Hi texas, nice to hear from some one who knew pete. Something tells me my dad had a high regard for phil too, I was named after him!! And talking of great drummers check out Dave Weckl, he's nearly as good as pete!!
Yes Texas you did see Eddie Condon.
I always remember his cure for a cold"You take the juice from a quart of whisky..........".
I think in the same band it was Billie Butterfield on cornet.
It is so long ago and very hazy.
Was that the Jack Teagarden concert that had ,Condon Kaminsky/Butterfield.Maybe someone has a program for that and could look it up
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Thanks Harlan for putting me straight about Langhorne and Les Gilbert, I did get both names wrong.
It does seem such a long, long time ago.
I remember Phil Seaman playing a piece of his own called 'Able Seaman Phil' and it was brilliant although he was on drugs at the time which didn't seem to affect his skill on the drums.
He later went on to teach Ginger Baker the renowned Flim Flam expert and horse breeder as well as playing in the Cream group.
Hey mozo, did you ever know of Alec, Alec Wyatt, the piano player with the Barry Whitworth Quintet/Savoy Quintet? He was a character. He used to have this little notebook with all the chord changes propped up on the front of the piano, it annoyed the crap out of Barry, very uncool. Last time I saw him he was trying to wangle some way to see Tubby Hayes without paying, the gig was in a pub near Bournmouth, and he was contemplating climbing through the toilet window!
And sweetdexter, please dont tell me I've seen Billy Butterfield and dont remember it, Al Zeimer must be knocking on my door.
popT, did you ever see Ginger Baker with the Graham Bond Organisation, brilliant! He had a Chinese Cymbal on his kit hanging vertical, the sound was terrific.
Hi Texas,Like i say it is all hazy.I know at one of the concerts 'I Can't Get Started'. was played, I remember this was one of Billie Butterfields masterpieces,.Maybe I am just imagining it. the grey matter is diminishing at a rapid rate.
Do any of you remeber a time when American big bands couldn't play in UK cos the Musicians union didn't like it. A bunch of us got on a boat to Dublin to see Stan Kenton. Sheffield had a very big trad club in those days but we were all modern jazz fans.
One night downstairs at the City Hall we were enjoying Kathy Stobart's group. She was a brilliant tenor sax, which was unusual for a girl in those days, when an official came down from the concert hall to complain that the jazz was interfering with the symphony going on upstairs. How he escaped with his life I'll never know. I went to Ronnie Scotts in London, which I believe is still going. By the way I think Diana Krall is great. Wish I could get tickets but they're always sold out.
ooh yes i know alec meet him a couple of time tried to get freebies from me at work, is he still around?. another guy i remember is bob cant remember his second name, used to run mr kites in town for a while, also had a second hand shop on the corner of crooksmoor rd, he had stacks of old jazz recordings taken from american radio stations in the fifties!!!
I could't say if Alec is still around mozo, the 'toilet window' incident was nearly 40 years ago, and I was long gone from Sheffield before that. I hope he is though, still counting his money. I did hear that Nev Reaney was still playing, not much different from the late 50's, but playing none the less. Probably the same reed!
I thought of an incident involving Pete that made me smile. He used to have this beat up old van, and it hadn't any windshield washers, so he kept a plastic squigee bottle full of water so he could lean out the window and squirt water on the windshield and then operate the wipers. Quite a complicated process doing about 40mph down Barber Road. I was in the passenger seat when he decided he couldn't see clearly. I thought he was leaving.
I saw Stan Kenton at the City Hall.
We were in the cheap seats behind the stage,first row right behind the french horn players(can't remember if there were one or two).
It was still an enjoyable experience.
Does anyone remember seeing George Lewis?
Hello all you jazzers.
Here are a few bits of info. I saw Louis at the Earls Court Hall in London in 1956. He had Edmund Hall on clarinet with Barrett Deems on drums. The next time I saw Louis Was in Sheffield in 1959. This time he had Peanuts Hucko on clarinet and Danny Barcelona od drums. The last time I saw him was at Batley Variety Club. I think that was late 60s. I am not very sure about the line up But I seem to remember Tyree Glen on trombone.Joe Darrensberg on clarinet and I think it was somebody Napoleon on the piano. I will try to dig up some more to tell next time.
