Who was the bassist for Fletcher Henderson & his Orchetsra circa 1944?

[lunarpollen]

Here's a link to streaming audio from a 1944 AFRS Jubilee recording of the band playing "Rose Room" (with spoken introduction from Lena Horne)

Fletcher Henderson & his Orchestra - "Rose Room"

In the few sources I've been able to find, the bassist is listed only as "Chief".. Could it have just been some anonymous fill-in? Maybe a sub who was under contract to another band and couldn't be named? Or is there some bassist of that era with the nickname "Chief"?

In any case it's a fun listen, with very nice clear bass segment starting at about 1:13 into the track.

[bhagiti]

Good question! Could be Elmer James or John Kirby (recorded w/Henderson in the 30's for sure, may have been gone by the 40's)??

[lunarpollen]

Neither Kirby nor James were part of the 1944 re-formed Henderson band. I don't think Israel Crosby was either.

Maybe "Chief" was an AFRS house bassist?

[debasser!]

Doesn't sound at all like Israel either. I've been listening to his early stuff lately and am pretty sure that aint him. Nice track though! They captured the bass well for a live recording in 1944 didn't they?

[Thor]

I don't know, but I know who would. Ray Smith, the guy who
hosts 'The Jazz Decades' show on PBS. That guy knows everybody.
His collection of jazz recordings is said to exceed
90,000 titles and he has been on the air playing obscure stuff for
35 years.

Last email addy I had for him was rayjazzsmith@aol.com

[lunarpollen]

Originally Posted by debasser!

Doesn't sound at all like Israel either. I've been listening to his early stuff lately and am pretty sure that aint him. Nice track though! They captured the bass well for a live recording in 1944 didn't they?

A lot of the AFRS recordings are really excellent sounding. They probably had a huge budget for spending on stuff like high-quality recording equipment, microphones, etc. For a 1944 big band recording, the bass definitely shines!

[lunarpollen]

Originally Posted by Thor

I don't know, but I know who would. Ray Smith, the guy who
hosts 'The Jazz Decades' show on PBS. That guy knows everybody.
His collection of jazz recordings is said to exceed
90,000 titles and he has been on the air playing obscure stuff for
35 years.

Last email addy I had for him was rayjazzsmith@aol.com

Ah he is mega cool! I will try and get in touch with him. Thanks!

[robgrow]

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

A lot of the AFRS recordings are really excellent sounding. They probably had a huge budget for spending on stuff like high-quality recording equipment, microphones, etc. For a 1944 big band recording, the bass definitely shines!

In 1944 recording technology was extremely basic. Typically only a few mics were used (most commonly RCA ribbons), and mixers usually only had a few inputs. Recording was direct to disc, as tape recording was not introduced until the late 40's. It is the talent of the musicians and engineers that shines through on these recordings.

[debasser!]

Originally Posted by klyph

One last thing; I noticed in another thread that you were puzzling over the identity of a bassist referred to as "Chief". Pseudonyms were common to avoid contractual disputes way back when, as I'm sure you know. I know of two bassists with this nickname: John Kirby and Oscar Pettiford (there could, of course, be others). I don't know if either fits into the context of the recording you refer to, but both were bandleaders who had exclusive contracts at various times.

The link to the thread is HERE

So there we are! Thanks Klyph!

[lunarpollen]

Ah well John Kirby was a part of the Henderson band in the 1930's before moving on to other things including leading his own band, so I guess most likely it was him back in the band for those AFRS recordings! Cool!