[ Louis Metcalfe Orch ], (Studio Orch) (40's)
      [ Louis Metcalf & his International Orchestra ]
b. d. 1981, New York, NY, USA.
Overview
In 1946, Black American trumpeter Louis Metcalf started his "International Orchestra' in Montreal. He had already worked with such jazz legends as pianists Jelly Roll Morton and Willie 'The Lion' Smith. He had worked with the Fletcher Henderson band and also had recorded many songs with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He even had a nightclub of his own briefly. In 1945, while touring with a band that he had been leading at the 'Downbeat', on New York's 52nd Street, he began to think of touring Canada too. He visited Canada in 1946, and discovered that immigration laws prevented him from using U.S. musicians. Noting the great amount of jazz talent then in Montreal, he decided to form a band composed of local musicians. Curiously, Louis is now recalled as the leader of Canada's first 'bebop'band, and not so much for his fine earlier work in the U.S.

Metcalf's first band's front line was composed of Leader Louis Metcalf (age 40, Black and part Cherokee) on Trumpet and vocals; Benny Winestone (39, white Scotch immigrant) on Tenor sax; Jiro "Butch" Watanabe (21, Canadian of Japanese ancestry) on trombone; Harold "Steep" Wade (28, Black Canadian - West Indian parents) on piano; Al King (29, Black mixed American-Mexican) on Bass; Gilbert "Buck" Lacombe (24, Black Canadian) on Guitar, and Wilkie Wilkinson (24, white Canadian, Swedish Parents) on Drums. Their repertoire consisted of Bebop, Dixieland, and Swing era tunes. The Band was able to secure steady booking at the Cafe St.Michel, a club, that specialized in presenting Black entertainment. The St. Michel was located on the second floor over a bar called 'The Snake Pit', that also had jamm sessions from time to time, although the bar's patrons were a very rough, shadowy crowd. Within three months, by May 1946, two important changes occurred. Violinist Willy Girard (a White French Canadian) joined the band, and Tenor Sax man Herb Johnson (of mixed Black American and Canadian descent) replaced Benny Winestone. (Sadly, both Wade and Wilkinson were Heroin addicts. This meant that the pair could not travel widely with the band for fear of losing the sources of supply.)

This band became a 'staple' of the Cafe St.Michel on Mountain Street, across from the 'Rockhead's Paradise' club, also on the second floor. Twice nightly (thrice on Saturdays), the band backed up the club's entertainers. A great many black musicians would visit the club to hear the band. These included such men as Bassist Bob Rudd, who had been a sideman with the Lucky Thompson and Noble Sissle bands in the U.S. The young Oscar Peterson was a frequent visitor, he even used both King and Wilkinson on some of his 1947 trio recordings. It is interesting to note that while the band was pioneering the ReBop music of Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie, the bandsmen were equally inspired by the music of the white American leader Stan Kenton. Johnson so admired Kenton, that he re-orchestrated many of Kenton's Big Band arrangements for the Metcalf band. Whenever Kenton's band appeared at the Forumn or the Chez Maurice Danceland, Metcalf would arrange for the band to take an hour off so that they could run uptown to listen the Kenton orchestra. Later, Kenton's men would return the compliment by going downtown to hear the Metcalf band. Kenton's bassist, Eddie Safransky, often sat in with the band, and even coached the band in one of Johnson's arrangements of a Kenton tune.

The work at St. Michel was very demanding. The shows changed every other week, and the band had to meet the new acts and run through the new music that was needed. The other weekday afternoons were used for band rehearsals (unpaid, and members were fined for non-attendence). On weekends, the music was virtually non-stop. Saturdays brought the band in for an early 9PM show, followed by the regualr 11PM and 1:15AM shows. At 3AM the club's breakfast dance began. By 9AM (after 12 hours on the bandstand), the musicians finally would pack up and leave the club. Many Montreal clubs held 'Jam Sessions' on Sunday afternoons. At the St. Michel, Metcalf organized the session. Door admissions went to the band, while the club profited on the drinks. Ending at 7PM, the musicians were back for the usual two shows Sunday night. Montreal bands kept this up seven nights per week - six weeks in a row, then took one week off. Since the 'week off' was without pay, the bands would hustle for gigs elsewhere.

