Living Savoy Musicians?

Everything about the swinging music we love to DJ

Moderators: Mr Awesomer, JesseMiner, CafeSavoy

Locked
Message
Author
Shorty Dave
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 8:23 am
Location: Gotham
Contact:

Living Savoy Musicians?

#1 Post by Shorty Dave » Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:44 pm

Got a question for everyone here. Do you know of any musicians that played at the Savoy Ballroom and are still alive? And what band did they play with? I know Earl May played at the Savoy with Lucky Millinder's Band and Cat Anderson's Band. I head that Frank Foster, Joe Wilder and Clark Terry did, too, but don't know what band(s).

Who else???

Thanks!

User avatar
Mr Awesomer
Posts: 1089
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:21 pm
Location: Altadena, CA
Contact:

#2 Post by Mr Awesomer » Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:00 am

http://www.savoyballroom.com/exp/bandst ... icians.htm

Pretty extensive list of who played there... but not complete in terms of who they may have been playing with at the time... though some are easy to figure out.
Reuben Brown
Southern California

Shorty Dave
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 8:23 am
Location: Gotham
Contact:

#3 Post by Shorty Dave » Tue Jan 31, 2006 7:17 am

That's GREAT! Thanks!!! (now who's alive???)
Last edited by Shorty Dave on Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Mr Awesomer
Posts: 1089
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 10:21 pm
Location: Altadena, CA
Contact:

#4 Post by Mr Awesomer » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:23 am

Shorty Dave wrote:(now who's alive???)
Good luck with that one. I've lost track.
Reuben Brown
Southern California

julius
Posts: 818
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2003 11:30 am
Location: los angeles

#5 Post by julius » Tue Jan 31, 2006 12:57 pm

Jay McShann, at age 96 or so, is the only person I recognize from that list who is still alive.

User avatar
djstarr
Posts: 1043
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2003 2:09 pm
Location: Seattle

#6 Post by djstarr » Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:28 pm

Interesting; Buddy Rich and Woody Herman died in the same year [1987].

I heard Buddy Rich perform several times in Seattle when I was in college in the early 80's; I also got to hear Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald perform at the Seattle Opera House around 1980; I wish I was as familiar with their music then when I heard them as I am now.

Roy
Posts: 410
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:23 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

#7 Post by Roy » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:19 am

Franz Jackson is still alive in Chicago, played with the Roy Eldrige Orchestra, and the Fats Waller big band at the Savoy between 1938 and 1943.

User avatar
CafeSavoy
Posts: 1138
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 6:25 pm
Location: Mobtown
Contact:

#8 Post by CafeSavoy » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:10 am

One candidate might be Rusty Mason. I'm not sure if he played at the Savoy but he played during the swing era and then after the war with bands that played the savoy such as Buddy Johnson, Lucky Millinder, and Tiny Bradshaw.

User avatar
Greg Avakian
Posts: 382
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2002 10:27 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact:

#9 Post by Greg Avakian » Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:22 am

Rusty is a definition of cool. When he couldn't play the piano anymore, he picked up sax because he couldn't live without playing music. I have his phone number somewhere if you want to get in touch with him.

I don't know what you're planning, but I'm going to say thanks in advance ...and I can't wait to be there when it happens!
Hey, my e-mail's changed, here's the new one:
SwingDJ@gmail.com
About me: www.geocities.com/swingboypa

Roy
Posts: 410
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 1:23 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

#10 Post by Roy » Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:14 pm

If your trying to put together some Savoy musicians and need contact info I just came across this new web site for Franz Jackson:

http://franzjackson.com/home.html

User avatar
CafeSavoy
Posts: 1138
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 6:25 pm
Location: Mobtown
Contact:

#11 Post by CafeSavoy » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:53 am

Franz Jackson is sweet. I have a couple of his cds and Steven Mitchell uses him in his swing walk class. I'm sorry i missed him at the chicago exchange.

Shorty Dave
Posts: 212
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 8:23 am
Location: Gotham
Contact:

#12 Post by Shorty Dave » Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:08 pm

Thanks for your help, guys! I'm surprised there are so few that people can think of. It closed in 1958, so anyone in their mid-70s who's still kickin' might have been there for the tail end of things <shrug>

User avatar
caab
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 8:40 am
Location: Durham, NC
Contact:

#13 Post by caab » Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:40 pm

Maybe Billy Taylor (pianist)? He's still alive and was in NY and played with people who did play the Savoy, but I don't know if he actually played there himself.

Locked