, soulful
edge on the Mainstream album–perhaps a result of his time with Brother Jack McDuff). Unknown to the general jazz public, he retained a great deal of respect among his fellow artists; in addition to George Russell
and Baker, he worked with Frank Foster’s big band, Sam Rivers’ Harlem Ensemble, and Lionel Hampton’s Inner Circle.
Additional Resource http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/tenor-saxophonist-david-young-rip/
Everett Greene (Born on February 16, 1934)
Singer Everett Francis Greene, Sr. was born on February 16, 1934 in
Washington, D.C. to Lillian and Lawrence Greene. He grew up in the
Barry Farms section of the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
As a youth, Greene began performing in school quartets. He continued to
perform with his quartet after entering the Marine Corps in 1952. Following a tour in Korea, Greene married and started a family in Indianapolis,
Indiana. He worked as a mold maker and then in the melting department
in Indianapolis’ industrial manufactories. It was not until after his retirement in 1982 that Greene focused on his professional music career.
Greene was a bass singer who trained himself to sing at a higher range. He performed in his church and regularly throughout the local Indianapolis music scene. He recorded his debut album, “At Last,” in Chicago in 1994, followed by his release
of “My Foolish Heart” in 1998 and “I’ve Got Love” in 2002. He was then featured with the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra
on the album, Heart & Soul: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael.
Greene has co-starred with folk singer Odetta Gordon and Broadway star Jean DuShon in an extended run of The Little
Dreamer: A Night in the Life of Bessie Smith at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago. In addition, Greene has portrayed “Joe” in
Showboat. Greene received a local Emmy Award in Chicago for the nationally-aired TV special entitled Precious Memories:
Strolling 47th Street. He has been in a number of television commercials for The Hoosier Lottery, the Indiana Pacers, H.H.
Gregg and Cincinnati Bell. Greene has toured in the United States, Japan and Canada with the musical revue In the House
of the Blues.
Official Website http://www.everettgreene.com/
The Ink Spots (1934 – 1954)
The Ink Spots’ story begins in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1932, when four
young men - Deek Watson, Charles Fuqua, Orville “Hoppy” Jones and Jerry
Daniels - formed the first version of the group. The quartet performed as the
Riff Brothers and the Percolating Puppies before settling on the Ink Spots
name.
The Ink Spots played a large role in pioneering the black vocal group-harmony genre, helping to pave the way for the doo wop explosion of the ‘50s.
The quavering high tenor of Bill Kenny presaged hundreds of street-corner
leads to come, and the sweet harmonies of Charlie Fuqua, Deek Watson, and
bass Hoppy Jones (who died in 1944) backed him flawlessly.
Kenny’s impeccable diction and Jones’s deep drawl were both prominent on the Ink Spots’ first smash on Decca in 1939,
the sentimental “If I Didn’t Care.” From then through 1951, the group was seldom absent from the pop charts, topping the
lists with “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)” (1940), “I’m Making Believe” and “Into Each Life Some Rain Must
Fall” (both in 1944), and “The Gypsy” and “To Each His Own” (both in 1946).
Watson eventually split to form his own group, the Brown Dots, and appeared in numerous low-budget film musicals,
while Kenny attempted a solo career, notching a solo hit in 1951 with the uplifting “It Is No Secret.” Countless groups masquerading as the Ink Spots have thrived across the nation since the ‘50s.
