Editor, Webmaster:  Phil Cartwright       Editor@earlyjas.org
Personalities -- by Phil Cartwright
On the Road Again --
with Norrie Cox and the
New Orleans Stompers
                                                          The Memphis Blues
                                                                    Phil Cartwright
  William Christopher Handy was born in 1873 in Florence, Alabama.  After a somewhat conventional
schooling, his talent as a musician came out strong and clear.  Soon he was organizing bands and playing
in various venues.  In 1909, one of his bands arrived in Memphis, Tennessee and established a presence
on the already famous Beale Street.  Somehow, W. C. Handy became acquainted with a local Memphis
mayoral candidate, a Mr. E. H. Crump.  Handy’s very first composition was a campaign song for the
aspiring mayor.  It was called “Mr. Crump” but was later re-titled “Memphis Blues”.  Of course, Handy
is known for other works such as the “Yellow Dog Blues” and the “St. Louis Blues”.
  Against this backdrop of history, Carol and I recently spent a couple of days in Memphis and
thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was my second trip to Memphis. About 25 years ago I visited and actually
bought a banjo in a Beale Street pawn shop - an old but nice Weymann tenor.
  This trip, we stayed in the famous Peabody Hotel and, of course, had to watch the famous parade of
ducks to the fountain in the lobby. We can recommend some outstanding restaurants:  Majestic Grille,
Chez Phillipe, and Stella, all within a block or two of Beale Street.  We also recommend taking the
Riverfront Loop on the street car; it costs about a dollar and you get a 30 minute tour of the main parts
of town and the river’s edge.
  Being a guitar and banjo player, I insisted we visit the Gibson factory, a block or so from Beale Street.  
It is a real factory making guitars and you get to see all the various stages of construction.  Of interest to
us in the Cleveland area, the Gibson factory has recently been named a satellite of Cleveland’s Rock and
Roll Museum.
  Neither Carol nor I have ever been a fan of Elvis Presley, nor have we owned even a single record of
his.  Nevertheless, at the urging of our kids, we visited Graceland.  And we are glad we did.  The
mansion is smaller than we thought it might be but: Over the top is much too tame.  There were
hundreds of floral arrangements sent in by adoring fans.  Like him or not he is world famous and sold
over 400 million albums!
  Now, about the music.  First, Beale Street is like Bourbon Street was 30+ years ago.  It is clean, civil,
and no strip joints.  Like Bourbon St., Beale St. is closed to auto traffic in the evening so it is easy to
stroll by the many blues joints (and souvenir shops).  We enjoyed several places that we would
recommend:  King’s Palace, Blues City, and B. B. King’s.  What struck me the most are the parallels
between traditional jazz and the music we heard on Beale Street.  First, and foremost, it is improvised.  
No printed music in sight, lots of jazz choruses by all the various instruments: guitars (of course),
trumpets, saxes, trombones, pianos.  Second, it is approachable.  Easy to listen to (bring ear plugs) and
understandable. Third, lots of showmanship on the stage.
  Dr. Feelgood was a lot of fun as was the B. B. King house band.  Our favorite, though, was a band
called the Masqueraders (I even bought their CD!).  They were not a youth band by any means. Think
the Mills Brothers meet B. B. King  Four vocalists, some playing instruments, were a mixture of the late
thirties and early forties.  Lyrics you could understand, good harmonies and great rhythm.  Check them
out on your next trip to Memphis!!
Earlville Association for Ragtime Lovers Yearning
for Jazz Advancement and Socialization
EARLYJAS
  Norrie Cox has been carrying the torch for
traditional New Orleans jazz for three or four
decades.  In addition to performing in numerous
jazz bands, Norrie has spent many years
encouraging and leading elementary and high
school students into the fascinating world of New
Orleans jazz.
  Also, he has led his own New Orleans band, the
New Orleans Stompers, for the past 25 years or so.  
Perhaps you remember that his band played the
Earlyjas Festival in 2000.  I have been fortunate to
play several jazz clubs and tours with Norrie’s band
beginning in 2000.
Norrie Cox   Charlie DeVore    Jim Klippert
  The leader of the band is Norrie, of course, on clarinet.  He lives in Milwaukee. Regulars are three
musicians from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who were part of the house band for Garrison Keillor’s Prairie
Home Companion:  Charley Devore, cornet, Bill Evans, string bass; and Doggie Berg, drums.  They also
were core members of the Hall Brothers Jazz Band at the Emporium of Jazz in Mendota, MN. Charlie and
Doggie have the distinction of integrating a Black band in New Orleans around 1960.  They were promptly
arrested and spent the night in jail!
  The Stompers banjo player was Mike Carrell.  He became ill in 2000, and eventually died of cancer.
  Trombone player in the band is Jim Klippert from the San Francisco Bay area.  Yes, you may recognize  Jim
as the son of clarinet player Moe Klippert, founder of the Rubber City Retreads and the Hymns of Dixieland.  

  In mid-October, the Stompers played at the Juvae Jazz Club in Decatur, Illinois, and at the Great River Jazz
Club in Hannibal, Missouri.  
  Unfortunately, Doggie Berg had back surgery and was unable to make the trip.  Filling in for him was a
young drummer, Chuck Devore, Charley’s son.  He did a great job and was only half the age of the rest of
us.  
  Filling in for Charley was Kim Cusack, the great reed player who has been with the Salty Dogs for a
hundred years or so.  Kim was suffering from a broken foot but that did not impair his playing.  His usual
groupies were with him: Joyce, Kim’s sister, and his wife, Eileen, Kim’s supporter and videographer for the
past 30+ years.
  I am delighted to report that traditional jazz is alive and well in the Central Illinois and Eastern Missouri
areas.  These clubs are vibrant and bring in many great traditional jazz bands.  I met several of their key
people and I hope that we can work with them and other jazz clubs in the Midwest to support bands and our
love for traditional jazz.
  Whenever a band goes on tour, even a short one, there is always something, non-musical, that competes
with the memories of some great music.  In this case, we got our signals crossed.  Sunday morning we left
Decatur to head for Hannibal, MO.  Unfortunately, Jim Klippert was left behind with no way to get to
Hannibal!  After a series of frantic phone calls (and not everyone had a cell phone), Kim Cusack saved the
day and returned to pick up Jim and deliver him to Hannibal in time for the job!
                                                                                          Submitted by Phil Cartwright
Red Nichols
  and his Five Pennies
   In 1924, Earnest Loring {Red} Nichols
arrived in New York City, a magnet for the
greatest talent in the world.  Only 19 years
old and from a place called Utah. He came
with  a battered cornet under his arm and  a
great jazz talent in his heart.  
  At the age of three his father started him
on the violin and  trumpet.  E.W. Nichols
was a college instructor and believed his
son had some unique skills which needed to
be quickly developed. He soon had the kid
practicing the piano along with the other
instruments. Music soon became an
important part of his life and he began
practicing hour after hour.   
           The crazy new music captivating the 1920's was called Jazz.  With skill and luck you could slip into
a speakeasy.  They served bathtub Scotch and wild music. You could also now listen to this new music on
the radio and phonograph. Nichols began to play all over the city and then more regular jobs developed at  
the resorts in New Jersey. He began working with legendary jazzmen such as Bix Beiderbecke, Miff Mole,
Eddie Lang, and Joe Venuti. His solid musical training combined with great natural ability provided him
with a bell-like sound on the cornet. Red had found his niche in New York City.   
  During the 1920's and 1930's  Red Nichols became one of the most recorded jazz artists. He and Bix
became close friends and worked frequently on musical ideas.  In later years many fans felt that you could
hear the Bix influence in Red's styling.   
  Red signed on with Brunswick Records in 1926 as Red Nichols and the Five Pennies. His arrangements
were considered tricky but were based upon the New Orleans style. Many of the band members went on
to greatness among them were Jimmy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Vic Berton, Benny Goodman, Miff Mole and
Glenn Miller.
  While comfortable with recording work, the situation in the 1930's forced him to go on the road .  He
traveled for several years with a big band doing the ballroom circuit.  In 1940 he broke up the band  and
moved to the West Coast.  Red worked in clubs in Hollywood and in San Francisco. That is when his
daughter, Dorothy, became ill with polio.  He gave up his horn and jazz and went to work in a shipyard
for the duration of the war.  The medical bills piled up and he went back into the music business.  In 1951
NBC saluted him with a hour long program.  Then Ralph Edwards dramatized his forced retirement from
music and his courageous fight for his daughter's health on the This Is Your Life program.    
  Red began recording ,touring, and then the group had a triumphant stay at New York's Roundtable
where they broke all house records. Paramount then released the film ‘The Five Pennies’ based on Red's
life and starring Danny Kaye and Barbara Geddes.  Red had made a great comeback.   
  As the years have passed and jazz critics have
passed on their wisdom, Red Nichols has been
criticized for being influenced by Bix. Red's reply to
that was "Bix was great. There isn't a musician alive
who isn't influenced by someone. Louis Armstrong
was influenced by Joe Oliver. So what"?     
  Trumpeter Roy Eldridge once said " … at one time
in the East, trumpets either played like Red Nichols
or  Bix.  I liked the nice, clean sound Nichols was
getting on the trumpet in those days".  Red  Nichols
has left his mark on the field of jazz.  Yes sir, there is
nothing like the  NICE CLEAN SOUND OF GOOD
JAZZ.
Source:
International
Musician, July 1959.

Submitted by Mike
Kovach