George E. Lee
George Ewing Lee ( abbreviated usually George E. Lee, born April 28, 1896 in Boonville, Missouri, † 1958) was an American bandleader, singer and saxophonist. Lee initiated during the 1920s and early 1930s, the successful and popular band His Novelty Orchestra Swinging, which had its headquarters in Kansas City (Missouri ).
Life and work
George E. Lee from Boonville, Missouri, was born into a musical family, played in the family band violin and cello, and in France during the First World War. At this time he sang. In addition, he played on piano and baritone saxophone. After his discharge from the military in 1991, he formed a small ensemble with his sister Julia Lee, a talented pianist. Lee played in the Lincoln Hall and the Lyric Hall in Kansas City and advertised the fact that he played the latest songs. The orchestra was initially more a vaudeville as a jazz band. Lee paid his musicians below average (as opposed to Moten ), which resulted in a constant fluctuation of the musicians in his band. His dominant personality contributed to the fluctuation in the band. Nevertheless, Lee's band enough times qualitatively closer to the band of Bennie Moten. How Moten band grew Lee's band over the years in the 1920s. George and Julia's entertainer and vocal qualities made the band a success in Kansas City's appearance places at the 18th Street and Vine are. The name suffix Novelty, the band, similar to others in this time when ragtime band. The Novelty Rag is a revisiting of ragtime at the turn of the century in the 1920s.
1923 took over the six -piece band for the Okeh label on. She was thus the first African American band from Kansas City, which started its music. However, Okeh estimated the recordings " Just Wait Until I'm Gone " and " Waco Blues" an unsatisfactory and did not publish the two pieces. Lee occupied as a consequence to the group; he continued to tour through the dance halls and cabarets. Continuously and steadily the band and the music becoming more sophisticated. His powerful voice carried at concerts several blocks away from the windows of Lincoln Hall.
Early 1927 took the Lee band again, this time for Merrit records on a label from Kansas City, Winston Holmes belonged. Holmes was one of the Winston Holmes Music Company, and he started the Meritt label after the recording sessions with Lee ( and those with Moten ) had produced for Okeh. The two recordings made for Meritt give an impression of the rough pounding ( stomp -down) style of Lee Band: Down Home Syncopated Blues is a vocal number with rather short and mediocre solos. Merritt Stomp then still contains little common chords, but not convincing. Gunther Schuller, according to the Thurston Maupin trombonist and pianist Julia Lee are alone in style and the rhythmic conceptually convincing. The record sold very well locally.
In the summer of 1927 the band by Lee began with an annual commitment in Spring Lake Park in Oklahoma City. Lee was played by tenor sax and clarinet. For the commitment Lee enlarged the band on nine musicians. In the enlarged band were now playing alongside him Robert Russell and Sam Auderbach (trumpet ), Herman Walder and Clarence Taylor ( clarinet, saxophone ), Charles Rousseau ( banjo ), Julia Lee (piano), Clinton Weaver ( sousaphone ) and William D. Wood (drums). When they came back in 1928 to Kansas City, Lee enlarges the sphere of the band to the white dance halls, while he found his other work base in the 18th and Vine. During the next few years, Lee toured the southwestern United States, took on new band members and the band refined road.
Beginning of 1929, joined Jesse Stone the band. Stones masterful arrangements and compositions improved the music of the Lee band significantly and brought them to a level with Moten band. On Sunday, April 28, 1929 Lee suggested Moten 4000 dancers in a " battle of the bands " in Frog Hop in St. Joseph, Missouri. Lee's victory put Moten's regional hegemony in question. The defeat prompted Moten Eddie Durham and Bill "Count" Basie to get into the band, so they brought forward the tape again.
In November 1929, the Lee band recorded six pieces for the Brunswick label, whereupon she prepared two months. In the recordings of 6 November 1929 real improvement by the added musicians and the arrangements can be detected in comparison to the recordings from 1927. On their recordings give Utterbach (trumpet ) and Jimmy Jones ( trombone) effective solos. One of the pieces was St. James Infirmary. Louis Armstrong had made a year earlier, a recording of this piece at a faster tempo, but not sold well. Lee's slower version better suited to the worn verses that describe a gambler, reflecting on his own mortality as he looks at his dead lover in the cemetery of Saint James. The record sold well locally, but Brunswick refrained during the beginning of the depression, to promote the recording nationwide and only Cab Calloway's cover version of Lee's version of St. James Infirmary in the next year became a nationwide hit. Lee played in this occupation Tenor saxophone, guitar and sang. In another occupation bass and baritone saxophone and ukulele to be heard. Compared to competing band of Bennie Moten Lee stood out ( to 1932 as a singer with his sister, then alone). Especially by his entertainer qualities The band had outstanding soloists. The young Charlie Parker played briefly in the early 1930s in the band. The extended tours between " one night stands " in the Paseo Hall in Kansas City and venues that are far apart were in the Pacific Northwest from the Gulf to, wore down the band members. Lee was, in spite of his musical background, primarily an entertainer and as such, he focused not so much on building a band.
In February 1932 left Jesse Stone, drummer Baby Lovett, alto saxophonist Herman Walder and trumpeter Richard Smith of the band Lee to join the newly formed by former Moten musicians Thamon Hayes to join band. 1933 Lee united his forces with Moten, and formed the Lee Moten band for an engagement at Harlem Night Club. 1934 Lee's sister Julia left the band to start with a long-term commitment to Milton's, a popular in Kansas City Club, a private career. The next year, Lee broke up his band and worked as a freelancer in the 12th and 18th Street in Kansas City. 1936 brought him back into the Reduced Buster Moten Moten band. From time to time presented Lee Big Bands for special appearances together, but he never won again the success he enjoyed with his band in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Besides their own recordings of the band a record was released under the name Julia Lee with George E. Lee and His Swinging Novelty Orchestra.