Official Website http://www.inkspotsmuseum.com/
Chuck Carter (April 24, 1934 – October 13, 2003)
Chuck Carter was a highly-regarded saxophonist and clarinetist from Indiana. If there
ever was a standard for a bebop musician, Carter set it, not only in his playing but in
his lifestyle, even down to his cool hipness of understated humor punctuated with a lot
of “like, man.” Classic among jazz fans was Carter’s hip renderings of “Mother Goose
Rhymes.” Carter’s passion as a jazz musician took him through the big bands of Stan
Kenton to Van Ohlen/Allee, where his muscular bebop baritone sax solos were always
spectacular. Returning to Indy, Carter worked in various groups before teaming up in
the late ’90s with a young upcoming drummer, Gene Markiewicz, to form the Carter/
Markiewicz Jazz Quartet, which recorded the Evolution Step 1 CD. Markiewicz recalls
what it was like playing and hanging out with Carter. “He was my partner, teacher, and I
loved him,” he says. “I learned from him all the time. Chuck used to always carry a
bag of stuff like snacks, his clarinet and things. I drove us to a gig 15 minutes from my
house. By the time we got there, Chuck had totally trashed my car with his stuff. To ride
with Chuck was like watching an egg being dropped, he just sort of spread out. He was
funny messing with his stuff. As one of his fans, I never got over the fact that I was playing with Chuck Carter — he was
that great of a musician.”
James Spaulding (Born on July 30, 1937)
James Ralph Spaulding Jnr. was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. In the mid-50s
Spaulding studied at Chicago’s Cosmopolitan School of Music, specializing in alto
saxophone and flute, and also played in Sun Ra’s Arkestra and in Sonny Thompson’s
R&B group. In 1962, Spaulding moved to New York and came to prominence playing
as a sideman on numerous Blue Note Records releases, particularly on sessions led
by Freddie Hubbard (Hubtones and Breaking Point) but also on albums by Stanley
Turrentine, Horace Silver and Wayne Shorter. Later work saw him playing with many
leading post-bop artists, among them Max Roach, Woody Shaw and Randy Weston. In
the 70s he played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under Mercer Ellington and his debut
as a leader was a tribute to Duke. Astonishingly, Spaulding has only made a handful of
albums in his own name in over 30 years as a player. His second, Brilliant Corners, was
also a tribute - this time to Thelonious Monk. In the 80s he worked with Ricky Ford
and later joined the David Murray Octet, touring and recording Hopescope with them.
Gotstabe A Better Way, comprises tunes from a longer, ongoing project called ‘The Courage Suite’.
Additional Resource http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Spaulding
Larry Ridley (Born on September 3, 1937)
Ridley was born and reared in Indianapolis. He began performing professionally
while still in high school in the 1950s. He studied at the Indiana University School
of Music and later at the Lenox School of Jazz. Ridley has been involved in jazz
education, heading the jazz program at Rugers University. David Baker, another Indianapolis native and notable jazz musician, was one of
his prime mentors. Ridley was bassist for David Baker’s Big band during his studies
at Indiana University.
Ridley served as chairman of the Jazz Panel of the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) and was the organization’s National Coordinator of the “Jazz Artists in
Schools” Program for five years (1978–1982). Ridley is a recipient of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation’s “Living Legacy
Jazz Award”, an 1998 inductee the International Association for Jazz Education Hall of Fame (IAJE), an inductee of the
DownbeatMagazine Jazz Education Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Benny Golson Jazz Award from Howard University, and
was honored by a Juneteenth 2006 Proclamation Award from the New York City Council. Ridley is currently the Executive
Director of the African American Jazz Caucus, Inc., an affiliate of IAJE. He is also the IAJE Northeast Regional Coordinator. He continues to actively teach as Professor of Jazz Bass at the Manhattan School of Music. Ridley is currently serving
as Jazz Artist in Residence at the Harlem based New York Public Library/ Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
He established an annual series there dedicated to presenting the compositions of jazz masters that are performed by Ridley
and his Jazz Legacy Ensemble.
Official Website http://www.larryridley.com/
Freddie Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008)
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Hubbard began playing
trumpet as a child, and in his teens worked locally with Wes Montgomery and Monk Montgomery. When he was 20, he moved to New York, immediately falling in with the best of
contemporary jazzmen. Amongst the musicians with whom he worked in the late 50s were
Eric Dolphy (his room-mate for 18 months), Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson and Quincy Jones.
