Memphis Nighthawks
Encyclopedia
Memphis Nighthawks were a traditional jazz band based in Champaign, Illinois
during the 1970s.
, from the School of Music at the University of Illinois
, the Nighthawks performed compositions from the early days of jazz
.
The band members were university music students, for the most part. Under saxophonist Dewar's direction they brought to pre-1930 jazz compositions a precision born of studying classical and modern orchestral music. They achieved a discipline that, combined with their youthful enthusiasm, distinguished them from the far looser, laid-back style of traditional jazz bands labeled as Dixieland
.
One distinctive aspect of their style was the use of a bass saxophone
instead of a string double bass
to anchor the band's rhythm section. In this, and in their name, the Memphis Nighthawks prefigured the later Nighthawks Orchestra
of New York City
, led by Vince Giordano
.
Personnel included Dewar on soprano saxophone
and clarinet
, Steve Jensen on cornet
, Joel Helleny
on trombone
, Dave Feinman on the above-mentioned bass sax, Mike Miller on banjo
and guitar
and sometimes Bob Kornacher on drums
.
Recordings included the albums Jazz Lips on the Delmark label and Live at the Stabilizer on Golden Crest. Delmark Records released Jazz Lips for the first time on CD in November 2009. Previously unissued takes are included.
Dewar now plays and teaches in Chicago. Miller is an active guitar and banjo player in Champaign, Illinois
. Jensen died in July 1997. Feinman plays guitar and bass guitar and lives in Long Island, New York. Kornacher is in St.Louis and Helleny died in September 2009. Guy Senese, who played the first year as the guitar/banjoist, is a charter member of the Memphis Nighthawks. After leaving the band he moved to Alaska
, where he taught himself cornet. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona
, and plays a cornet left to him by Ed "Doc" Kittrell, who was an inspiration to the Memphis Nighthawks.
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
during the 1970s.
History
Founded and led by Ron DewarRon Dewar
Ron Dewar is a jazz tenor saxophone player in the Chicago area. He has toured and recorded with many well-known musicians, including Elvis Presley, Clark Terry, Sarah Vaughan, and Louis Bellson. In the 1970s, Dewar was the leader of the traditional jazz band The Memphis Nighthawks...
, from the School of Music at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, the Nighthawks performed compositions from the early days of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
The band members were university music students, for the most part. Under saxophonist Dewar's direction they brought to pre-1930 jazz compositions a precision born of studying classical and modern orchestral music. They achieved a discipline that, combined with their youthful enthusiasm, distinguished them from the far looser, laid-back style of traditional jazz bands labeled as Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
.
One distinctive aspect of their style was the use of a bass saxophone
Bass saxophone
The bass saxophone is the second largest member of the saxophone family. Its design is similar to that of the baritone saxophone, with a loop of tubing near the mouthpiece. It was the first type of saxophone presented to the public, when Adolphe Sax exhibited a bass saxophone in C at an exhibition...
instead of a string double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
to anchor the band's rhythm section. In this, and in their name, the Memphis Nighthawks prefigured the later Nighthawks Orchestra
Nighthawks Orchestra
Nighthawks Orchestra is a New York-based musical group, led by music historian Vince Giordano, that concentrates on recreations of the hot jazz and dance music styles of the period between 1919 and the mid-1930s....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, led by Vince Giordano
Vince Giordano
Vince Giordano is a musician, arranger, and leader of the New York-based Nighthawks Orchestra. Giordano specializes in the jazz styles of the 1920s and early 1930s. Giordano and the Nighthawks have contributed to a number of films and he is especially noted for orchestrations featured in the...
.
Personnel included Dewar on soprano saxophone
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, Steve Jensen on cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, Joel Helleny
Joel Helleny
Joel Edward Helleny was an American jazz trombonist.Helleny learned piano from his mother as a child but settled on trombone by age seven. He attended the University of Illinois before moving to New York City in 1979...
on trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Dave Feinman on the above-mentioned bass sax, Mike Miller on banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and sometimes Bob Kornacher on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Recordings included the albums Jazz Lips on the Delmark label and Live at the Stabilizer on Golden Crest. Delmark Records released Jazz Lips for the first time on CD in November 2009. Previously unissued takes are included.
Dewar now plays and teaches in Chicago. Miller is an active guitar and banjo player in Champaign, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
. Jensen died in July 1997. Feinman plays guitar and bass guitar and lives in Long Island, New York. Kornacher is in St.Louis and Helleny died in September 2009. Guy Senese, who played the first year as the guitar/banjoist, is a charter member of the Memphis Nighthawks. After leaving the band he moved to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, where he taught himself cornet. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, and plays a cornet left to him by Ed "Doc" Kittrell, who was an inspiration to the Memphis Nighthawks.
External links
- Mississippi Rag Bulletin Board
- Review of "Live at the Stabilizer," Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/live-at-the-stabilizer?cat=entertainment