TINY PARHAM

El tecladista y arreglista Tiny Parham de nombre auténtico Hartzell Strathdene nació en Canadá, un 25 de Febrero de 1900 , aunque creció en Kansas City. Mas tarde se trasladó a Chicago allá por el 1925. Proviniente del vodevil de sus inicios ,en Chicago dirigió algunos combos y  trabajó como arreglista y buscador  de talentos en Paramount Records, mientras tocaba el órgano y el  piano en diferentes  teatros. Grabó varias piezas  para Victor entre 1928 y 1930 bajo el nombre de Tiny Parham y sus músicos . Consiguiría algo muy cercano al sonido de  los registros de Duke Ellington que hacía por aquellos entonces. (Un ejemplo claro es el tema  Jungle Crawl ) . A lo largo de la década de 1930 siguió  dirigiendo y viajando con sus propias bandas Chicago en 1939 y 1940. Murió de forma totalmente fortuita y desgraciada en un camerino en Milwaukee durante un espectáculo en 1943.

---------------------------------------------------------------oOo------------------------------------------------------

Hartzell Strathdene "Tiny" Parham (February 25, 1900 – April 4, 1943) was a Canadian-born American jazz bandleader and pianist of African-American descent.

Parham was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada but grew up in Kansas City. He worked as a pianist at The Eblon Theatre being mentored by the ragtime pianist and composer James Scott, and later touring with territory bands in the Southwestern United States before moving to Chicago in 1926.

He is best remembered for the recordings he made in Chicago between 1927 and 1930 for the Victor Talking Machine Company, as an accompanist for Johnny Dodds and several female blues singers as well as with his own band. Most of the musicians Parham played with are not well known in their own right, though cornetist Punch Miller, banjoist Papa Charlie Jackson, saxophone player Junie Cobb and bassist Milt Hinton are exceptions.

Parham's Victor recordings are all highly collectible and appreciated as prime examples of late 1920s jazz. His style of jazz was comparable to the sophisticated style of Jelly Roll Morton. Parham favored the violin and a number of his records have surprisingly sophisticated violin solos, along with the typical upfront tuba, horns and reeds. Parham wrote most, if not all, of his own material.

In 1930, like Jelly Roll Morton, Henry "Red" Allen, and King Oliver, Victor chose not to renew Parham's contact. After 1930, Parham found work in theater houses, especially as an organist; his last recordings were made in 1940. His entire recorded output fits on two compact discs.

The cartoonist R. Crumb included a drawing of Parham in his classic 1982 collection of trading cards and later book "Early Jazz Greats". Parham was the only non-American born so included. The book also includes a bonus cd which has a Parham track.

Parham died April 4, 1943, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

              




              
  n_g k


Tracklist:

01. Pig's Feet And Slaw (0:00)
02. Bombay (3:00)
03. Fat Man Blues (6:25)
04. Golden Lily (9:05)
05. Steel String Blues (12:24)
06. Sud Buster's Dream (15:05)
07. Dixieland Doin's (18:07)
08. Cathedral Blues (20:53)
09. Black Cat Moan (24:08)
10. Doin' The Jug-Jug (27:35)
11. Rock Bottom (30:50)
12. Down Yonder (33:48)
13. Blue Moon Blues (36:30)
14. Squeeze Me (40:06)
15. Back To The Jungle (42:39)
16. Nervous Tension (45:53)
17. Memphis Mamie (48:34)
18. Now That I've Found You (51:28)
19. My Dreams (54:40)
20. After All I've Done For You (57:52)
21. Frogtown Blues (1:00:35)
22. Moving Day (1:03:14)
23. Spo-Dee-O-Dee (1:06:15)