In 1961 he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, quickly establishing himself as an important
new voice in jazz. He remained with Blakey until 1966, leaving to form his own small groups,
which over the next few years featured Kenny Barron and Louis Hayes. Throughout the 60s
he also played in bands led by others, including Max Roach and Herbie Hancock and was
featured on four classic 60s sessions: Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, Oliver Nelson’s Blues And
The Abstract Truth, Dolphy’s Out To Lunch!, and John Coltrane’s Ascension.
An exceptionally talented virtuoso performer, Hubbard’s rich full tone is never lost, even when he plays dazzlingly fast
passages. As one of the greatest of hard bop trumpeters, he contrives to create impassioned blues lines without losing the
contemporary context within which he plays. Although his periodic shifts into jazz rock have widened his audience, he is at
his best playing jazz. He continues to mature, gradually leaving behind the spectacular displays of his early years, replacing them with a more deeply committed jazz. His 1995 Music Masters session, MMTC, highlights this maturity with new
recordings of the music of four giants: Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. In November of
2008, Hubbard suffered a heart attack, from which he died a month later in his Sherman Oaks, California, home.
Official Website http://www.freddiehubbardmusic.com/
Hampton Family Band (1938-1950)
The Hampton family was one of the most important Indianapolis jazz families representing the intergenerational practice of jazz. The family’s dedication, persistence and vision are enough to put Indianapolis on the national map of jazz alone. Clarke “Deacon” Hampton and his wife Laura reared
twelve children, all of whom Deacon taught to play a variety of musical instruments or perform in some capacity on stage by the age of three.
The Hamptons encountered harsh racism travelling through the Midwest,
East Coast and American South during the late 1920s and the early 30s, but with few other options for African American
entertainers during the era, Deacon ruled with an “iron fist” and determined that “the show must go on” at any cost. The
regime included family rehearsal sessions sometimes lasting up to 10 hours a day and sending out sick children covered with
makeup to perform on stage anyway. The Hamptons moved from Middletown, Ohio to Shelbyville, Indiana then to Indianapolis in 1938 and held lengthy engagements at Indianapolis’ Cotton Club and the Sunset Tavern. This was the early years
of Indiana Avenue becoming an important center for jazz and African American businesses and the bustling developments
on the Avenue had a profound effect on the Hampton children.
In Indianapolis, the Hampton rehearsals became infamous and stretched into jam sessions where aspiring jazz musicians
would stop by to participate or just listen in. Mother, Laura Hampton provided soft drinks for visitors and as a child, Paula Hampton (drummer and daughter of Aletra Hampton) turned the attraction into a mini business venture, occasionally
charging entrance fees. When WWII broke out, the boys, who were old enough, joined the military service and “Deacon”
retired from music performance but continued to work for the Hurst Company manufacturing rubber products for the defense industry. During this time, the girls formed their own rhythm and blues band and a singing group while they continued
to hold day jobs. When the boys returned from service the siblings reunited and toured the East coast under the direction of
multi-instrumentalist, Clarke, Jr., aka Duke Hampton.
Additional Resource http://vimeo.com/34586617
Virgil Jones (August 26, 1939-April 20, 2012)
Virgil Jones was a jazz trumpet player in Indianapolis, Indiana. A talented utility trumpeter
able to play effectively both in the background and during short hard bop-oriented solos,
Virgil Jones deserves much greater recognition. He studied trumpet in high school and in the
1960s worked with Lionel Hampton, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, and Ray Charles. A longtime New York studio musician, Jones performed on Monday night with the Thad Jones-Mel
Lewis Orchestra, made many record dates as a sideman for Prestige (often with funky organ
groups), and has played with the who’s who of straight ahead jazz.
A partial list of Jones’ associations through the years include the American Jazz Orchestra, the Smithsonian Masterworks
Orchestra, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Barry Carter, Dameronia, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sonny Stitt, Joey DeFrancesco, Joe
Henderson, Teddy Edwards, T.S. Monk, and Clark Terry. The list could easily be three times longer, yet ironically Virgil
Jones has never led a record date of his own.