Hello Sprite,thanks for those memories!and I remember Trummy Young on trombone and bassist Arvell Shaw, and Louis's mountain of clean handerkerchiefs in the top of the grand piano,using one after every number, and the lip salve.Mention has been of Sydney Bechet, and his visit to the City Hall, his playing knocked us out, and George Webb was sat in front of us going crazy with Bechets wonderful playing,swing?did'nt he just.On a more sombre note I saw one of Sydney Bechets final public concerts in Brussels in 1958, he died some months later a true Giant of Jazz
Reading your post buck, of the 21st, regarding the Stan Kenton trip to Dublin, made me wonder if there's anybody else around who made that journey. I didn't go I must admit, I think I'd only just got out of the military or something. What year was it exactly? I remember some guy telling me all about it, and I'm like 'Wha','Wha', really green with envy. I did get to the City Hall concert though, a few years later. I was sitting behind the stage for that one, right behind the 'Man' himself. I remember Mel Lewis leaning over to Curtis Counce the bass player and saying something like'Whaddya wan' it in, big red balls? Presumably he was talking about the score and Mr Counce misreading something.
It was Marty Napoleon on piano,sprite. He was with Louis Armstrong around that time.
Hi Texas Nice to hear these stories, sounds about right for Pete!
unfortunately only got to meet dad again for a few years before he died, so we had a lot to catch up on and sadly not enough time.
mozo
1)re Nev Reaney - heard recently that he'd had a heart attack.
2) re Alex Wyatt - for many years he fronted the Jazz Preservation Society band at the Norfolk Arms Ringinglow on Friday nights. Last I heard of him was that he was very ill.
Ralph Salt - remember him? - he still plays a t the Chequers Whiston on Wednesday nights.
Hello jazzers,
Regarding Eddie Condons band .Wild Bill Davison cornet, Bob Wilber Clarinet,Cutty Cutshall Trombone,Dick Cary Piano, Jack Lesberg bass . Wild Bill also played with Mick Shaw in Sheffield, as did Billy Butterfield.I also remember the Steel City Stompers booking Alex Welsh and his band to play at the Albert Hotel in Barkers Pool for the sum of £40.
,Lawd a' mercy drainpipe, ain't you got any good news? Ralph Salt, the name dont ring any bells. Who he?
And sprite,SPRITE, you are doing my head in, are you saying that the Condon Mob you mention, played the City Hall? When was that?
I got a story that Ray Hollingsworth told me regarding Wild Bill, he was hanging out with him in New York for a couple of days when he was working the ships from Southampton. They left this club where Wild Bill was working, and, well ******, they went back to Bills apartment (with a couple of chicas). When the cab drew up outside the building, Bill fell out of the cab, accidentaly falling onto his trumpet (which was in a paper bag), and doing it a lot of damage. They got up to the apartment eventually, Bill got on the 'phone, to the company who made the horn, and within the the hour, they'd delivered a brand new instrument! Now that's what I call service!
hi Texas - Ralph Salt's been around for about 40 years - he's into Miles Davis and Bill Evans sort of stuff. He used to be a perpetrator of middle nines and 13 bar blues but he seems to have lost that now.Royston Davies plays bass with him.
Thanks sprite for the info.
I was completly wrong with the Condon Band .
I dont know were I got Kaminsky,Butterfield from.
I wish I could revisit that time again, knowing what I know now.I was a 16 year old who knew b***er all.
A very interesting thread guys. I don't think anyone has mentioned the Back O'Town Syncopators who I believe played trad at Nether Edge Hall amongst others circa 1963/4. This also brings to mind the dance that the hippy types indulged in - was it the Skip Jive - a slow, high stepping dance.
Did anyone ever lodge at Mrs Carnell's place on Broomgrove Road (opposite the 'naughty girls' home). The low point of the week was the weekly serving of Fred's stew - a disgusting concoction . Fred, the "chef", was frequently seen well oiled in the Porter Lodge down Sharrow Vale.
