World's Greatest Jazz Band
Encyclopedia
The World's Greatest Jazz Band was an all-star
jazz
ensemble active from 1968 to 1978.
Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz
and recorded extensively. It was co-led by Yank Lawson
and Bob Haggart
, and did early jazz standard
s alongside contemporaneous pop songs done in a Dixieland style. Though the group disbanded in 1978, the name was revived several times by Lawson and Haggart for limited engagements.
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
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...
ensemble active from 1968 to 1978.
Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz
Dixieland Jazz
Dixieland Jazz was a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television in 1954.-Premise:The series host was Trump Davidson, a cornet player. He also hosted a radio music series on CBC's Trans-Canada Network.-Scheduling:...
and recorded extensively. It was co-led by Yank Lawson
Yank Lawson
John Rhea "Yank" Lawson was a jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music....
and Bob Haggart
Bob Haggart
Robert Sherwood Haggart was a dixieland jazz double bass player, composer and arranger...
, and did early jazz standard
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
s alongside contemporaneous pop songs done in a Dixieland style. Though the group disbanded in 1978, the name was revived several times by Lawson and Haggart for limited engagements.
Members
- Billy ButterfieldBilly ButterfieldBilly Butterfield was a band leader, jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and cornetist.He studied cornet with Frank Simons, but later switched to studying medicine. He did not give up on music and quit medicine after finding success as a trumpeter. Early in his career he played in the band of Austin Wylie...
- Cutty CutshallCutty CutshallRobert Dewees "Cutty" Cutshall was an American jazz trombonist.Cutshall played in Pittsburgh early in his career, making his first major tour in 1934 with Charley Dornberger. He joined Jan Savitt's orchestra in 1938, then played with Benny Goodman in the early 1940s...
- Vic DickensonVic DickensonVic Dickenson was an African-American jazz trombonist. Dickenson's career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical partnerships with such legends as Count Basie , Sidney Bechet and Earl Hines...
- Morey FeldMorey FeldMorey Feld was an American jazz drummer born in Cleveland, Ohio, perhaps best-known for his work with the bands of Ben Pollack , Benny Goodman , Eddie Condon , Bobby Hackett and Billy Butterfield...
- Carl FontanaCarl FontanaCarl Charles Fontana was an American jazz trombonist. Because Fontana rarely recorded under his own name and toured only occasionally after 1958, he is significantly less famous among mainstream jazz fans, although well-known amongst trombonists.-Birth to 1958:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Fontana...
- Bud FreemanBud FreemanLawrence "Bud" Freeman was a U.S. jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He had a smooth and full tenor sax style with a heavy robust swing. He was one of the most influential and important jazz tenor saxophonists of...
- Dick Gibson
- Bob HaggartBob HaggartRobert Sherwood Haggart was a dixieland jazz double bass player, composer and arranger...
- Scott HamiltonScott Hamilton (musician)Scott Hamilton is a jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1954 and associated with swing and mainstream jazz.-Biography:He emerged in the 1970s and at the time he was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of...
- Clancy HayesClancy HayesClarence Leonard Hayes was a jazz vocalist, banjoist and guitarist born November 14, 1908 in Caney, Kansas. He lived in Parsons, Kansas for a short time, and the town is the subject of his song "The Parsons, Kansas Blues": . He worked always as a professional musician, turning up in San Francisco...
- Eddie HubbleEddie HubbleJohn Edgar "Eddie" Hubble is an American jazz trombonist.Hubble was born in Santa Barbara, California, and learned trombone from his father Harriss Hubble, who was also a professional trombonist in the Los Angeles area. Hubble moved to New York City in 1944, and by the late 1940s had played with...
- Peanuts HuckoPeanuts HuckoMichael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko was an American big band musician. His primary instrument was the clarinet.-Early life and education:...
