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Frankie Trumbauer | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Tram, Frankie |
| Born | Orie Frank Trumbauer (1901-05-30)May 30, 1901 Carbondale, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 1956(1956-06-11) (aged 55) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz,Dixieland |
| Occupations | Musician, bandleader, composer |
| Instruments | |
Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956)[1] was an Americanjazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was theC melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He also playedalto saxophone,bassoon,clarinet and several other instruments.
He was a composer of sophisticated sax melodies, one of the major small group jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s. His landmark recording of "Singin' the Blues" withBix Beiderbecke andEddie Lang in 1927, was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1977. His major recordings included "Krazy Kat", "Red Hot", "Plantation Moods", "Trumbology", "Tailspin", "Singin' the Blues", "Wringin' an' Twistin'", and "For No Reason at All in C" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang, and the first hit recording of "Georgia On My Mind" in 1931.
"Tram" was described as one of the most influential and important jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s, particularly influencing the sound ofLester Young.[2] He is also remembered for his musical collaborations withBix Beiderbecke, a relationship that produced some of the finest and most innovative jazz records of the late 1920s. Trumbauer and Beiderbecke also collaborated with jazz guitarist Eddie Lang.
He was featured in the 2001 documentaryJazz byKen Burns onPBS on the topic of the first jazz soloists and as an iconic image to symbolize jazz music.
Born of partCherokee ancestry inCarbondale, Illinois, United States,[1] Trumbauer grew up inSt Louis, Missouri, the son of a musical mother who directed saxophone and theater orchestras. His first important professional engagements were with theEdgar Benson andRay Miller bands, shortly followed by theMound City Blue Blowers, a local group that became nationally famous through their recordings onBrunswick.
Trumbauer recruited Bix Beiderbecke forJean Goldkette'sVictor Recording Orchestra, of which he became musical director.[1] After leaving Goldkette, he and Beiderbecke worked briefly inAdrian Rollini's short lived New Yorkers band, then joinedPaul Whiteman in 1927.[1] The same year, Trumbauer signed a contract withOKeh and released a 78 recording of "Singin' the Blues", featuring Beiderbecke on cornet and Eddie Lang on guitar. "Singin' the Blues" was a jazz classic originally recorded and released by theOriginal Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920. The Okeh recording became a hit.Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra recorded it in 1931 in the Trumbauer-Beiderbecke version.
Trumbauer played with Whiteman for eight of the following nine years. He had a separate contract with OKeh from 1927 through 1930, he recorded some of the small group jazz recordings of the era, usually including Beiderbecke until the April 30, 1929, session. He recorded a handful of sides in 1931 for Brunswick. In 1932, he organized a band in Chicago and recorded forColumbia, but gave up the orchestra and returned to New York late in 1933. During 1934–1936, while again a member of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra, he also made a series of recordings for Brunswick and Victor, often includingJack Teagarden.[1]
In 1936 he led The Three T's, featuring the Teagarden brothers; in 1938, he andMannie Klein started a band which they co-led; he billed himself as "Frank Trombar."[3] In 1939, Trumbauer, a skilled pilot, left music (after recording a series of records for Varsity) to join theCivil Aeronautics Authority.[1]
DuringWorld War II he was a test pilot withNorth American Aviation, and trained military crews in the operation of theB-25 Mitchell bomber. He continued to work for the CAA after the war, and also played in theNBC Orchestra. After 1947, although he continued to play and record, he earned most of his income in aviation.[1]
Trumbauer died of a heart attack inKansas City, Missouri, where he had made his home for some years. He was 55 years old.[citation needed]
Lester Young acknowledged and cited Trumbauer as his main influence as a saxophonist. When interviewerFrançois Positif asked Young about his influences, he stated that Frankie Trumbauer was his major influence: "So, it's Trumbauer?" Young replied: "That was my man."[4]
His life and career were documented in the biographyTram: The Frank Trumbauer Story by Philip R. Evans and Larry F. Kiner with William Trumbauer (Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers and Scarecrow Press Inc., 1994).
He was featured in Episode 3, "Our Language", in the 2001 documentaryJazz byKen Burns onPBS on the topic of pioneering jazz soloists. A photograph of him holding his Holton C-melody saxophone was one of the images chosen by Burns to symbolize jazz. The photo is featured on all the intros and outros as well as in Episode 3, "Our Language". His 1927 solo in "Singin' the Blues" is analyzed as well.
He was known fordouble tonguing.[5]
"Singin' the Blues", released by Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet and Eddie Lang on guitar in 1927 as Okeh 40772-B, was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1977. Frankie Trumbauer played the C-melody saxophone solos on the landmark jazz recording.
In 2005, his 1927 recording of "Singin' the Blues" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang was placed on the U.S. Library of CongressNational Recording Registry.
In 2008, his recordings of "Ostrich Walk" and "There'll Come a Time" with Bix Beiderbecke were included on the soundtrack to theBrad Pitt movieThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was nominated for 13Academy Awards, based on theF. Scott Fitzgerald short story fromTales of the Jazz Age.
Ken Burns used a photograph of him in the 2001 documentaryJazz, onPBS, on the topic of pioneering jazz soloists and as an image to represent jazz music.
Trumbauer's compositions include:
