Earle Spencer

Earle R. Spencer (born 1926) was an American trombonist and leader of a progressive swing big band bearing his name — Earle Spencer and His Orchestra. He formed the band in 1946 and disbanded in 1949. The band recorded for Black & White Records — a label so named by its founder, Les Schreiber, to reflect the races of its recording artists.[1]

History of the Earle Spencer Orchestra

Spencer was a trombonist who, after playing in the band that he led from 1946 to 1949, gave up playing entirely, due partly to a heart murmur, due partly to the hard economics of big bands in that began in the late 1940s, and due partly to the band's record label, Black & White Records, which went out of business in October 1949.

Towards the end of World War II, a conscious movement towards the creation of a new style of big band jazz became apparent on America's west coast. The longest established of these self-styled "progressives" was Stan Kenton; then came Boyd Raeburn, and finally Earle Spencer.[2]

In 1946, Spencer formed his band in Los Angeles after being discharged from the U.S. Navy. Its compositions were progressively styled in the spirit of Stan Kenton, Johnny Richards, and Boyd Raeburn. High-note trumpeter Al Killian, trombonist Tommy Pederson, tenorman Lucky Thompson, trumpeter Buddy Childers and altoist Art Pepper, were among the notable members. Spencer apparently dropped out of music altogether by the end of 1949 – when he was still just 23 – and nothing much has been heard from him since.[3]

When Kenton was in his Artistry in Rhythm phase, Earle Spencer was running a roadshow version of the same thing. The evidence is on Concert in Jazz, Tops 1532, dimmed by relatively inadequate recording.[4]

The March 5, 1949 Billboard magazine listed the Earle Spencer Orchestra as a "B" Band — one that grossed less than $200,000, but more than $100,000 during 1948. Its booking agent firm was General Artist Corporation.[5]

Big bands were finding it difficult to survive in the late 1940s and were faced with limited bookings; so Spencer disbanded after a gig in Dallas.[6][7]

Edward Franklin Gabel ("Gabe;" 1924–2014) left Kenton as Kenton's bandboy to work for Earle Spencer as manager in 1947.[8][9]

Critical acclaim

"Box Lunch (at the Factory)," arranged by Paul Nelson (Black & White 875–A): The always interesting Earle Spencer has a potent, futuristic, impressionist work here. Complex orking, stratospheric brass figures, intricate rhythms, and a terrific scream trumpet chorus make this a sure bet for amateurs of the super modern.[10]

