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NFO.NET BIG BANDS DATABASE PLUS
A W  rld of Information!
U.S.A.
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| DATABASES | ARCHIVES | RESOURCES | INSTRUCTION | CONTACT US |
| American Band's Alphabetical Index |
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NFO.NET BIG BANDS DATABASE PLUS
A W rld of Information!
U.S.A.
|
| DATABASES | ARCHIVES | RESOURCES | INSTRUCTION | CONTACT US |
| American Band's Alphabetical Index |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
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Al also contributed some music (usually uncredited) to perhaps a dozen or so films and TV shows. Among the TV shows to which Al contributed music are:
Among the films to which Al contributed music are:
For the Cartoon "Melody Time", Al contributed music in collaboration with another bandleader/composer, Vic Schoen ( b. March 26, 1916, New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA, d. Jan. 5, 2000, Corona del Mar, CA, USA. -pneumonia). CAUTION; Do not confuse this "Al Sack" with other men with similar names. For example, there was an "Al Sacks" (note the "s") who was active in film distribution. And, - watch out for the "possessive 's" as in "Al Sack's Orchestra.
They were now touring around the Mid-West and playing with George Shearing and the Kingston Trio, among others. The band, and sometimes individual members of the band, could be found playing in various Chicago nightclubs, such as The Red Arrow. PLEASE NOTE: We originally wrote that The Red Arrow was owned by Mobster Ralph Capone (Al's brother) and he ran his illegal Jukebox and Vending Machine operations from this club. The band (and individual sidemen) were heard in many other Chicago clubs, such as the Blue Note, the Hunt Club, and such.
The Salty Dog Band has several CD's available (ca. 1985) - on the Stomp Off Records Label - playing some very hot Dixieland Jazz, with tunes like "Coal Cart Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", "Down In Honky Town", "Mobile Stomp", "Sweet Lorraine", "Let's Get Drunk and Strut", "Brush Stomp" and others. It's great music, and should be in your collection.
In 1933, when he was just age 19, he formed a string quartet that achieved national fame. The quartet, which had been a regular feature on local WCAU Philadelphia radio, a CBS affiliate, was soon heard over the entire CBS coast-to-coast network. . He left WCAU when station KYW offered him more money to direct their 'studiio' band, which would in time metamorphose into 'Jan Savitt and his Top Hatters' orchestra. In 1937, the 'Top Hatters' began recording for Victor Records, with the band featuring a "shuffle rhythm" in their performances (''shuffle rhythm'' was a device, which featured a piano (or band serctions) playing double time), which was not only a pleasant sound, but also served to give the band a distinctive sound in comparison to many of the other swing bands. In 1939, the band began recording tor the Decca label. Savitt got along very well with his bandsmen. They respected each others abilities. The vocalists were a young Black singer, George Tunnell ( one of the first African-Americans to work with a white band) styling himself as " Bon Bon". He had previously led his own trio called "The Three Keys". Sadly, Bon-Bon had to endure the racial discrimination of the era. and, often signed in as the band's valet, so that he could stay at the same hotel as the other bandsmen. The "girl' singer was Carlotta Dale. Very little is known about Dale, an exceptional singer whose career extended from 1937 to her retirement in the 1940s, In early 1937, while returning from a Country club date in the Philadelphia suburbs, Carlotta was injured.when she somehow got thrown out of the car that Jan Savitt was driving, and this accident shortened her career. An interesting sidelight to this accident is that she was taken to a hospital where she was treated by Dr. John T. Dorrance, the man who, in 1897, had invented condensed soup for Campbell's Soup Company. (At the time, Dr. Dorrance was the 24-year-old nephew of Arthur Dorrance, the general manager of the Campbell company,) She worked with pianist Jess Stacy in 1938 (recording in 1939, ,"Melancholy Mood" and "What's new". Stacy did not have a working band, he was a member of the Bob Crosby band, and it was only a recording date he had landed). In 1939, with trombonist Will Bradley's band, she recorded "Fit to Be Tied", "Gotta Get Home.", "I Thought About You" "It's a Wonderful World ", " Make with the Kisses ", "Mean to Me", "This Changing World " and "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance" (recorded with Bradley in 1939 and again in 1940). Other tunes she recorded with Bradley in 1940 included "So Far So Good", and "Watching the Clock" But perhaps, she is best recalled for her work with "Jan Savitt and His Top Hatters". All during 1938 - 1939, she was heard on radio broadcasts with Savitt;s orchestra. When Carlotta died on Dec 1, 1988 (b. 1915), she left a recorded legacy of nearly 50 songs. After Carlotta, Jan hired other 'girl' singers, the most notable of which was a young lady by the name of Gloria DeHaven, who was to go on to a hollywood acting career. Savitt's most popular song was called "720 In the Books", --because they did not have any name for the song and because that was it's real number in the Savitt "book". "Bon Bon" is heard on the vocal. Another of the band's hits was Tuxedo Junction, an instrumental version of one of the Swing Era's most popular tunes. Near the end of 1948, Jan died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 40.
