Today in Jazz

Jimmy Knepper, Trombone, 1927, Los Angeles, CA

Jimmy's first instrument was the alto horn, but at the  age of nine he took up the trombone. He continued his studies at colleges in Los Angeles.  He began playing professionally at 15, and later went with the CharlieSpivak and Charlie Barnet bands in the early '50s. He also worked with the big-bands of Claude Thornhill, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton.  It was during his association with Charles Mingus in the early '60s that Jimmy began to draw public notice.  Between 1960 and 1977 he worked intermittently with Gil Evans and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra. He also toured the USSR with Benny Goodman in 1962.  From 1975 to 1981 Jimmy played with and wrote arrangements for Lee Konitz's nonet, and in 1979 he again worked with Mingus.  Jimmy had a trombone style that was strictly his own, never imitating the J.J. Johnson school.  His gruff sound and distinctive manner of phrasing were his alone.  Jimmy Knepper died in 2003.

Cecil Scott, Clarinet, 1905, Springfiels, OH

In addition to the clarinet, Cecil also played the tenor and baritone saxophones.  He and his brother, Lloyd, formed a group in the early '20s and later they led a big-band in Pittsburgh and New York.  During the late '20s the band was resident at the Savoy Ballroom and also recorded under Cecil's leadership as well as Lloyd's.  The band employed top players of the era, and in 1929 Cecil became the sole leader of the group. In the early '30s Cecil ceased playing temporarily because of a serious automobile accident.  Thereafter he worked with various bands until1942 when he again formed a band of his own.The band lasted several year. From then on he worked with many different groups in the New York area.  Scott played with much drive and zest, and his style was characterized by quickly changed moods.  Cecil Scott died in1964.

Horace Henderson, Bandleader, 1904, Cuthbert, GA

November 2009

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