Notable band personnel

Unknown period
1946 notable personnel
1948 notable personnel

Performance venues

California

Oregon

Texas

Utah

Discography

Earle Spencer & His Orchestra

James Lawrence Salko (1919–2003), Paul R. Lopez (born 1923), Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Clair Jones (tp) Earle Spencer, Ray Heath, Jr., Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Marshall Cram (tb) Les Robinson, Galen McReynolds (cl,as) Ralph Lee, Joe Koch (cl,ts) Hy Mandell (bar) Jack Marshall (g) Tommy Todd (p) Red Callender (b) Jackie Mills (born 11 March 1922 New York City) (d) Paul F. Polena, William (Bill) Gillette, Morty Corb, Paul Nelson, Frank Erickson (arr)
BW349: "Concerto for Guitar," Bill Gillette, arranger
BW350: "Bolero in Boogie," Paul Francis Polena, composer, 78 rpm B&W OCLC 45771745
BW351: "Production on Melody" 78 rpm B&W OCLC 45771745
BW352: "Soft and Warm," Johnny Eppolito; composer, Ralph Lee, tenor solo[lower-roman 3]
BW353: "Lover Man," Paul Nelson, arranger (unissued)
"Earle meets Stan," Frank Erickson, arranger
Al Killian, James Lawrence Salko (1919–2003), Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Clair Jones (tp) Earle Spencer, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Marshall Cram (tb) Skeets Herfurt, William Hudspeth (cl, as) Herbert Bickford (Herbie) Steward (1926–2003), Francis Polifroni (cl, ts) Bob Snell (bar) Tony Rizzi (g) Milt Raskin (p) Artie Shapiro (b) Jackie Mills (born 11 March 1922 New York City) (d) William (Bill) Gillett, Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983) (arr)
BW384: "E.S. Boogie" (part 2), William Gillett, arranger
BW385: "E.S. Boogie" (part 1), William Gillett, arranger
BW386: "Spenceria" (unissued)
BW387: "Rhapsody in Boogie" (part 1), Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983), arranger
Les Robinson (cl, as) replaces Skeets Herfurt, James McGee (fhr) Richard G. Hofmann (fhr) Paul F. Polena (p-1) Bob Hayward (vcl) Frank Erickson (arr) added
BW388: "Amber Moon"
BW389: "Spencerian Theory" (part 2) Bob Hayward, vocal, Frank Erickson, arranger
BW390: "Rhapsody in Boogie" (part 2), Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983), arranger
BW391: "Spencerian Theory" (part 1), Bob Hayward, vocal, Frank Erickson, arranger
Al Killian, Frank Beach, Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Mike Bryan (tp) Earle Spencer, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Ray Sims (Raymond C. Sims; 1921–2000), Jim Gales (tb) William Hudspeth, Les Robinson (cl,as) Raph Lee, Don Francis Lodice (1919–1995) (ts) Hy Mandell (bar) Hal Schaefer (p) Gene Sargent (g) The Arvin Garrison Quintet (1) : Arvin Garrison, Barney Kessel, Irving Ashby, Tony Rizzi, Gene Sargent (g-1) Artie Shapiro (b) Sam Weiss (d)
BW529: "Five Guitars in Flight" (we out,1)
BW530: "Polychronic Suite" (unissued)
BW531: "Gangbusters," music by Paul Francis Polena
BW532: "Piano Interlude," William Gillett, arranger
Sensation Of The Year 1946: Earl Spencer And His New Band — the following are probable personnel: Al Killian, Paul R. Lopez (born 1923), Bob Fowler, Clair Jones, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993) (tp) Ray Sims, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson (tb) Ronnie Lang (born Ronald Langinger; 24 July 1929 Chicago), William Huspeth (as) Ralph Lee, Francis Polifroni (ts) Steve Perlow (bar) Bob Clarke (p) Tony Rizzi (g) Morty Corb (b) Bobby White (born Robert E. White; 28 June 1926, Chicago) (d) Doris Clark (vcl)
  1. "Theme"
  2. "Spenceria"
  3. "I May Be Wrong"
  4. "Hey Mr. Postman," Doris Clark, vocal
  5. "In the Hall of the Mountain King"
  6. "The Flying Saucer"
  7. "Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop," Doris Clark, vocal
  8. "Bolero in Boogie"
  9. "Progressions in Boogie" (Into)
  10. "The Theme"
Note: Possibly from AFRS Jubilee No. 257
  1. "E.S. boogie" (first movement)
  1. "E.S. Boogie" (second movement)
Possibly from AFRS Jubilee No. 288 or 289
Side 1
01: Introduction & theme: "One O‘Clock Jump"
01: "Signature Theme"
01: "E.S. Boogie"
02: "Please Be Kind" - v BD
03: "Ornithology"
04: "Marcheta"
Side 2
01: "Bolero in Boogie"
05: "Heartaches" - v JA
03: "Body and Soul"
01: "In the Hall of the Mountain King," arranged by Frank Erickson
01: Signoff & Theme: "One O´Clock Jump" (nc)
Al Killian, Frank Beach, Ray Linn, Paul R. Lopez (born 1923), trumpets; Ollie Wilson, Tommy Pederson, Hal Smith, trombones; Barbara Lee, Wilbur Schwartz, alto saxes: Ralph Lee, Lucky Thompson, tenor saxes; Hy Mandel, baritone sax; Paul Francis Polena (born 1925),[lower-roman 4] piano; Arv Garrison, guitar; Harry Babasin, string bass; Jackie Mills (born 11 March 1922 New York City), drums; Earle Spencer, leader; Bill Gillette, arranger
Tony L. Faccinto (1927–2006), Buddy Childers, Joseph Gerald "Jerry" Munson, Jack Gerheim (Jacob William Garehime, Jr.; 1923–2004), Clyde Melvin Reasinger (born 1927) (trumpets); Earle Spencer, Jimmy Knepper, Junior Durward Morsch, Harry John Forbes, Earl Burgess Hamlin (1915–2008) (trombone) Art Pepper, Herb Geller (clarinet, alto sax), Thomas Kelly (Tommy) Makajon (1926–1981), Stanley Edward Heaney (clarinet, tenor sax), Howard Ansley Phillips (1929–2010) (bar) Robert Shannon Fletcher (piano) Laurindo Almeida (guitar), Willie Slater (b) Roy Edwin Hall (drums); Toni Aubin (vcl)
BW730-3: "Oh, You Beautiful Doll"
BW731-1: "Jazzbo," Paul Nelson, arranger
BW732-1: "Sunday Afternoon," Toni Aubin, vocal; Paul Nelson, arranger
BW733-2: "Box Lunch" ("at the factory"), Paul Nelson, arranger
This session, one of Geller's earliest commercial recordings and the last of the Spencer orchestra, has personnel discrepancies with other sources, including:
Except for Geller and a few others, the session lists different personnel. For example, Bob Lively is listed on alto sax along with Art Pepper. The personnel listed here are found in the Lord discography and the liner notes to Fresh Sound 2501. According to jazz historian Noal Cohen, Geller remembers being on this session: "I remember that because it was the first time I met and played with Art Pepper. It was around 1947, and perhaps my first recording as a sideman," — email from Geller to jazz historian Noal Cohen, October 4, 2011.[13]
The 1947 date is mentioned in other sources including the famous 11-volume Jepsen Jazz Discographies,[14] but seems unlikely given the number of Stan Kenton musicians present (Childers, Pepper, Almeida, Betts). Historian Cohen feels that 1949 is more reasonable because Kenton had disbanded in late 1948 after which these musicians joined Spencer (reported in Down Beat Magazine).[13]

