Jazz Mandolin History

[Irrelephant]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to put together a somewhat concise history of the history of Jazz Mandolin players for a presentation in a few weeks.

The following is a list of major players as I understand it. I wonder if any of you could tell me if I'm missing anyone or anything that they have done.

Jethro Burns (country/bluegrass/jazz)
Tiny Moore (country/bluegrass/jazz)
Yank Rachell (blues)
Don Stiernberg (student of Jethro Burns, jazz/classical/country/some rock)
David Grisman (bluegrass/newgrass/dawg/gypsy/jazz)
Michael Lampert (jazz)
Chris Thile (a little bit of everything. He has done a series of tours with Brad Mehldau too so that can't be looked over)
Andrew Weinstein (I know very little about him but he pops up all the time. I think he's in the gypsy scene on fiddle. He plays chord melodies on a single strung mandolin tuned like a mandoa?)
Jason Anick (gypsy/jazz)

These are just the guys who I can think of off of the top of my head, but I'd love to start a dialogue about the bigger picture to update and flesh out this list both in terms of players and what they did. Thanks!

[SincereCorgi]

Also consider: Dave Apollon, natch. "Papa" Charlie McCoy played guitar and mandolin in the Harlem Hamfats, a great lesser-known black rhythm band of the '30s. "Louie Bluie" Howard Armstrong is in the same vein. A lot of guys in the '20s and '30s would play a few different string instruments, so it's hard to know how much you have to play to be considered a mandolin player.

[StuartE]

Issac Eicher, contemporary www.isaaceicher.com
Johnny Gimble with Bob Wills and Merle Haggard
Leo Raley with Cliff Bruner, very early Western Swing, perhaps the first to record on electric mandolin]

James Reece Europe, African-American ragtime-era band leader sometime considered a forerunner of jazz, led a Carnegie Hall concert in 1910 which included 47 mandolins and was himself a mandolin player (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...s-Reese-Europe and http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/jamesreeseeurope

Katie Bell Nubin, the mother of gospel singer/guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was a mandolin player. She recorded with her daughter. Not strictly jazz, but of interest.

There were some mandolins played in black string bands, though this was pre-jazz.

Also, of course, a white string band tradition.

[mandosepeda]

Will Patton and Paul Glasse also come to mind as 2 recent jazz mando pickers. I also think the chord melody guy is Aaron Weinstein.

[Dave Martin]

Don Julin
Pete Martin
Ted Eschliman

[John Parrott]

Doug Dalton, who played with the Whippoorwills was a pioneer, and they also had some commercial success.

Paul Buskirk was a tenor banjo player and guitarist who could rip it up on the mandolin. Jethro liked him alot.

Andy Statman sure can play the jazz...he's been startling listeners ever since his days with Country Cooking.

Ricky Skaggs could sound a lot like Jethro at times...but there's a host of good fiddle and mando players who can pick some hot jazz on the mandolin. I don't think a lot of them would hang their hats in the "jazz mandolin" category, though. Jethro was even tentative about being labeled a "jazz" player.

[mandroid]

and other Jazz Violin players for melodic /harmonic inspiration from as well ,
Eddie South, Joe Venuti Stuff Smith Sven Amundsen , Stefan Grapelli

[DavidKOS]

There are pictures of anonymous and known mandolinists playing in New Orleans from the early 20th century, and they were often playing jazz.



Above has Wendell McNeil, a Creole violinist who doubled on mandolin in John Robichaux’s society orchestra

http://www.folkways.si.edu/the-six-a...um/smithsonian

"The Six and Seven-Eights String Band of New Orleans FW02671 / FA 2671

New Orleans string band jazz was popular between 1910 and 1925, but the genre was seldom recorded. This ensemble—featuring Bill Kleppinger, Bernie Shields, Edmond Souchon, and Frank "Red" Mackie—began playing in 1913 and performs the traditional New Orleans jazz band repertoire on mandolin, guitar, steel guitar, and bass."

So there was jazz mandolin by 1913!

in later years.....



I'm reasonably sure that these New Orleans musicians were the among the first - if not THE first - jazz mandolinists.

[John Soper]

Can't believe we're this far into the discussion without mention of Don Stiernberg!

[Kevin Knippa]

The OP included Stiernberg.

[AlanN]

The late, great Dave Peters, too. Au Privave, Dark Eyes, Vonetta come to mind

[SincereCorgi]

I'm reasonably sure that these New Orleans musicians were the among the first - if not THE first - jazz mandolinists.

Man, I love those guys. Jelly Roll Morton also talks about playing at house parties in guitar/bass/mandolin trios when he was young, and I wish I could hear what a hot house party sounded like in 1915, even if it was just "The Old Oaken Bucket" with syncopations.

[David Lewis]

You have to add ted Eschliman.

Mike Marshall, another all rounder.

You probably shoukd mention Tiny Moore, who played Western Swing. Sam bush utilises jazz too...

How long is the presentation?

Because a brief history of the instrument, moving through Gibson load and biggsby, up to more modern makers could make it pop.

[DavidKOS]

Man, I love those guys. Jelly Roll Morton also talks about playing at house parties in guitar/bass/mandolin trios when he was young, and I wish I could hear what a hot house party sounded like in 1915, even if it was just "The Old Oaken Bucket" with syncopations.

Me too, although some of the recordings give a good idea as to the "ragtime" style used then playing what we cal early jazz.

[Timbofood]

Carl Martin

[John Goodin]

Brian Oberlin & Tim Connell are both in the Portland, OR area and play some serious jazz when they want.

My favorite jazz mandolinist was John Abercrombie when he used electric mandolin on a number of albums back in the 70s and 80s (even with McCoy Tyner around 1993). Truly amazing, late 20th century jazz, at least to my ears.

John G.

[StuartE]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to put together a somewhat concise history of the history of Jazz Mandolin players for a presentation in a few weeks.

Hey,

How did your presentation go? Is it in a format that you can share?

[barney 59]

Bob Applebaum ---and if anyone knows where there is a copy of "Cheap Trills" his recording from the 1970's I'd sure like to know about it! Lorraine Duisit also comes to mind.

[crisscross]

John Reischman's Choro for Shadow might qualify as jazz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erbSRAN_fyk
Or his chord-melody version of Over the rainbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta3O_Q78zDA
If you consider adding two strings: Hamilton de Holanda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYpp1sbynVo
John McGann was a many-styles musician on various stringed instruments but he sure played some jazz on mandolin family instruments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtyW9aa2wEQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxRwjONisT8

[crisscross]

Though more based in celtic music:Simon Mayor plays an occasional rag or two https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr_uOBMB798

[Patrick Melly]

"Bob Applebaum ---and if anyone knows where there is a copy of "Cheap Trills" his recording from the 1970's I'd sure like to know about it! Lorraine Duisit also comes to mind."

This is not "Cheap Thrills", but it features a jazzy Bob Applebaum from 1986:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOB-APPLEBAU...item5d52e3bfea

Here's an obscure connection: Lorraine Duisit studied with Bob Applebaum during her Trapezoid days.

[Jim Garber]

Andrew Weinstein (I know very little about him but he pops up all the time. I think he's in the gypsy scene on fiddle. He plays chord melodies on a single strung mandolin tuned like a mandoa?)

I don't know who you mean,unless you are referring to Aaron Weinstein. I would not consider him a gypsy jazz player -- he often plays jazz fiddle with John Pizzarelli and other NY jazz scene players. Also, I would not consider Tiny Moore to be a bluegrass player -- he is known as a Western swing player.

[johnbaxter]

Bruce Graybill has a lot of jazz standards on his "The Bell Effect" CD. Also, a few other jazz oriented players are:

Dave Holodiloff Jazz Trio
The Michael Hitchcock Trio
Duo Vibracao
Harmonious Wail
JazzCrafters
Mischievous Swing
Phil Lawrence
The DLT 3
The Bernstein Bard Trio

[barney 59]

"Bob Applebaum ---and if anyone knows where there is a copy of "Cheap Trills" his recording from the 1970's I'd sure like to know about it! Lorraine Duisit also comes to mind."

This is not "Cheap Thrills", but it features a jazzy Bob Applebaum from 1986:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOB-APPLEBAU...item5d52e3bfea

Here's an obscure connection: Lorraine Duisit studied with Bob Applebaum during her Trapezoid days.

Thanks for that --I bought it!
I took lessons from Bob in 1975 when he was in Summerhill and I happened to travel there when a band I was playing with decided to relocate to Boston. We were playing little gigs around Boston and Cambridge and also played in front of the Harvard Coop for tips and Bob Applebaum and a group of very good musicians also played there. That's how I met Bob and when I heard him I thought "Yah, I want to play like that!" so I took some lessons. I wasn't in that area very long --I should have taken more lessons!
I knew Lorraine when I was in West Virginia -my home state, however I didn't know she also studied with Bob. She could play a mean Coltrane though. Where did either of them go?

[Patrick Melly]

Bob Applebaum ended up in Venice, California, where he is still playing up a storm.
Here he is with one of his projects, String Madness: