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This Week On Riverwalk Jazz: Doc Cheatham, Bob Haggart And Joe Williams

Source: Don Mopsick
January 25, 2013
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This week on Riverwalk Jazz:

Doc Cheatham

trumpet
1905 - 1997

" data-original-title="" title="">Doc Cheatham,

Bob Haggart

bass
b.1914

" data-original-title="" title="">Bob Haggart and

Joe Williams

vocals
1918 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Williams share their music and stories with The

" data-original-title="" title="">Jim Cullum Jr. Jazz Band.

The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of shows at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound.

Adophus ��Doc�� Cheatham (1905-1997) was a walking encyclopedia of jazz history. He rubbed shoulders in Chicago with King Oliver and

Jelly Roll Morton

piano
1890 - 1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Jelly Roll Morton. He played behind blues queens

Ma Rainey

vocals
1886 - 1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Ma Rainey and

Bessie Smith

vocals
1894 - 1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Bessie Smith and toured with

Cab Calloway

composer / conductor
1907 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Cab Calloway. Then, at the age of 60, he joined the

Benny Goodman

clarinet
1909 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Goodman Orchestra and his talent began to blossom. Never out of work, he kept on recording and performing for three more decades, right up to the night before he passed away. We were lucky to work with Doc at The Landing when he was 85 years old.

Jim Cullum says, ��Doc was full of stories and lore from the early jazz days. He had known Louis and Lil from the mid ��20s during his first visits to Chicago. No one was more colorful or more fun. His playing got better in his old age.��

Bassist, composer and arranger Bob Haggart (1914-1998) launched his career playing with the

Bob Crosby

saxophone, alto
1913 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Bob Crosby Orchestra and the Bob Cats in the 1930s. His buoyant, swinging style on bass made him a winner in jazz polls and led to recording sessions with

Louis Armstrong

trumpet and vocals
1901 - 1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Armstrong and

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington. But his abilities as an arranger and composer proved him to be far more than a talented sideman. He earned his place in jazz history with compositions like ��Big Noise from Winnetka�� and ��South Rampart Street Parade.�� Haggart��s 1939 mega-hit ��What��s New?�� with lyrics by Johnny Burke, has been recorded by artists from

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday to Linda Ronstadt.

Jim Cullum knew Bob Haggart well. ��He was a consummate gentleman and dedicated musician. By the time he started playing with us he was famous. He played with great drive and energy and enjoyed the music and the life.��

Vocalist Joe Williams (1918-1999) knew he would have a career in music the moment he began to meet the headliners at Chicago��s Regal Theater where he worked as a security guard in the 1940s. A decade later, he was singing with the

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie Orchestra. It was another dream-come -true in 1955 when the first recording Williams made with Basie topped the charts for six months. Joe Williams belted out the

Memphis Slim

piano
1915 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Memphis Slim song ��Ev'ryday I Have the Blues�� on his first chart-topper with the Basie Band. But Williams became as renowned for his ballad singing as the blues. With his passionate delivery he re-invented the sound of the big-band balladeer. Later in life, proving his versatility once again, Williams played ��Grandpa Al�� on Bill Cosby��s network TV show.

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