Compositions

Note 1: Paul Reiner (1905–1982) was the founder and president of Black & White Records
Note 2: The copyright entries attribute Spencer as composer, but, he did not compose any of the music. Crediting the band leader in the 1940s was simply a custom.

Audio samples

References

General references
  • "On the Stand: Earl Spencer" (performance review), by Lee Zhito (1818–1995), Billboard February 22, 1947, pg. 19
Notes
  1. ↑ Toni Aubin's maiden name was Maria Antoinette Rubio; later known as Mary Phillips (Howard Ansley Phillips); she had a baby girl in 1951, but gave her for adoption; also has a son, Ian Charles Phillips (born 30 Sep 1949 Los Angeles), whom she raised; she married Jack Stanley Lanning (1923–2000) in 1954.
  2. ↑ Louis Moritz Ohls, Jr. (1923–2004)
  3. ↑ The Jazz Discography Online, Tom Lord (ed.), incorrectly lists Morty Corb as arranger
  4. ↑ Polena (born 1925) had played piano with Frankie Carle and Henry Busse

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Original copyrights
Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 3 Musical Compositions, Third Series, Library of Congress, Copyright Office

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Inline citations
  1. ↑ American Big Bands, by William Franklin Lee III, PhD (1929–2011), Hal Leonard Corporation (2005), pg. 307; OCLC 62090862 ISBN 0634080547; ISBN 9780634080548
  2. ↑ Jazz on record: A Critical Guide to the First 50 years, 1917-1967, by Charles Fox & Albert J. McCarthy, Hanover Books (1968); OCLC 11088, 500722306 and 655464915 ISBN 0900994002 ISBN 9780900994005
  3. ↑ "Earle Spencer and His Orchestra" (review of the IAJRC Records 1988 compilation), by Scott A. Yanow (born 1954), allmusic
  4. ↑ The Collector's Jazz: Modern, by John Steuart Wilson (1913–2002), Ziff-Davis (1959),pg. 278; OCLC 604234645
  5. ↑ "The Band Biz Story – 1948," Billboard, pg. 15 March 5, 1949, pg. 15
  6. ↑ Fifties Jazz Talk, a Oral Retrospective, by Gordon Jack (born 1941), Scarecrow Press (2004), pg. 114; ISBN 0810849976; ISBN 9780810849976
  7. ↑ The Story of Jazz, by Marshall Winslow Stearns, Oxford University Press (1970); ISBN 0195012690; ISBN 9780195012699
  8. ↑ "As Written," Billboard, March 22, 1947, pg. 19, col. 1
  9. ↑ Stan Kenton: The Early Years, 1941-1947, by Edward F. Gabel (1924–2014), Balboa Books (1993); OCLC 29389530 and 243792111 LCCN 93-42228 ISBN 0936653515 ISBN 9780936653518
  10. ↑ "Artist Tunes, Label and No Comment," Billboard, pg. 195, col. 1, July 9, 1949
  11. ↑ "Spencer Band to Play Bagdad Three Nights," Dallas Morning News, August 6, 1948
  12. ↑ The AFRS "Jubilee" Transcription Programs: An Exploratory Discography, by Rainer E. Lotz (de) (born 1937) and Ulrich Neuert, Frankfurt: Norbert Rücker Verlag (1985), pps. 238, 257, 289; OCLC 13271000; Online version OCLC 690448644
  13. 1 2 The Lucky Thompson Discography 1943-1950, by Noal Cohen (born 1937), Montclair, New Jersey
  14. ↑ Jazz Records 1942–62, Vol. 7 (S–TE), by Jørgen Grunnet Jepsen (de) (surname often misspelled in library catalogs as "Jepson"), Karl Emil Knudsen (nl) (publisher), Copenhagen (1964); pps. 244–245 (1964); OCLC 59583376, 399442 and 755063165
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