Claude Sifferlen (1941-2010)
Claude Sifferlen was born into a musical family and began playing piano at age 5, with
classical piano and violin lessons. He especially loved to listen to Fats Waller recordings. After a stint in the army band, he began playing many of the prominent jazz clubs
in Indy. He performed with the Woody Herman Orchestra in 1967, and also with Duke
Ellington’s Group. He was a member of the band for the Jim Jerrard TV Show. In 1971,
when the late, great Stan Kenton became ill, Sifferlen took over the piano chair with
the Kenton Orchestra, which backed vocalists June Christy, Steve Lawrence and Edie
Gorme. Sifferlen was a member of the Baron Von Ohlen Quartet formed by John Von
Ohlen. He has played with notable jazz artists Buddy Tate, Cleanhead Vinson, Lockjaw
Davis and Milt Jackson. In 1970 he formed the Claude Sifferlen Trio with bassist Paul
Imm and drummer Greg Corn. He was a member of the Zebra Quartet (playing vibes),
which also featured pianists Steve Corn and Steve Allee. Sifferlen was a regular performer at the Chatterbox, downtown
Indy, with Frank Glover, and many others, including Mark Buselli, Ron Brinson-drums, Joe Deal-bass, and the Deep Six
Band, formed by Harry Miedema-sax., and director of jazz studies, University of Indianapolis.
Killer Ray Appleton (Born in 1941)
Killer Ray Appleton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1941. Ray was blessed to begin
his career in the best possible environment. Mentored from an early age by the slightly older
Freddie Hubbard, Ray had his first professional gig with Wes Montgomery at fourteen. By
the age of nineteen, Ray had followed trumpeter Kenny Dorham to New York, there meeting
such jazz icons as Philly Joe Jones and John Coltrane. In the mid-60s, Appleton toured and
performed with Coltrane and Hubbard, appearing on Coltrane’s Infinity and Cosmic Music
and playing a crucial role on Hubbard’s Backlash.
During the 1970s and 1980s Appleton lived and performed primarily in Europe, enjoying work in the jazz community abroad and taking part in international festivals such as
the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Antibes Jazz Festival, and The Vienna Concert with Dizzy
Gillespie. Now living in New York City, Ray Appleton records and performs with his own sextet, the group’s recent release
on record being Killer Ray Strikes Again, featuring alto saxophonist Charles McPherson, trumpeter Jim Rotondi, trombonist
Slide Hampton, and pianist John Hicks. “Killer” Ray is one of the few surviving musicians who came-of-age when jazz was
at its zenith, having had the opportunity to play with jazz music’s greats and who deeply understands the concept of “swing.”
Official Website http://killerrayappleton.net/Home.html
Gary Burton (Born on January 23, 1943)
Gary Burton was born in Anderson, Indiana. After teaching himself to
play piano Burton studied music formally before switching to the vibraphone. In 1960 he recorded with Hank Garland, a country guitarist, but
then moved into jazz with a two-year stint at Berklee College of Music,
where he began an important musical association with Mike Gibbs. In
1963 he became a member of George Shearing’s group, following this with
two years with Stan Getz. Later in the 60s, Burton formed his own small
band, playing jazz rock and recording a number of fine albums, most notably the Carla Bley -penned A Genuine Tong Funeral (1967). Throughout
the decade and on into the 70s, Burton led a succession of fine bands that
included such musicians as Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow, Roy Haynes, Pat Metheny and Eberhard Weber. He was also
teamed on record with Stéphane Grappelli, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine and
others. From 1971 Burton taught at Berklee, often finding empathetic musicians among his students. Burton’s Six Pack in
1993 was a refreshing excursion featuring six guitar players: B.B. King, John Scofield, Jim Hall, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kevin
Eubanks and familiar partner Ralph Towner. Like Minds, released through Concord Jazz Records in 1998, was a sublime
all-star gathering that featured Burton playing with Pat Metheny, Corea and Dave Holland. Two years later Burton recorded
a tribute to tango master Astor Piazzolla.
