Solar Bell

What a great sound Jonah always had.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i_Q-CA4hD...=jonah%20jones

-cw-

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brian moon

Great! Thanks Chuck

NickD

OK, Jones was spectacular! What fine trumpet work.

But, what the heck was up with Cab Calloway???? What a moron! I'm sorry, but that clowning was utterly unecessary! In fact, it was an indignity vistied upon a brilliant trumpeter in an effrot to justify some band leader's existance.

I realize that guys like Calloway provided a venue for exposure for some fine musicians, but if there ever was an example of some guy inserting himself into the scene in a silly way, this is it. Why didn't Calloway just count the band off and get out of the way?

In an effort to be be balanced, perhaps the shows producers insist that Calloway do this. Also, perhaps they did more than one number and Calloway felt the need to be there, schtiking away, the whole time. I dunno though, it just got under my skin.

Thanks Chuck for the great video! Jones did have a glorious sound and style about him, along with some dignity!

Peace.

Nick

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Manny Laureano

I dunno, Nick... it just looked to me like Cab being Cab. His inability to stay still while the music played was his way. He wasn't like Duke Ellington for whom elegance was a trademark. If Count Basie had carried on like that I would have had the same reaction as you because it would have been out of character for him. See what I mean? You notice that Jonah didn't partake... he just played his horn and left the messing around to Cab. Remember the famous clip of Billy Crystal doing the Russian debate in "Jazz speak" while Maynard played "Got the Spirit"? I thought it was a little like that, just a bit o' fun.

Perhaps there's a racial component to this. I think for a while black entertainers could be anything they wanted except silly. If you look at today's black jazz musicians, there's not a goofball among them in terms of the way they present themselves, not that I've seen, anyway. I think there's a great sensitivity towards any black entertainer coming off like a minstrel show character and shucking and jiving for the benefit of a racist audience. They used to accuse Louis Armstrong of the same thing in the late 60's and early 70's before he died. I remember Miles Davis coming to his defense in some article I read in high school over this very issue.

Anyways, it just looked to me like two guys doing what they do and having fun, each in his own way.

Be well,

ML

brian moon

Nick I agree it was silly but it was a style back then. You have probably read Miles' autobiography. Miles' complained about Louis' "clownin" too. Miles blamed it on whitey, of course.

I have a video tape somewhere of Dizzy's big band with none other than Bird on lead alto. They play Dizzy Atmosphere and a few other of his classic bop tunes. A couple of them are back up to a tap dancer and another has a women dancing as if she is coming out of a snake chamers' basket. That's show biz.

wilcox96

It was all choreographed. In other words..it was "supposed" to be this back and forth between Jonah and Cab. You can especially noticed it near the last minute or so of the clip. Heck, Cab was mouthing exactly what Jonah played there near the end.. with his eyes closed..so.. it was all staged. I'll also bet ...as has been mentioned... that the TV show planned those mainly tight shots for that very reason.

It's goofy...no question... and certainly uneccessary, really. But.. like Manny said... that was Cab being Cab.

I'm just glad there's this stuff on places like youtube, dailymotion and google video for us to watch. Man.. what history..otherwise lost...and that most of us would never get to see. Awesome.

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wiseone2

That, guys, is the way Cab lead his band. There were several non-playing bandleaders during that era. Cab, at least danced. The bassist is Milt Hinton.
I think Cozy Cole is the drummer, I didn't recognize the piano player.

Jonah also claimed that he, not Diz, hit Cab with that spitball that caused that famous fight. Lammar Wright also took credit for the incident.
That band must have been fun to be in.
Wilmer

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mahaberio

That's, um.....what Cab Calloway did. Perhaps the man was a bit eccentric but he was a fine and intuitive musician. He was also a dancer.

Tootsall

"Blues Brothers" turned me on to Cab's music (and his eccentric style). Gotta love a guy who isn't afraid of what others might think of his style as long as the music "comes out here".

trpt2345

And maybe a fun band to get out of! Not many trumpet players can claim to have stabbed a leader in the ass.
But re Cab: Nick, what would have said about Dizzy, another leader who liked to goof around on stage. Was Dizzy demeaning his music too? Roland Kirk? Not everyone is serious and sober like Miles or Coltrane or John Lewis.

Michael McLaughlin

"I'm a firm believer in non-violence when it comes to me." Dizzy Gillespie

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