Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang.
Early years
Condon was born in
Goodland, Indiana
Goodland is a town in Grant Township in Newton County, Indiana. The population was 1,043 at the 2010 census.
History
Goodland was laid out in 1861. The town was named from the quality of its soil. A post office has been in operation at Goodlan ...
,
the son of John and Margaret (née McGraw) Condon. He grew up in
Momence, Illinois
Momence is a city and capital of Momence township, Illinois it is located in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,310 in 2010. It is part of the Kankakee– Bradley Metropolitan Statis ...
, and
Chicago Heights, Illinois, where he attended St. Agnes and
Bloom High School
Bloom High School is a public school in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206.
The school was founded in 1900. A second Chicago Heights high school, Bloom Trail, was established in 1976 to offset over ...
. After playing
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
, he switched to banjo and was a professional musician by 1921.
When he was 15 years old, he received his first union card in Waterloo, Iowa.
[ ]
Career
He was based in Chicago for most of the 1920s, and played with such jazz notables as
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer.
Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical ap ...
,
Jack Teagarden
Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...
, and
Frank Teschemacher
Frank Teschemacher (March 13, 1906 – March 1, 1932) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, associated with the "Austin High" gang (along with Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman and others).
Early life and education
He was born i ...
. He and
Red McKenzie
William 'Red' McKenzie (October 14, 1899 – February 7, 1948) was an American jazz vocalist and musician who played a comb as an instrument. He played the comb-and-paper by placing paper, sometimes strips from the ''Evening World'', over the t ...
formed the Chicago Rhythm Kings in 1925.
[ While in Chicago, Condon and other white musicians would go to Lincoln Gardens to watch and learn from ]King Oliver
Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he w ...
and his band. They later would frequent the Sunset Café to see Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...
and his Hot Five
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a wine tasting descriptor
Places
* Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distri ...
for the same reasons.
In 1928, Condon moved to New York City. He frequently arranged jazz sessions for the record companies, sometimes playing with the artists he brought to the recording studios, including Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...
. He organised racially integrated recording sessions—when these were still rare—with Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...
, Armstrong and Henry 'Red' Allen. He played with the band of Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader.
Biography Early life and career
Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...
for a time. Later, from 1938 he had a long association with Milt Gabler
Milton Gabler (May 20, 1911 – July 20, 2001) was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. These included being the first person to deal in record reissues, the first to sel ...
's Commodore Records.
A handful of records were issued under his own name: a July 28, 1928 two-song session was recorded for OKeh
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
, but only issued in England. On October 30, 1928, an OKeh was issued as "Eddie Condon and his Footwarmers", featuring Jack Teagarden. A further session on February 8, 1929, yielded a record issued under the name "Eddie Hot Shots" and issued on Victor's hot dance series. In 1933, a further two sessions were recorded for Brunswick consisting of 6 recordings, only 2 of which were released in the US. From 1938 on, Condon recorded for Commodore and one session for Decca.
From the late 1930s on he was a regular at the Manhattan jazz club Nick's. The sophisticated variation on Dixieland
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
music which Condon and his colleagues created there came to be nicknamed "Nicksieland". By this time, his regular circle of musical associates included Wild Bill Davison
William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where th ...
, Bobby Hackett
Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...
, George Brunies
George Clarence Brunies (February 6, 1902 – November 19, 1974), Georg Brunis, was an American jazz trombonist, who was part of the dixieland revival. He was known as "The King of the Tailgate Trombone".Stetler, Susan L. (editor) (1987), "B ...
, Edmond Hall
Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...
, and Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.
With a highly individualistic and sp ...
. In 1939, he appeared with "Bobby Hacket and Band" in the Warner Brothers & Vitaphone film musical short-subject, ''On the Air.''
Condon did a series of jazz radio broadcasts, ''Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts
''Eddie Condon's Jazz Concerts'' is an American old-time radio program featuring Dixieland and jazz music. It was broadcast on the Blue Network from May 20, 1944, to April 7, 1945.
Format
In 1942, musician Eddie Condon began staging concerts in Ne ...
'', from New York's Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
during 1944–45 which were nationally broadcast. These recordings survive, and have been issued on the Jazzology
Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation.
Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year he ...
label.
From 1945 through 1967, he ran his own New York jazz club, Eddie Condon's
Eddie Condon's was the name of three successive jazz venues in New York run by jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader Eddie Condon from 1945 until the mid-1980s.[Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...]
,[ then 52nd Street near Sixth Avenue, on the present site of the CBS headquarters building; then later, on the south side of East 56th Street, east of Second Avenue. In the 1950s, Condon recorded a sequence of classic albums for Columbia Records. The musicians involved in these albums, and at Condon's club, included Wild Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett (cornet), Billy Butterfield (trumpet), ]Edmond Hall
Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...
, Peanuts Hucko
Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko (April 7, 1918 – June 19, 2003) was an American big band musician. His primary instrument was the clarinet, but he sometimes played saxophone.