When the band finally disbanded, it took about one full year to breakup. In 1949, the Club St. Michel was up for sale. Metcalf made an offer, but failed in his attempt. In August 1949, he left the club for an appearance at the El Patio nightclub, and later also worked at another nightclub called the Casino Francais. And while they found much work, things were never the same again. The men were exhausted by the gruelling three years of work they had done while developing the band at the St. Michel, and a wave of desertions followed the move out. During the year, Wade, Wilkinson and Girard all left the band. The loss of Girard was particulary sad, for there was no one in the jazz community who could take his place. In 1947, Metcalf told a 'Downbeat Magazine' reporter:
"I've played with them all - Eddie South, Stuff Smith, Ray Nance - and I'll put Girard up against any or all of them. He's absolutely sensational! I'm not alone in that opinion either. Willy Girard is perhaps the only white musician prior to Django Reinhardt offered a spot by Duke Ellington. When Cab Calloway heard him he cam back every night and raved."
Girard once turned down a Dizzy Gillespie offer to take him to New York City. But Girard did once take a short vacation trip to New York where he impressed 'Little Jazz' Roy Eldridge and pianist Thelonius Monk with his work at one of their jam sessions. Having lost their steady engagement, the band moved from gig to gig, with chairs rotating from a pool of musicians. The continuity of the bands music was now lost.

On Nov. 13, 1950, Metcalf, Winestone and King went to Ottawa to attend a Louis Armstrong concert. The car was stopped by the RCMP near Dorion, Quebec, and several marijuana cigarettes were found, resulting in the arrest of the three musicians. That same night, the Montreal apartment of Sadik Hakim, then the band's drummer, was raided, and he too was arrested for marijuana possession. Ten days later, the four were found guilty at their trial and were sentenced to six months in jail. In December, the four were expelled from the Montreal Musician's Union. Winestone, disappeared for a while, and a few years later re-appeared working again in Montreal. Metcalf, Hakim, and King were deported to the U.S. Sakik Hakim eventually returned to Canada in 1966, remaining for about 10 years, where he did some radio and club work as well as recording albums and was an important part of the Montreal Jazz scene. Metcalf never returned to Canada. King was never heard from again.

SIDENOTE Re: Benny Winestone:
In private correspondence, Mr. Jack Fortin, recalling the time when the band was caught with Marijuana and a number of them were sent to jail,...and Benny disappeared.

       "In actual fact, Benny went up to Rouyn, Quebec, where my brother, Eddy
       'Shorty' Fortin, had the band at The Radio Hotel, - and played there for quite
       a while. I was a young newly enlisted RCAF type, and had gone back to my
       home town. Benny was in the band then. His ulcers were bothering him
       so badly that he had a quart of milk, and a box of Cow Brand Baking Soda on
       the bandstand, and was dosing himself with liberal quantities of it to ease
       the pain. He was a superb tenor player with a big, gutsy sound and must
       have been some kind of player in his younger days. Years later I would
       see Benny at the Town Tavern trying to pass some chord changes written on
       a match package to Stan Getz. The next time I saw him was on the street
       the day after Jimmy Dorsey had died. I said hello to him and he
       recognized me, and with tears in his eyes told me of Jimmy Dorsey passing
       away. (He also said a few nasty things about Tommy Dorsey). Normie Amadio
       was the young piano player from Timmins Ontario (17 yrs old I believe) who
       worked with my brother for a while in Rouyn. As well, another excellent
       piano player by the name of George Hartrick worked with the band for quite
       a while, --former Navy Band, I believe and a very good arranger. Shorty
       went from Rouyn to Toronto where he did a few recordings with Cliff MacKay.
       and then to Montreal where he did MC work, and on to Florida as well.
       Becoming disenchanted with the music business he went into the insurance
       business. He retired, and lives (2004) in Fort Erie, Ontario."
The BigBands Database Plus thanks Mr Jack Fortin, brother of bandleader Eddy "Shorty" Fortin, for graciously sharing some of his memories of Winestone, and the Fortin band, at around the time Winestone left Metcalf.

      Henri Miro
né: Enrique Miro
Here's a photograph of Spanish born Henri Miro, who was active in the musical scene in Montreal from the turn of the twentieth century. Miro enjoyed moderate local and national success as a composer and director of concert music and musical theatre, and was featured on radio broadcasts and popular recordings.

Henri Miro was raised and educated in Spain. His given name was Enrique; it isn't known when he adopted the name Henri. His father, a music director with the Spanish army, was his first music instructor.

