Introduction: Earl Bostic, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one hundred and eleven years ago today on April 25, 1913, was a musical prodigy who left an indelible mark on jazz. His innovative approach to music and electrifying performances continue to inspire musicians and listeners worldwide. Early Life and Musical Beginnings: In his youth, Earl Bostic honed his musical talents, playing the clarinet…

Fate Marable, Louis Armstrong, and the Big River

The riverboats that offered a chance for a musician to make some money and hone his craft is something that Louis Armstrong did and undoubtedly aided him in learning how to properly read music. The syncopatedtimes, in an article by Steve Provizer, provides a glimpse into Armstrong’s life on the river.

-Scott Wenzel

New Orleans, c. 1920: The “Dignified” Jazz Found on Steamboat

Fate Marable’s name is rarely mentioned these days but he is an important figure especially when it comes to Louis Armstrong. An early newspaper clipping sheds some early light on one of his gigs.

-Scott Wenzel

“The ballroom of the Streckfus Steamers “Capitol” based in New Orleans. The boat ferried Louis Armstrong’s to his first documented appearance in Baton Rouge. In 1920, young Louis was merely the trumpet player in a tightly regimented steamboat band called the Palmetto Jazzerites led by the legendary Fate Marable. Marable often taught talented musicians like Louis Armstrong to read music in between performances in his riverboat “conservatory.” (Left to right) Henry Kimball, bass; Boyd Atkins, Johnny St. Cyr, David Jones, Norman Ma son,Louis Armstrong, Norman Brashear, Baby Dodds, Fate Marable. Circa-1920.”

#HOYENLAESCENA 12 de abril de 1892 nace Johnny Dodds en Nueva Orleans

#HOYENLAESCENA 12 de abril de 1892 nace Johnny Dodds en Nueva Orleans Fue un clarinetista y saxofonista de hot-jazz, norteamericano, fallecido en Chicago (Illinois) el 8 de agosto de 1940. Estudió clarinete con Lorenzo Tio y se enroló en la banda del trombonista Kid Ory, en la que permaneció entre 1911 y 1918, tras lo cual estuvo en una compañía de vodevil, con Billy Mack, y en un riverboat, en…

Charlie Ventura (sax, tenor) 1916-1992  :: Charlie Ventura  was a tenor saxophonist and bandleader.

Ventura was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had his first successes working with Gene Krupa. In 1945 he won the Down Beat readers’ poll in the tenor saxophone division. In the late 1940 he ran a few successful ensembles and went on to be known for “bop for the people.” with vocalists Jackie Cain, and Roy Kral.

After the 1950s he did few recordings. His first was the debut album for Gene Norman’s GNP Crescendo label (GNPD No. 1) recorded live in concert in Los Angeles. In Las Vegas. he worked with Jackie Gleason.

Fate Marable(composer/conductor) 1890-1947 :: Fate Marable was a jazz pianist and bandleader.

Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and learned piano from his mother. At age 17, he began playing on the steam boats plying the Mississippi River. He soon became bandleader for boats on the Streckfus Line, which ran several paddlewheelers which held dances and excursions along the river from New Orleans, Louisiana to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Marable appreciated the new “jazz” sound being played by the New Orleans musicians, and the bulk of his band members were recruited from that city.

Members of Marable’s bands were expected to be able to play a wide variety of music, from hot numbers to light classics, both play by head and from sheet music, and above all to keep the dancers happy. Marable was a strict bandleader, demanding musical proficiency and rigid discipline from all his bandmembers, yet allowing them to develop their individual strong points. For instance, Louis Armstrong’s gift for improvisation was recognised as such by Marable, and he allowed him to improvise his breaks rather than play them note for note. Marable’s band served as an early musical education for many other players who would later become prominent in jazz, including Red Allen, Baby Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Pops Foster, Narvin Kimball, Al Morgan and Zutty Singleton.

In addition to piano and bandleading, Marable played the boats’ steam calliope, a contraption that could be heard for miles up and down the river and poured down so much water from condensing steam that Marable performed wearing a raincoat and hood.

A young George Russell, later notable for formulating the Lydian Concept, grew up listening to Marable’s music.

Fate was a relative of the drummer Larance Marable.

Still can't locate a clip of Fate Marable but did find this one of drummer Zutty Singleton, another alumni of the "riverboat academy".

Ronnie Mathews(piano) 1935-2008  :: Ronnie Mathews was an American jazz pianist who worked with Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978 - 1979. His most recent work was in 2008, as both a mentor and musician with “Generations”, a group of jazz musicians headed by veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb. He contributed two new compositions to the album that was released by San Francisco State University’s International Center for the Arts on September 15, 2008.