Although he followed many more famous vibraphonists, not least Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, Burton was the first
player of this instrument to create a new and wholly original musical style. His extensive simultaneous use of four mallets
gave him a less percussive sound, allowing him to develop more complex ideas in a manner usually available only to pianists and players of wind instruments. His early musical experience of country and rock has been thoroughly absorbed into
a strongly jazz-orientated concept. Burton’s interests and enthusiasm, allied as they are to a virtuoso technique, have made
him a leading exemplar of contemporary music. However, although others have followed his example, he remains the only
vibraphonist of his generation to be measured alongside the other major interpreters and innovators in jazz.
Official Website http://www.garyburton.com/
The Four Freshmen (1948–present)
The Four Freshmen were formed at Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music
in Indianapolis, Indiana; the Four Freshmen were a ground-breaking vocal
group who influenced the Hi-Lo’s, the Beach Boys, Manhattan Transfer
and countless other close-harmony outfits. The group originally consisted
of lead vocalist Bob Flanigan (22 August 1926, Greencastle, Indiana), his
cousins Ross Barbour (b. 31 December 1928, Columbus, Indiana) and Don
Barbour (b. 19 April 1927, Columbus, Indiana, d. 5 October 1961), and
Hal Kratzsch (b. 6 October 1925, Warsaw, Indiana, d. 18 November 1970).
Prior to the formation of the Four Freshmen, the Barbour brothers and
Kratzsch, along with lead singer Marvin Pruitt, had been in a barbershop
quartet called Hal’s Harmonizers, each member playing an instrument. The same line-up formed a more jazz-orientated
second group, called the Toppers, in 1948. Pruitt left that same year, at which point Flanigan returned from Florida, where
he had spent the summer. Inspired by Mel Tormé’s Mel-Tones, the new group, renamed the Four Freshmen, was discovered
in September 1949 by Woody Herman.
In 1950 Stan Kenton saw the quartet in concert in Dayton, Ohio, and arranged for them to audition for Capitol Records,
who signed them. Their first hit single came in 1952, ‘It’s A Blue World’, which reached number 30 in the USA. Spring
1953 saw a personnel change when Kratzsch left, replaced by Ken Errair (b. 23 January 1930, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d.
14 June 1968). Errair also departed in 1955, replaced by Ken Albers (b. John Kenneth Albers, 10 December 1924, Pitman,
New Jersey, USA, d. 19 April 2007, Simi Valley, California, USA). By that time the group had logged two more Top 40
hits, ‘It Happened Once Before’ and ‘Mood Indigo’. Three final chart singles were issued in 1955-56, including the number
17 ‘Graduation Day’, later covered by the Beach Boys. The group had seven album hits, including the Top 10 Four Freshmen And 5 Trombones in 1956 and 4 Freshmen And 5 Trumpets the following year. Further personnel changes marked the
group’s career. Don Barbour left in 1960, replaced by Bill Comstock (who left in 1972). Ross Barbour stayed on until 1977
and Ken Albers in 1982. Flanigan remained with the group into the early 90s. Don Barbour was killed in a car crash in 1961,
Kratzsch died of cancer in 1970, and Errair died in a plane crash in 1968.
Flanigan continued to act as manager and agent for the latter-day line-up, Brian Eichenberger (b. 16 May 1976), Curtis
Calderon, Bob Ferreira, and Vince Johnson (b. 3 September 1970), which is able to reproduce the original sound. They won
the DownBeat readers’ poll in 2000 for Best Vocal Group, over 50 years since they were formed.
Official Website http://www.4freshmen.com/
Steve Allee (September 14, 1951)
Steve Allee, pianist, composer and arranger hails from Indianapolis, Indiana,
the hometown of jazz legends Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, Slide Hampton and J.J. Johnson. Touring with the Buddy Rich Orchestra at age 19, Steve’s
passion for the piano and jazz were evident to the audiences and all who performed with him.
