Muggsy Spanier Biography
|
|
Francis Joseph Spanier, 9 November 1901, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 12 February 1967, Sausalito, California, USA. Spanier began playing cornet while barely in his teens and within a couple of years was a professional musician. His first job was with Elmer Schoebel. By the end of the 20s he had established a reputation mostly in and around Chicago and had been hired by Ted Lewis for his popular band. He remained with Lewis until the mid-30s, then joined Ben Pollack. After a short period of serious illness he formed his own band, the Ragtimers, for a hotel residency in 1938 and also recorded with the band the following year. Although short-lived, the Ragtimers made an enormous impact on the public. During the 40s Spanier combined leading his own bands with working for other artists such as Bob Crosby, Pee Wee Russell, Art Hodes and Miff Mole. In the 50s he worked frequently with Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, playing at numerous hotels, clubs and festivals all across the USA. Highly regarded by his fellow musicians, as much for his personal qualities as for his playing, Spanier’s style was simple and direct, akin in these respects to that of earlier jazzmen. In spirit, however, he was very much a product of his home-town. The 16 tracks recorded by Spanier’s Ragtimers in 1939 are classics of a kind of jazz that retains its popularity, even if his successors rarely match their quality. Spanier’s last years were dogged by poor health; he was forced to retire in 1964, and died three years later.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