The Sultans had some excellent sidemen with a front line of Cooper on both sax and clarinet, Sam Massenberg on trumpet, Rudy Williams on alto sax, and George Kelly on tenor sax. The back line rhythm section had Cyril Haynes on piano, Grachan Moncur on the bass (Cooper's half-brother and father of Grachan Moncur, III), and Razz Mithcell on drums. This small band had a tight, swinging sound and maintained both their popularity and the personnel until disbanding in 1946. Stylistically, the group's dance music had an affinity with other small groups of that same time period, - it was not the full, big band sound of the swing era. There was an echo of the band in 1974. David "Panama" Francis, formed a small band modelled on Al Cooper's original Sultans. From the late 1970s through the '90s, Panama Francis and his Savoy Sultans, which regularly included George Kelly in it's ranks, revived the spark and sounds of the original but with their very own exciting brand of swinging jazz.
In the 1950s, television became the mainstay of his work. His arrangements were used by bands, which he occasionally conducted, for TV shows starring Pat Boone, Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, and Andy Williams. He was the Musical Director for "The Big Record" TV series of shows, and during that time, he and fellow leader Les Brown worked on a suite for two big bands which they later recorded on the album Impact! He was also producing some RCA Stereo Action albums Among his recordings are:
There is an interesting quote extant from Schory's 1960 writings:
Bob Scobey first came to prominence as a member of Lu Watter's Yerba Buena Jazz Band from 1940 to 1949 with time out for military service during World War II. Based in San Francisco this band made their first records for the 'Jazz Man Record Company' in the late 1940's. By 1949 he had formed his first band, known as 'Alexander's Jazz Band' and played a major engagement at Victor & Roxie's Club in Oakland. The band consisted of Scobey, Burt Bales (p), Clancy Hayes (banjo and vocals), Jack Buck (tb), and George Probert (c). By 1950, he had changed the band's name to the 'Bob Scobey's Frisco Band' and had made the first of many records for the 'Good Time Jazz' label. He also recorded with Matty Malneck and Bing Crosby ('Bing With A Beat', RCA LPM-1473; 1957). During his career Scobey recorded for Good Time Jazz, RCA and Verve. In 1961 he opened his own nightclub, The Bourbon Club, in Chicago. In 1962 the band made a successful European tour. Upon returning to Chicago he was admitted to Caldwell Hospital for surgery on a perforated ulcer. Afterwards, it was discovered that he had cancer. He died the following summer. (An illustrated biography of Bob Scobey has been written by his wife Jan. Titled 'He Rambled -'Til Cancer Cut Him Down' ($45.00 from Jan Scobey Hot Jazz, Box 6, Upper Lake, CA 94585)
When they played the Savoy Ballroom in 1928, the band had Dicky Wells on trombone; Frankie Newton on 1st trumpet and Bill Coleman on 2nd trumpet; Don Frye, piano; John Williams and Harold McFerran were on saxes.