Steve’s big band CD, Downtown Blues, was nominated for a Grammy® award
with bassist John Clayton and drummer John VonOhlen. Allee’s first national
solo CD, The Magic Hour, released on Noteworthy Records, landed at #14 on the
Gavin national radio poll.
His writing credits include composing the soundtrack for the film inspired by the book by Dan Wakefield titled, “New York
In The Fifties”. He presented the original music for the film at The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Steve recently
completed the soundtrack for the film of the 1954-55 Crispus Attucks basketball team, starring Oscar Robertson titled,
“Something To Cheer About”.
His experience with such great players as Slide Hampton, James Moody, Rufus Reid Quintet, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Curtis Fuller, Buddy Rich Orchestra, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Tim Hagans, Scott Wendholt, Charles
Rouse, Steve Houghton, John Riley, Ira Sullivan, Ed Thigpen, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Rich Perry, Milt Hinton, Gary
Campbell, Don Braden, Jim Snidero, Jim Rotundi, Bobby Shew and Dianne Schuur has given him the musical depth and
clarity that you hear in every performance.
Official Website http://www.steveallee.com/
Royce Campbell (Born in 1952)
Royce Campbell was born in Seymor, Indiana. His stepfather was a career Navy man so
Campbell lived and grew up in Japan, Spain, Barbados, Philadelphia and South Carolina.
He began playing guitar when he was nine years old. At age 15 he became interested in
blues and blues-rock-influenced guitarists such as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. At 16 he
purchased a Wes Montgomery LP, which spawned his interest in jazz guitar. Upon graduation from high school, Campbell’s uncle, Carroll DeCamp, a renowned arranger/pianist who
arranged for Stan Kenton and Les Elgart, among others, invited Campbell to live with him
in Indianapolis and study music. Soon Campbell began performing in the Indianapolis area
and touring with vocalist Marvin Gaye. In 1975 he was hired by a local music contractor
to do three concerts with Henry Mancini. Mancini was so impressed he asked Campbell to
be his regular touring guitarist. Campbell remained with Mancini for 19 years until Mancini’s death in 1994. Campbell has also performed with jazz greats such as Groove Holmes,
Jack McDuff, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Cleo Laine, Mel Torme, James
Moody, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Eddie Daniels, Frank Morgan, Eddie Harris and Urbie Green. In 1983 his debut LP
album, Solo Guitar, was released. He has since released nine more recordings as leader and performed on over 30 recordings
as a sideman. He has toured Japan nine times as a soloist. His 1992 recording, Project G-5: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery,
reached No.3 on U.S. radio charts and his latest CD, A Tribute to Henry Mancini, was the highest-ranked jazz guitar recording for four weeks, reaching No. 8 overall. The Jazz News newsletter described Campbell as “a guitarist’s guitarist.”
Official Website http://www.roycecampbell.com/
Jeff Hamilton (Born on August 4, 1953) Born in Richmond, Indiana, Jeff grew up listening to his parent’s big band records and
at the age of eight began playing drums along with Oscar Peterson records. He attended Indiana University and later studied with John Avon Ohlen. Jeff was influenced by
Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, “Philly” Joe Jones and Shelly Manne. In 1974, he
got his first big break playing with the New Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He then joined
Lionel Hampton’s Band until 1975 when he, along with bassist John Clayton, became
members of the Monty Alexander Trio. He attained a childhood goal in 1977 when he
joined Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd, with whom he made several recordings. In 1978, he was offered the position vacated by Shelly Manne in the L.A.4 with
Ray Brown, Bud Shank and Laurindo Almeida. He recorded six records with the L.A.4, some of which featured his own
arrangements and compositions. From 1983 to 1987, Jeff performed with Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, Rosemary Clooney and Monty Alexander. Jeff began his association with the Ray Brown Trio in 1988 and left in March 1995 to
concentrate on his own trio. From 1999-2001, the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra was named the in-residence ensemble
for the Hollywood Bowl Jazz series. Jeff is currently touring with his own Trio, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and
Diana Krall.