According to the New York Daily News, “Ronnie Mathews (is) another stalwart figure who has yet to receive the proper recognition.” Critics have compared him to fellow pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, with a sprinkle of McCoy Tyner.

In his twenties, Mathews toured internationally and recorded with Roach, Freddie Hubbard and Roy Haynes. He was also a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s through the 60’s. By thirty, he began teaching jazz piano and led workshops, clinics and master classes at Long Island University in New York City. Besides Dexter Gordon and Clark Terry, he toured and recorded on two Louis Hayes projects in the 70’s (i.e. the Louis Hayes-Woody Shaw Quintet and the Louis Hayes-Junior Cook Quintet).

One of the highlights of his career, and one of his longest associations, was with the Johnny Griffin Quartet. For almost five years (1978-1982) he was an integral part of this band and forged lasting relationships with Griffin, Kenny Washington (drums) and Ray Drummond (bass). The New York Times described Mathews as “a constant and provocative challenge to Mr. Griffin. […He] is the energizer of the group”. One of the few Johnny Griffin recordings that features Mathews’ original compositions is “To the Ladies” (Galaxy).

In the 80’s, Mathews began honing his role as a front man. He performed as a leader in duo, trio and quartet configurations around the world (from New York City to Genova, to the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, and more). He also toured with Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Band. Mathews was also involved in cross-media projects: he was pianist for the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, Black and Blue in 1989, and, in 1990, he was one of the artists who recorded for Spike Lee’s movie, Mo’ Better Blues.

After a stint touring and recording with the Clifford Jordan Big Band in the early 90’s, Mathews joined T.S. Monk for eight years of touring and recording. The Chicago Tribune stated that “The soul of the band […] is pianist Ronnie Mathews, whose angular romanticism provides the horn players with a lush and spicy foundation for their improvising”.

Wynton Kelly(piano) 1931-1971 ::  Wynton Charles Kelly  was a Jamaican American jazz pianist. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959 to 1962.

He started his professional career in 1943, initially as a member of R&B groups. Around this time he also played organ in local churches. R&B bands that he played with up to 1951 included those led by Ray Abrams, Hot Lips Page, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis.

Kelly became better known after joining Dinah Washington’s band in 1951, going on to record 14 titles for Blue Note in his trio in the same year. After this he played with bands led by Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie, recording with the latter in 1952. Kelly was drafted into the army in September 1952, and stayed for two years, ending that period with a music performance for an audience of 10,000 in the Chastain Memorial Park Amphitheater in Atlanta, Georgia. After leaving the military, Kelly worked with Washington again (1955–1957), Charles Mingus (1956–1957), and the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band (1957), before leaving Gillespie and forming his own trio, which then recorded the second album under Kelly’s name, more than six years after the first.

Charlie Ventura (sax, tenor) 1916-1992  :: Charlie Ventura  was a tenor saxophonist and bandleader.

Ventura was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had his first successes working with Gene Krupa. In 1945 he won the Down Beat readers' poll in the tenor saxophone division. In the late 1940 he ran a few successful ensembles and went on to be known for "bop for the people." with vocalists Jackie Cain, and Roy Kral.

After the 1950s he did few recordings. His first was the debut album for Gene Norman's GNP Crescendo label (GNPD No. 1) recorded live in concert in Los Angeles. In Las Vegas. he worked with Jackie Gleason.

Fate Marable (composer/conductor) 1890-1947 :: Fate Marable was a jazz pianist and bandleader.

Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky, and learned piano from his mother. At age 17, he began playing on the steam boats plying the Mississippi River. He soon became bandleader for boats on the Streckfus Line, which ran several paddlewheelers which held dances and excursions along the river from New Orleans, Louisiana to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Marable appreciated the new "jazz" sound being played by the New Orleans musicians, and the bulk of his band members were recruited from that city.

Members of Marable's bands were expected to be able to play a wide variety of music, from hot numbers to light classics, both play by head and from sheet music, and above all to keep the dancers happy. Marable was a strict bandleader, demanding musical proficiency and rigid discipline from all his bandmembers, yet allowing them to develop their individual strong points. For instance, Louis Armstrong's gift for improvisation was recognised as such by Marable, and he allowed him to improvise his breaks rather than play them note for note. Marable's band served as an early musical education for many other players who would later become prominent in jazz, including Red Allen, Baby Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Pops Foster, Narvin Kimball, Al Morgan and Zutty Singleton.

In addition to piano and bandleading, Marable played the boats' steam calliope, a contraption that could be heard for miles up and down the river and poured down so much water from condensing steam that Marable performed wearing a raincoat and hood.

A young George Russell, later notable for formulating the Lydian Concept, grew up listening to Marable's music.

Fate was a relative of the drummer Larance Marable.

