JAM Magazine: December/January 1998 Issue: The World's Greatest Jazz Band

The World's Greatest Jazz Band

by Floyd Levin

"The ten-piece band could roar with the impact of a large orchestra, but with such great players, they could also improvise freely like a small group. The varied material we played coalesced into a distinctive and unique sound, not like any other band before it."

-- Bob Wilber, from Music Was Not Enough

Although dream bands have always existed in the minds of jazz fans, such fantasies have rarely materialized. Financial disparities, temperamental differences, booking and promotional problems have always been formidable deterrents. Also, top caliber jazzmen lead extremely busy lives, and can find it difficult to make long range commitments.

Stellar groups have appeared on concert stages, in recording studios, and, occasionally on brief tours, but seldom has an all-star aggregation worked together regularly.

With the notable exception of Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, most star studded groups have existed only briefly -- until 1963, when a group of great players began an association destined to make jazz history. The concept gradually emerged at a series of annual Colorado jazz party weekends produced by jazz fan Dick Gibson.

Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, colleagues in the famed Bob Crosby orchestra during the mid-'30s, had continued their relationship as co-leaders of a popular recording group, the Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band. Each year, Gibson featured the pair at his party with a variety of fine musicians.

The band improved during successive sessions at Aspen, Vail and Colorado Springs. As additional players were added, the group gradually took shape.

By the time it went out into the world as an organized unit, the unusual instrumentation included: Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield on trumpets, and Lou McGarity and Carl Fontana on trombones. The reeds were handled by Bud Freeman and Bob Wilber, and the fine rhythm section included pianist Ralph Sutton, Bob Haggart on bass, Clancy Hayes, banjo, and Morey Feld on drums. Lawson and Haggart were co-leaders.

This was not a fantasy. It was a living, breathing dream band of the first order. Each member enjoyed world-wide recognition. With their expanded double front line, and a book filled with Bob Haggart's first-rate arrangements of Dixieland standards and contemporary tunes by Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles and Burt Bacharach, the band was ready.

In 1965, they were booked at Elitch Gardens. Three decades earlier, Benny Goodman appeared at the Denver venue enroute to his momentous opening at the Los Angeles Palomar Ballroom that launched the swing era. The new Lawson-Haggart band was billed as the "Ten Greats of Jazz." Hayes soon left, and Gus Johnson, Jr. replaced Feld.

Encouraged by Dick Gibson, the band continued working together. When he booked their first job in New York City, a five week engagement at the Riverboat Room in the basement of the Empire State Building in November of 1968, they had the audacity to call themselves "The World's Greatest Jazz Band." After an additional eight weeks at another Manhattan jazz club, the Down Beat, and a seven month stint at the famed Roosevelt Grill, the band's future seemed secure.

When Gibson arranged a worldwide booking agreement with Sol Hurok, an important promoter of classical music and ballet groups, "The World's Greatest Jazz Band" was off and running. It was a difficult name to live up to, but the group justified its portentous title with a series of extended dates and one-nighters as they crisscrossed the nation. There was also a triumphant tour of England.

In 1971, wealthy Phoenix investor Barker Hickox, a silent partner in the venture, succeeded Gibson as the WGJB's sponsor. Hickox, a prominent member of the Republican Party, arranged for a prestigious booking the following year at Richard Nixon's inaugural ball in Washington, D.C. It provided wider exposure for the rapidly ascending jazz band.

Hickox also established the World Jazz Record Company and produced a series of fine albums. Those recordings preserved the sounds of the band's unique repertoire including complete programs of songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Rogers and Hart. Plus a successful Christmas album. The LPs sold for $3.50 including postage.

Momentum continued to gather for the next decade as rave reviews followed each engagement. Overcoming early skepticism, this "dream band," continuing to substantiate their title, attained a lofty plateau of popularity. An appearance of the World's Greatest Jazz Band was usually met with soldout attendance.

Their musical trademark -- rousing duets (or duels) between Bud Freeman and Bob Wilber, Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield, or Vic Dickenson and Benny Morton, brought audiences to their feet. Ralph Sutton's stirring stride piano numbers introduced the genius of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith to a broad range of listeners.

Over the years, Lawson and Haggart remained, but because of personal and family commitments or illness, changes occurred within the ranks. A few dozen celebrated musicians sported the familiar stylish blue blazers that identified them as members of the World's Greatest Jazz Band. They included: Billy Butterfield, Bobby Hackett, John Best, Ed Polser, Zeke Zarchy, Randy Sandke and Jon-Erik Kelso, trumpet; Cutty Cutshall, Kai Winding, Eddie Hubble, Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, Sonny Rosso, Urbie Green, George Masso, Bob Havens and Ira Nepus, trombone; Peanuts Hucko, Tommy Newsom, Al Klink, Johnny Mince, Phil Bodner, Bill Stegmeyer, Eddie Miller, Kenny Davern, Abe Most, Dave Moody and Ken Peplowski, reeds; Bucky Pizzarelli and Marty Grosz, guitar; Lou Stein, John Bunch and Roger Kellaway, piano; and Bobby Rosengarden, Cliff Leeman, Nick Fatool, Jake Hanna and Butch Miles, drums.