In addition to his many recordings with Ray Brown, Jeff has been on nearly 200 recordings with artists such as Natalie
Cole, Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Streisand, Mel Torme, John Pizzarelli, Benny Carter, Lalo
Schifrin, George Shearing, Dr.
Official Website http://www.hamiltonjazz.com/
Frank Smith (1956)
Frank Smith is a veteran bass player and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, a
city known as the crossroads for jazz. The city was home to jazz legends such
as Wes Montgomery, J.J. Johnson, and Freddie Hubbard.
Smith has player with the city’s greatest jazz musicians including: J.J. Johnson, Buddy Montgomery, Slide Hampton, Jimmie Coe and Pookie Johnson.
by his travels around the world.
Smith’s debut album, Chasing Chances, features his melodic seven-string
bass leading a group of Indy’s finest musicians playing compositions inspired
Official Website http://www.frankvsmith.com/index.html
Pharez Whitted (Born in 1960)
Trumpeter, educator and composer Pharez Whitted was born into a musical
family in Indianapolis, Indiana. Among his mentors were his parents and his
uncles, Maceo and trombonist Slide Hampton. At the age of nine, Whitted,
wishing to be a part of the music around him, pulled out a trumpet from the
closet and gained some tips from his brothers, Leo and Tommy.
Whitted’s music resume includes performances at the 1988 Presidential Inauguration, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Billboard Music Awards, Carnegie
Hall, and the MoTown Music Showcase. Whitted has performed with such
notable jazz giants and popular musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, George Duke, Kirk Whalum, Elvin
Jones, Slide Hampton, John Mellencamp, The Temptations, Roy Meriwether, The O’Jays, Lou Rawls, Ramsey Lewis, and
former Tonight Show bassist and classmate, Bob Hurst. Whitted wrote, produced, arranged, and played on his two CDs
for MoTown’s Jazz record label, entitled Pharez Whitted and Mysterious Cargo. He also co-produced the MoJazz album,
People Make the World Go ‘Round.
Whitted studied music at DePauw University and went on to earn a master’s degree from the Indiana University Jacobs
School of Music. He is currently the director of jazz studies at Chicago State University and continues to play locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, often with Bobby Broom, Ron Perrillo, and Eddie Bayard. Whitted is also a regular
with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Additionally,Whitted is a United Musical Instruments (UMI) clinician, and a Conn/Selmer
clinician, and a Jazz Mentor at Ravinia.
Official Website http://www.pharezwhitted.com/
Kenny Phelps (February 6, 1968)
Kenny Phelps is a native of Indianapolis cut out of the lineage of some of
the most innovative musicians of our time. With Phelps rise to success he
joins the legendary musicial family of “Indiana Avenue” jazz royalty like
Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, Sly Hampton, American Rock Star
John Cougar Mellencamp, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, After 7 and Classical Icon Angela Brown.
Not only is Phelps heir to such a rich musicial heritage he has twenty-five
years + of playing and touring experience as a professional musician which
has allowed him to masterfully adapt in a wide range of genres including
funk, contemporary jazz, gospel, bebop, Latin and much more. He has played with an elaborate list of artist from Wynton
Marsalis, Eartha Kitt, Michael Brecker, The Debarge Family, to Slide Hampton, Wycliffe Gordon, and The New York Voices. Currently he works with Grammy Award winning Dee Dee Bridgewater.
Though Kenny’s made a living playing for the music loving audience at large, he still takes time to share his gift with
younger audiences by giving concerts and clinics in an educational program offered to schools. His amazing work ethic,
artistic integrity and passion for community outreach were recognized by the state of Indiana. With this recognition Kenny
received “The Excellence in Indiana Award” presented by Fox 59.
Official Website http://www.kennyphelps.bandzoogle.com/fr_welcome.cfm