This clip isn't of Fate Marable but of one of his Alumni, Dewey "Squirrel" Jackson, born in St. Louis on June 21, 1900, Jackson was a jazz trumpet legend. He started his professional music career as a teenager in the Odd Fellows Band and in the Tommy Evans Band. Known as one of the most powerful trumpet players in the city, he not only worked with fellow bandleaders Fate Marable and Charlie Creath as early as 1919, but also led his own bands on the riverboats, which traveled to New Orleans and Pittsburgh, into the 1930s.

Ronnie Mathews (piano) 1935-2008  :: Ronnie Mathews was an American jazz pianist who worked with Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978 - 1979. His most recent work was in 2008, as both a mentor and musician with "Generations", a group of jazz musicians headed by veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb. He contributed two new compositions to the album that was released by San Francisco State University's International Center for the Arts on September 15, 2008.

According to the New York Daily News, "Ronnie Mathews (is) another stalwart figure who has yet to receive the proper recognition." Critics have compared him to fellow pianists Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, with a sprinkle of McCoy Tyner.

In his twenties, Mathews toured internationally and recorded with Roach, Freddie Hubbard and Roy Haynes. He was also a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s through the 60's. By thirty, he began teaching jazz piano and led workshops, clinics and master classes at Long Island University in New York City. Besides Dexter Gordon and Clark Terry, he toured and recorded on two Louis Hayes projects in the 70's (i.e. the Louis Hayes-Woody Shaw Quintet and the Louis Hayes-Junior Cook Quintet).

One of the highlights of his career, and one of his longest associations, was with the Johnny Griffin Quartet. For almost five years (1978-1982) he was an integral part of this band and forged lasting relationships with Griffin, Kenny Washington (drums) and Ray Drummond (bass). The New York Times described Mathews as "a constant and provocative challenge to Mr. Griffin. [...He] is the energizer of the group". One of the few Johnny Griffin recordings that features Mathews' original compositions is "To the Ladies" (Galaxy).

In the 80's, Mathews began honing his role as a front man. He performed as a leader in duo, trio and quartet configurations around the world (from New York City to Genova, to the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, and more). He also toured with Freddie Hubbard and Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Band. Mathews was also involved in cross-media projects: he was pianist for the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, Black and Blue in 1989, and, in 1990, he was one of the artists who recorded for Spike Lee's movie, Mo' Better Blues.

After a stint touring and recording with the Clifford Jordan Big Band in the early 90's, Mathews joined T.S. Monk for eight years of touring and recording. The Chicago Tribune stated that "The soul of the band [...] is pianist Ronnie Mathews, whose angular romanticism provides the horn players with a lush and spicy foundation for their improvising".

Wynton Kelly (piano) 1931-1971 ::  Wynton Charles Kelly  was a Jamaican American jazz pianist. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959 to 1962.

He started his professional career in 1943, initially as a member of R&B groups. Around this time he also played organ in local churches. R&B bands that he played with up to 1951 included those led by Ray Abrams, Hot Lips Page, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.

Kelly became better known after joining Dinah Washington's band in 1951, going on to record 14 titles for Blue Note in his trio in the same year. After this he played with bands led by Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie, recording with the latter in 1952. Kelly was drafted into the army in September 1952, and stayed for two years, ending that period with a music performance for an audience of 10,000 in the Chastain Memorial Park Amphitheater in Atlanta, Georgia. After leaving the military, Kelly worked with Washington again (1955–1957), Charles Mingus (1956–1957), and the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band (1957), before leaving Gillespie and forming his own trio, which then recorded the second album under Kelly's name, more than six years after the first.

He would, however, be most famous for his stint with Miles Davis from 1959 to 1963, recording such albums with him as Kind of Blue, At the Blackhawk, and Someday My Prince Will Come. On 1959's Kind of Blue, Kelly replaced Bill Evans on the track "Freddie Freeloader". Kelly likewise appeared on a single track from John Coltrane's Giant Steps, replacing Tommy Flanagan on "Naima". When he left Davis, Kelly took the rest of the rhythm section (bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb) with him to form his trio. This trio also joined Wes Montgomery, appearing on three of the guitarist's albums, including Full House and Smokin' at the Half Note. Kelly recorded as a leader for Blue Note, Riverside Records, Vee-Jay, Verve, and Milestone.

As always if today is your birthday then make it the best that you can, Jazzling, and may the coming year be one that helps lead you towards your dreams!

Thanks to AAJ & JBC for the guidance,

Respect to the YouTube Massive for the uploads,

Hugs, cuddles and shoulder bumps, c'mere guys! Thanks to you all, Inspiration Crew for following the blog and doing all that crazy, brilliant magic stuff you do!

And thanks to YOU for jus' passin' thru'

AS Bruce Lee advised, Be Water,

Walk tall,

Speak low,

Go placidly