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Jimmie Noone

Jimmie Noone 1944 & Trio filmclips “Block busters”: Apex Blues / Boogie Woogie

1944, Jimmy Noone (cl) & Trio: “Block busters”: feature film clips – Wanderer , 3:12 shortened from 5:00 with more dials; dir Wallace Fox (dir); Music Directed/Conducted by: Edward J.Kay (music-dir.,cond.); with dancers, The Ashburns: “Apex blues” & “Boogie woogie.” Unfortunately of rather poor quality and not much Jimmy Noone on screen; perhaps one day Mark Cantor will find and upload a better quality. 

Jimmie_Noone_(1895-1944)Jimmie Noone c. 1920

Jimmie Noone (or Jimmy Noone; April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist.

Can anybody identify the rhythm group ?

Background

Noone was born in Cut Off, Louisiana, and started playing guitar in his home town. At the age of 15, he switched to the clarinet and moved to New Orleans, where he studied with Lorenzo Tio and with the young Sidney Bechet, who was only 13 at the time. By 1912, he was playing professionally with Freddie Keppard in Storyville, and played with Buddy PetitKid OryPapa Celestin, the Eagle Band, and the Young Olympia Band, before joining the Original Creole Orchestra in Chicago, Illinois in 1917. The following year, he joined King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, then in 1920 joined Keppard in Doc Cook‘s band which he would remain with for six years, and make early recordings with. In 1926, he started leading the band at Chicago’s Apex Club. This band, Jimmie Noone’s Apex Club Orchestra, was notable for its unusual instrumentation—a front line consisting of just Noone and alto saxophonist/clarinetist Joe Poston, who had worked with Noone in Doc Cook’s band. The influential Pittsburgh-born pianist Earl Hines was also in the band for a time.

Noone signed with Brunswick in May 1928 and was assigned to their Vocalion label. From his first session yielded “Four or Five Times” backed with “Every Evening (I Miss You)” (Vocalion 1185), which was a best seller. He continued recording for Vocalion prolifically through February 1935. He then signed with Decca in early 1936 and one session each for Decca in 1936, 1937 and 1940. He did one session for Bluebird also in 1940.

In 1935, Noone moved to New York City to start a band and a (short-lived) club with Wellman Braud. He then returned to Chicago where he played at various clubs until 1943, when he moved to Los Angeles, California. Shortly after he joined Kid Ory‘s band, which was featured for a time on a radio program hosted by Orson WellesThe Orson Welles Almanac (1944). Beginning March 15 Noone played a few broadcasts with the band, but died suddenly of a heart attack. He died, aged 48, in Los Angeles, California.

The Ory band, with New Orleans-born clarinetist Wade Whaley, played a blues (titled “Blues for Jimmie” by Welles) in his honor on the radio, and the number eventually became a regular feature for the Ory band.

Legacy

240px-Crescent-Blues-for-JimmyKid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band recording ofBlues for Jimmie (misspelled “Jimmy” on the label)

Noone is generally regarded as one of the greatest of the second generation of jazz clarinetists, along with Johnny Dodds and Sidney Bechet. Noone’s playing is not as blues-tinged as Dodds nor as flamboyant as Bechet, but is perhaps more lyrical and sophisticated, and certainly makes more use of “sweet” flavoring. Noone was an important influence on later clarinetists such as Artie ShawIrving Fazola and Benny Goodman.

Jimmie Noone and His Orchestra make a brief appearance in the East Side Kids feature film, Block Busters (1944), released three months after Noone’s death.

“Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me” (1928) is featured on the soundtrack of Woody Allen‘s 2013 film, Blue Jasmine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Noone

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