- Keith InghamKeith InghamKeith Ingham is an English jazz pianist, mainly active in swing and Dixieland revival.Ingham's first professional gigs occurred in 1964. He played with Sandy Brown, Bruce Turner, and Wally Fawkes that decade. He played with Bob Wilber and Bud Freeman in 1974, and moved to New York City in 1978...
- Gus JohnsonGus Johnson (jazz musician)Gus Johnson was the drummer in various jazz bands, including that of Jay McShann for many years. In the 1960s he played for saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and accompanied singer Ella Fitzgerald in her 1960 concert in Berlin...
- Al KlinkAl KlinkAl Klink was an American swing jazz tenor saxophonist.Klink played with Glenn Miller from 1939 to 1942, and is heard trading solos with Tex Beneke on the most well-known version of "In the Mood". When Miller started playing in the U.S...
- Yank LawsonYank LawsonJohn Rhea "Yank" Lawson was a jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music....
- Cliff LeemanCliff LeemanCliff Leeman was an American jazz drummer.Leeman played percussion with the Portland Symphony at age 13, and toured as a xylophonist on the vaudeville circuit late in the 1920s...
- George MassoGeorge MassoGeorge Masso , born in Cranston, Rhode Island, is an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, vibraphonist and composer specializing in swing and Dixieland styles. Masso is most notable for his work from 1948-1950 in the Jimmy Dorsey band...
- Lou McGarityLou McGarityLou McGarity was an American jazz trombonist, violinist and vocalist born in Athens, GA, perhaps most noteworthy for his works with Benny Goodman throughout the 1940s. During this period and throughout his career McGarity also collaborated often with Eddie Condon...
- Johnny MinceJohnny MinceJohnny Mince was an American swing jazz clarinetist.Mince played with Joe Haymes from 1929 to 1934, and recorded with Red Norvo and Glenn Miller in 1935. He then worked with Ray Noble in 1935-37 and Bob Crosby in 1936 before joining Tommy Dorsey in 1937...
- Bob Miller
- Eddie Miller
- Joe MuranyiJoe MuranyiJoseph P. "Joe" Muranyi is an American jazz clarinetist, producer and critic.Muranyi studied with Lennie Tristano but is primarily interested in early jazz styles such as Dixieland and swing. After playing in an United States Army Air Forces band, he moved to New York City in the 1950s and...
- Bobby RosengardenBobby RosengardenRobert Marshall Rosengarden was a jazz drummer, percussionist and bandleader. A native of Elgin, Illinois, he was a solid and versatile contributor on countless recording sessions and playing in TV network orchestras and talk-show bands.Rosengarden began playing drums when he was 12, and later...
- Sonny RussoSonny RussoSanto J. "Sonny" Russo is an American jazz trombonist.Russo grew up in a musical family; both his father and grandfather were professional horn players. He first played piano and violin, and played with his father's group at age 15...
- Carrie SmithCarrie SmithCarrie Smith is an American blues and jazz singer.Smith was a member of a church choir that performed at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival...
- Maxine SullivanMaxine SullivanMaxine Sullivan , born Marietta Williams, was an American blues and jazz singer.She was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and married jazz musician John Kirby in 1938 , and stride pianist Cliff Jackson in 1956...
- Ralph SuttonRalph SuttonRalph Earl Sutton was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller....
- Dick WellstoodDick WellstoodRichard MacQueen "Dick" Wellstood was an American jazz pianist...
- Bob WilberBob WilberBob Wilber is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz...
Discography
- World's Greatest Jazz Band of Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart (1968)
- Extra! (1968)
- Live (1970)
- What's New (1970)
- Live at Roosevelt Grill (1970)
- Century Plaza (1972)
- Hark the Herald Angels Swing (1972)
- At Massey Hall (1972)
- Plays Duke Ellington (1973)
- Plays Eddie Barefield (1974)
- Plays Cole Porter (1974)
- On Tour, Vol. 1 (1975)
- On Tour, Vol. 2 (1975)
- Plays Rogers and Hart (1975)
- Plays George Gershwin (1977)