At the age of eight, Henri sang as a choirboy at the Montserrat Basilica, an important Spanish music school. He moved to the Barcelona Conservatory of Music when he was sixteen to study under professor Benvenido Socias. There Miro studied violin, piano and organ as well as composition and harmony. During this early stage in his career, he wrote songs, operettas, and religious music.

Miro gained experience in short-term positions in Europe. He was a rehearsal pianist and coach with a theatre in Milan, Italy in 1894 and then with the Barcelona Opera Company. In 1898 he toured France as director of an opera company. He then travelled from Europe to North America and found a brief engagement with the orchestra of the Hotel Criterion in New York. By early 1901 (possibly as early as 1899), Miro settled in Montreal, where he was offered the post of orchestral director of the Eldorado cafe. He spent the remainder of his career in Montreal.
The Big Bands Database Plus thanks Mr. Verne Buland for this entry on Henri Miro.

      [ The Modernaires ], (40's)
Homer Watson: b. Jan. 29, 1912 Toronto, Canada, d. Dec. 15, 1997, Toronto, Canada
né: Harold Homer Watson. (Christening error, was to be Homer Harold Watson)
Originally a Co-op band with Homer Watson, trombone, fronting as the Leader. Homer got his start with some "non-union" bands including 'Bus Browne and His Boys' in the 1930's, but did obtain his Musician's Union Card on January 1, 1937.

The Original sidemen included: drums: Russ Farr; bass: Vic Goring; guitar: Jimmy Nesbit piano: Roy Paterson; Trombone: Homer Watson; trumpets: Vern Graham, Bob Peer; saxes: Ken Adamson, Bob Mews, George Naylor, Cliff Flaherty; Vocals: Mary Bates, Norm Taylor.

The band ceased being Co-op after 2 years. At that time, Roy Paterson took over as Leader and arranger. During WW2, many of the original members left. A few of the replacements were; trombones: Murray Ginsburg, Teddy Rodderman; trumpets: Fred Davies, Bill Saila, Ernie Van Raalte, Art Oakley; saxes: Nick Crosti, Gord Evans, Phil Antonacci; drums: Sonny Hart, Lee Raeburn. Vocals: Mary Bates (who had returned after a stint with 'The Navy Show').
Note: Roy Paterson died after a gig in Lindsay, Ontario on June 1998 (this information was supplied by his wife Evelyn).
The Big Bands Database warmly thanks Mr. Ernie Van Raalte -one of the Modernaires - for sending this information.

      [ Gav Morton's Orch. ]
Theme: "Dream", lyric and music by Johnny Mercer
All during the 1930s and '40s, Gav Morton's Orchestra was the house band of the Brant Inn in Burlington, ON, Canada. Morton had a distinct treatment for his big-band arrangements. He used a prominent counter-melody featuring unison saxophones in the lower register. This very tasty arrangement was aired at least once a week at the start of his cross-Canada radio program.

      [ Ferde Mowry Orch ], (50's)
Instrument: Tenor Sax.
In 1930, while still in High School, Ferde formed a little band with his fellow students that played around locally (Peterboro, Ont.). In 1932, the band was booked into Toronto's Embassy Club. This little band is notable for two of it's sidemen, Gordon Braund and pianist Frank Bogart. In later years, both formed bands of their own.

      [ Vern McInniss
b: Feb. 27, 1916, Regina, Sask, Canada. d: Carlsbad, Canada
In private correspondence, Ray McInniss, Vern's son, has mentioned that his dad learned to play the trumpet in his home town school, and also played in school band. Vern's orchestra played Bowen Island, B.C. in late 1930's early '40's. Played some of the Coke shows with Mart Kenny's band during the war. Played at The Casa Loma in Toronto and The Brant Inn.

Ray has said,
       "I remember, as a kid, meeting Rudy Vallee at the Brant Inn when my
       father played there with him, also Louis Armstrong, although I did not get
       to meet him. My dad played on the S.S. Cayuga on Lake Ontario (working out
       of Toronto). Played at the Alexandria Hotel in Vancouver and elsewhere,
       also in Quebec at The Chateau Laurier and the Frontinac. (My dad met my
       mother there.) He got out of full time music in the late 1940's early
       '50's. I guess my mom wanted a more steady type of life rather than
       traveling from east to west all the time. I believe that was when he was
       playing the Casa Loma and on the boat."