This child piano prodigy concurrently followed two loves: Music and Science. Over a half-century, he worked publicly as a bandleader and composer, while simultaneoulsy working with electronics. He probably invented the first synthesizer, and did much of his work on his own homemade MIDI setup. He worked on both music and electronics up until 1987 when he suffered his first of a total of 6 strokes which would eventually severely damage his ability to speak, and leave him unable to do any more serious music or electronic work. His 1937-1939 Sextet (actually called The Raymond Scott Quintet - Raymond was the sixth man) was more popular than his later orchestra. The sextet, immensely popular on records and radio, was known as "The bigglest Little Band in the World", and played such Scott creations as "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals", "Huckleberry Duck", "Twilight in Turkey", "War Dance for Wooden Indians", "The Toy Trumpet", "Egyptian Barn Dance", "New Year's Eve In A Haunted House", "Celebration on The Planet Mars", "In an Eighteenth Century Drawing Room", "Siberian Sleighride", and a charming little ditty called "Dedicatory PIece To The Crew and Passengers Of The First Experimental Rocket To The Moon". Warner Brothers Pictures purchased a good deal of Raymond's "book" and his tunes were very widely used in the Warner Brothers Cartoon releases. Scott took no part in this, instead, his tunes were added to the soundtrack by such men as Carl Stalling, Winston Sharples, and John Kricfalusi. Sharples adding Scott's music to the 'Batfink' cartoon series, Stalling to the Bugs Bunny series, and Kricfaluse to a crime-fighting chihuahua dog character. Ray was a harsh taskmaster, insisting for example, that his quintet memorize huge passages which he conceived on the piano. This perfectionism, coupled with his unique conceptions, resulted in a very distinct musical sound for the 1930's era. It was not popular with jazz purists though (they called it "screwy music") because it didn't allow for improvisation. In later life Scott began to invent electronic gadgetry which he developed in his own experimental electronics lab. Robert Moog, credited with inventing the synthesizer, says that Scott invented the first one. Moog worked for Scott and said Scott was an absolute madman but a creative genius. In 1939, he formed his 'big band'. Ray's 1944 orchestra had such top sidemen as Les Elgart and Charlie Shavers (trumpets); Specs Powell (drums); Tony Mottola (guitar); Isreal Crosby (Bass) and Ben Webster on Sax. He 'discovered' a young vocalist - Dorothy Collins, who lived with Ray and Pearl, his first wife. Later, Ray divorced Pearl (married 1935-'50), and Dorothy was to become Mrs Scott. They were divorced some years later with Dorothy going to California and Ray staying in NYC. (He eventually went west also.) Mitzy Scott became his third wife in 1967. Here's some more extensive information on Raymond Scott, as listed in the Composers Database.
Among the the Leaders/Directors active at the time (recording for Perfect, Banner, Plaza, RCA, as well as for other labels at the same time) were men such as Adrian Schubert, Sam and Lester Lanin, Nathan Glantz, Ben Selvin, Vincent Lopez, and Lou Gold. Very often the same band would record under two (or more) names. For an example, Lou Gold could have used a group of musicians to record in the morning, and in the afternoon (after lunch), the same group would be back in the studio recording different songs under a different director and band name. From a consideration of all the above, one can see how difficult it is to sort out just who recorded what! But one fact is certain. Adrian Schubert was very active all during the 1920s and made a great many recordings under both his own name...and other names. The 'Al Alberts Orchestra' was one of the pseudonyms used for "his" band. Schubert, together with such other leaders as Vincent Lopez, Lou Gold and the Lanins were well known and immensely popular. To amplify this concept, - consider the list of sidemen shown below. These 'studio' musicians were recording all through the 1920s for releases under the Banner, Cameo, Perfect, Plaza and Compo and many other labels. (This is only a small sampling of the musicians active in the studios from 1920 through to 1930s.) These men were always in and out of the recording studios. Sometimes, the name of a sideman was "attached" to a recording. In this way, if the Oriole label issued a song by the Lou Gold Orchestra, their subsidiary might issue the very same recording under the "Willie Creager Orchestra" name.
The recordings made by these men were released under a host of orchestra pseudonyms.
To further see this 'jumble' in action, one may consider the workings of the Scranton (PA) Button Company, who, between 1923 and 1930, released a number of records under the Jewel, Oriole and Challenge labels. They also exchanged material with the Pathe and Cameo labels. Many times the band listed (for example) as the "Dixie Jazz Band", was just another pseudonym used by the 'Adrian Schubert Orch.', AND the same DJB name was also used by other totally different groups. So we can see that labels such as Ajax, Banner, Oriole, and others were releasing dance records often with differing band names for the very same band. (Banner began producing 'Electrical Recordings in 1925.) And, the Banner, Cameo and Perfect labels were swapping recordings -at random! (In addition to which, Banner was supplying an English label, Imperial, with a great many of Imperial's releases. The 'Imperial Dance Orchestra' as well as the 'Majestic Dance Orchestra' were the Imperial label's pseudonym for Banner studio recordings by the "Adrian Schubert Orch.".) To see how the very same song and orchestra was released on different labels with differing credits, consider this one example. The tune "It's In The Morning", was released on:
As seen from the above, all these men were really part of a larger group of musicians all of whom were working together in the recording studios. Any early releases were simply the same group of men under a different band pseudonym. As can be seen, sorting out the 'who' and the 'what' can be a fascinating game.
To name just a few of the other songs recorded under the Adrian Schubert name are:
And as shown above, Adrian Schubert's Orch., was also heard under a great many pseudonyms such as the Rialto Dance Orch., and many more. Adrian also composed some tunes, but the only one I have definitely tracked is the song "Jazzie Addie" composed by Adrian Schubert, and recorded on March 2, 1918 by the Yerkes Jazzarimba Orchestra for Columbia Records (77702-2) |
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eMail/Webmaster: [ mlp@nfo.net ] murray pfeffer
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