Miff Mole

Irving Milfred Mole, known as Miff Mole ( born March 11, 1898 in Roosevelt, New York, † April 29, 1961 in New York City ) was a white trombonist and band leader of the early jazz.

Life and work

Miff Mole was next to Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden and Jimmy Harrison one of the most influential trombonists of early jazz. He began violin and piano, on which he played the accompaniment of silent movies. His first engagement was in the orchestra of Gus Sharp; then he played in the band of the comedian and band leader Jimmy Durante and the original Memphis Five to about 1924. Located in New York of the 1920s, he then with trumpeter Red Nichols took a lot (including under the band name The Charleston Chasers ) and with Miff Mole and his Little moler ( " Mole" in English means mole ), which only the pen name of Red Nichols Five Pennies, however, was when they recorded for the Okeh label. Some of them accompanied the then popular singer Sophie Tucker. The 1920s style of Mole and Nichols was at that time considered by many critics to be cool, urban version compared to the hot jazz. Later, jazz historian called this play as " New York Style".

From 1927 he was a studio musician, among others, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Sam Lanin and, and hardly played even jazz, but belonged to the dance bands of Cass Hagan, Don Voorhoes and Ross Gorman. But he was from 1938 to 1943 in the band of Paul Whiteman and 1943 in the by Benny Goodman. Mid-1940s, he also played with Eddie Condon and took with his own band Miff Mole and his Nicksieland tape. In the 1950s, he got health problems and died in 1961 penniless and forgotten.