Despite the inevitable personnel turnovers, Bob Haggart's brilliant arrangements retained the originally conceived style and thrust of the band. Using six horns and a sturdy rhythm section, he merged traditional jazz with vigorous up-to-date compositions. Haggart also included fresh original material composed by band members Wilber, Dickenson, Freeman and Johnson while sustaining the classic Dixieland flavor he created for the Bob Crosby band many years earlier. The result: the band earned a worldwide following and became a major influence on the jazz scene well into the 1980s.

Lawson and Haggart occasionally assembled the WGJB for special events including their first Japanese tour in 1995. Unfortunately, Yank Lawson's death early that year stilled his torrid muted trumpet and ended a 60-year relationship with his partner Bob Haggart.

The bassist sadly fulfilled the scheduled Far East dates with Ed Polcer valiantly substituting for Lawson. The band members were thrilled to be in Japan for the first time and appreciated the excitement of Japanese fans who were aware of their accomplishments. Based on this effective introduction to Japanese audiences, promoter Yoshi Nishikage arranged a return visit the following year.

Bob Haggart remained at the helm, still tall and handsome at 81, and the resurrected WGJB included a pair of veterans, George Masso ('75-76 and '80) and pianist John Bunch ('76). Haggart also reprised the established dual instrumentation format with the best of New York's current brass players. Jon-Erik Kelso and Randy Sandke were on trumpets (Sandke provided succinct M.C. commentary), and trombone assignments were deftly handled by Masso, a veteran of the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra, and Ira Nepus, who, as a youngster in Los Angeles, played with jazz greats Barney Bigard, Kid Ory, Teddy Buckner, Joe Darrensbourg and Ed Garland on club dates and jam sessions at the Southern California Hot Jazz Society.

Ken Peplowski, a master of all reeds, played tenor and clarinet. Legendary bassist Haggart staunchly anchored the rhythm section with Bunch on piano and Butch Miles on drums. And vocalist Banu Gibson was included as an added attraction.

A fine CD, recorded in July of '96 at Club Birdland in Tokyo, will soon be issued on the Arbors label.

The World's Greatest Jazz Band: a fantasy that materialized at Dick Gibson's Colorado jazz parties, and, 30-plus years later, continues to sustain the swinging sounds once perceived and originated by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart.

RETURN TO DECEMBER/JANUARY 1998 MAIN INDEX

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		The World's Greatest Jazz Band by Floyd Levin "The ten-piece band could roar with the impact of a large orchestra, but with such great players, they could also improvise freely like a small group. The varied material we played coalesced into a distinctive and unique sound, not like any other band before it." -- Bob Wilber, from Music Was Not Enough Although dream bands have always existed in the minds of jazz fans, such fantasies have rarely materialized. Financial disparities, temperamental differences, booking and promotional problems have always been formidable deterrents. Also, top caliber jazzmen lead extremely busy lives, and can find it difficult to make long range commitments. Stellar groups have appeared on concert stages, in recording studios, and, occasionally on brief tours, but seldom has an all-star aggregation worked together regularly. With the notable exception of Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, most star studded groups have existed only briefly -- until 1963, when a group of great players began an association destined to make jazz history. The concept gradually emerged at a series of annual Colorado jazz party weekends produced by jazz fan Dick Gibson. Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, colleagues in the famed Bob Crosby orchestra during the mid-'30s, had continued their relationship as co-leaders of a popular recording group, the Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band. Each year, Gibson featured the pair at his party with a variety of fine musicians. The band improved during successive sessions at Aspen, Vail and Colorado Springs. As additional players were added, the group gradually took shape. By the time it went out into the world as an organized unit, the unusual instrumentation included: Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield on trumpets, and Lou McGarity and Carl Fontana on trombones. The reeds were handled by Bud Freeman and Bob Wilber, and the fine rhythm section included pianist Ralph Sutton, Bob Haggart on bass, Clancy Hayes, banjo, and Morey Feld on drums. Lawson and Haggart were co-leaders. This was not a fantasy. It was a living, breathing dream band of the first order. Each member enjoyed world-wide recognition. With their expanded double front line, and a book filled with Bob Haggart's first-rate arrangements of Dixieland standards and contemporary tunes by Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles and Burt Bacharach, the band was ready. In 1965, they were booked at Elitch Gardens. Three decades earlier, Benny Goodman appeared at the Denver venue enroute to his momentous opening at the Los Angeles Palomar Ballroom that launched the swing era. The new Lawson-Haggart band was billed as the "Ten Greats of Jazz." Hayes soon left, and Gus Johnson, Jr. replaced Feld. Encouraged by Dick Gibson, the band continued working together. When he booked their first job in New York City, a five week engagement at the Riverboat Room in the basement of the Empire State Building in November of 1968, they had the audacity to call themselves "The World's Greatest Jazz Band." After an additional eight weeks at another Manhattan jazz club, the Down Beat, and a seven month stint at the famed Roosevelt Grill, the band's future seemed secure. When Gibson arranged a worldwide booking agreement with Sol Hurok, an important promoter of classical music and ballet groups, "The World's Greatest Jazz Band" was off and running. It was a difficult name to live up to, but the group justified its portentous title with a series of extended dates and one-nighters as they crisscrossed the nation. There was also a triumphant tour of England. In 1971, wealthy Phoenix investor Barker Hickox, a silent partner in the venture, succeeded Gibson as the WGJB's sponsor. Hickox, a prominent member of the Republican Party, arranged for a prestigious booking the following year at Richard Nixon's inaugural ball in Washington, D.C. It provided wider exposure for the rapidly ascending jazz band. Hickox also established the World Jazz Record Company and produced a series of fine albums. Those recordings preserved the sounds of the band's unique repertoire including complete programs of songs by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Rogers and Hart. Plus a successful Christmas album. The LPs sold for $3.50 including postage. Momentum continued to gather for the next decade as rave reviews followed each engagement. Overcoming early skepticism, this "dream band," continuing to substantiate their title, attained a lofty plateau of popularity. An appearance of the World's Greatest Jazz Band was usually met with soldout attendance. Their musical trademark -- rousing duets (or duels) between Bud Freeman and Bob Wilber, Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield, or Vic Dickenson and Benny Morton, brought audiences to their feet. Ralph Sutton's stirring stride piano numbers introduced the genius of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith to a broad range of listeners. Over the years, Lawson and Haggart remained, but because of personal and family commitments or illness, changes occurred within the ranks. A few dozen celebrated musicians sported the familiar stylish blue blazers that identified them as members of the World's Greatest Jazz Band. They included: Billy Butterfield, Bobby Hackett, John Best, Ed Polser, Zeke Zarchy, Randy Sandke and Jon-Erik Kelso, trumpet; Cutty Cutshall, Kai Winding, Eddie Hubble, Vic Dickenson, Benny Morton, Sonny Rosso, Urbie Green, George Masso, Bob Havens and Ira Nepus, trombone; Peanuts Hucko, Tommy Newsom, Al Klink, Johnny Mince, Phil Bodner, Bill Stegmeyer, Eddie Miller, Kenny Davern, Abe Most, Dave Moody and Ken Peplowski, reeds; Bucky Pizzarelli and Marty Grosz, guitar; Lou Stein, John Bunch and Roger Kellaway, piano; and Bobby Rosengarden, Cliff Leeman, Nick Fatool, Jake Hanna and Butch Miles, drums. Despite the inevitable personnel turnovers, Bob Haggart's brilliant arrangements retained the originally conceived style and thrust of the band. Using six horns and a sturdy rhythm section, he merged traditional jazz with vigorous up-to-date compositions. Haggart also included fresh original material composed by band members Wilber, Dickenson, Freeman and Johnson while sustaining the classic Dixieland flavor he created for the Bob Crosby band many years earlier. The result: the band earned a worldwide following and became a major influence on the jazz scene well into the 1980s. Lawson and Haggart occasionally assembled the WGJB for special events including their first Japanese tour in 1995. Unfortunately, Yank Lawson's death early that year stilled his torrid muted trumpet and ended a 60-year relationship with his partner Bob Haggart. The bassist sadly fulfilled the scheduled Far East dates with Ed Polcer valiantly substituting for Lawson. The band members were thrilled to be in Japan for the first time and appreciated the excitement of Japanese fans who were aware of their accomplishments. Based on this effective introduction to Japanese audiences, promoter Yoshi Nishikage arranged a return visit the following year. Bob Haggart remained at the helm, still tall and handsome at 81, and the resurrected WGJB included a pair of veterans, George Masso ('75-76 and '80) and pianist John Bunch ('76). Haggart also reprised the established dual instrumentation format with the best of New York's current brass players. Jon-Erik Kelso and Randy Sandke were on trumpets (Sandke provided succinct M.C. commentary), and trombone assignments were deftly handled by Masso, a veteran of the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra, and Ira Nepus, who, as a youngster in Los Angeles, played with jazz greats Barney Bigard, Kid Ory, Teddy Buckner, Joe Darrensbourg and Ed Garland on club dates and jam sessions at the Southern California Hot Jazz Society. Ken Peplowski, a master of all reeds, played tenor and clarinet. Legendary bassist Haggart staunchly anchored the rhythm section with Bunch on piano and Butch Miles on drums. And vocalist Banu Gibson was included as an added attraction. A fine CD, recorded in July of '96 at Club Birdland in Tokyo, will soon be issued on the Arbors label. The World's Greatest Jazz Band: a fantasy that materialized at Dick Gibson's Colorado jazz parties, and, 30-plus years later, continues to sustain the swinging sounds once perceived and originated by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart. RETURN TO DECEMBER/JANUARY 1998 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.