Early life and education
He was born in Syracuse, New York, United St ...
, Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.
With a highly individualistic and sp ...
, Bob Wilber
Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his care ...
(clarinet), Cutty Cutshall
Robert Dewees "Cutty" Cutshall (December 29, 1911 – August 16, 1968) was an American jazz trombonist.
Cutshall was born in Huntington Co., Pennsylvania, on December 29, 1911. He played in Pittsburgh early in his career, making his first major t ...
, Lou McGarity, George Brunies (trombone), Bud Freeman
Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet.
Biography
In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sch ...
(tenor sax), Gene Schroeder, Dick Cary
Richard Durant Cary (July 10, 1916 – April 6, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger.
He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Cary earned a bachelor's degree in music from Wesleyan University in 1938 and start ...
, Ralph Sutton
Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.
Biography
Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...
(piano), Bob Casey, Walter Page
Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchest ...
, Jack Lesberg
Jack Lesberg (February 14, 1920 – September 17, 2005) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Lesberg performed with many famous jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden, Sarah Vaughan and Benny Goodman, with whom he ...
, Al Hall (bass), George Wettling, Buzzy Drootin, Cliff Leeman (drums).
Condon toured Britain in 1957 with a band including Wild Bill Davison, Cutty Cutshall, Gene Schroeder and George Wettling. His last tour was in 1964, when he took a band to Australia and Japan. Condon's men, on that tour, were Buck Clayton
Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...
(trumpet), Pee Wee Russell (clarinet), Vic Dickenson
Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines.
Life and car ...
(trombone), Bud Freeman
Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet.
Biography
In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sch ...
(tenor sax), Dick Cary
Richard Durant Cary (July 10, 1916 – April 6, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger.
He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Cary earned a bachelor's degree in music from Wesleyan University in 1938 and start ...
(piano and alto horn), Jack Lesberg (bass), Cliff Leeman (drums), Jimmy Rushing
James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.
Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...
(vocals). Billy Banks, a vocalist who had recorded with Condon and Pee Wee Russell in 1932, and had lived in obscurity in Japan for many years, turned up at one of the 1964 concerts: Pee Wee asked him "have you got any more gigs?".
In 1948, Condon's autobiography ''We Called It Music'' was published. ''Eddie Condon's Treasury of Jazz'' (1956) was a collection of articles co-edited by Condon and Richard Gehman.
A latter-day collaborator, clarinetist Kenny Davern
John Kenneth Davern (January 7, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American jazz clarinetist.
Biography
He was born in Huntington, Long Island, to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry. His mother's family originally came from Vie ...
, described a Condon gig: "It was always a thrill to get a call from Eddie and with a gig involved even more so. I remember eating beforehand with Bernie (Previn, trumpet) and Lou (McGarity, trombone) and everyone being in good spirits. There was a buzz on, we'd all had a taste and there was a great feel to the music."
Condon toured and appeared at jazz festivals until 1971.
Personal life
Condon married fashion copywriter Phyllis Smith in 1942. They had two daughters, Maggie and Liza.
Death
On August 4, 1973, Condon died of a bone disease at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, New York. He was 67.[ ] His funeral was held at Frank E. Campbell Chapel in Manhattan. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.
Discography
* ''Ringside at Condon's'' (Savoy, 1956)
* ''At Newport'' with Louis Armstrong (Columbia, 1956)
* ''Confidentially...It's Condon'' (Design, 1958)
* ''Dixieland Dance Party'' (Dot, 1958)
* ''Eddie Condon is Uptown Now!'' (MGM, 1958)
* ''Tiger Rag and All That Jazz'' (World Pacific, 1960)
* ''A Legend'' (Mainstream, 1965)
* ''The Eddie Condon Concerts'' (Chiaroscure, 1972)
* ''Jazz at the New School'' (Chiaroscure, 1972)
* ''The Spirit of Condon'' (Fat Cat's Jazz, 1973)
* ''The Immortal Eddie Condon'' (Olympic, 1974)
* ''Eddie Condon in Japan'' (Chiaroscure, 1977)
* ''Eddie Condon Wild Bill Davison Jam Session'' (Jazzology, 1980)
* ''Eddie Condon and His Jazz Concert Orchestra'' (Jazz Bird, 1981)
* ''That Toddlin' Town'' (Atlantic, 1985)
* '' The Town Hall Concerts'' (Jazzology, 1988–1996)
* ''Dixieland Jam'' (Columbia, 1989)
* ''The Definitive Eddie Condon and His Jazz Concert All-Stars Vol. 1'' (Stash, 1990)
* '' A Night With Eddie Condon'' Kenny Davern with Eddie Condon ( Arbors, 2001)
* ''Eddie Condon & Bud Freeman: Complete Commodore and Decca Sessions'' ( Mosaic, 2015)
References
External links
Eddie Condon (1905-1973)
Red Hot Jazz Archive
Eddie Condon papers, 1905–1973
The New York Public Library
Eddie Condon recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Eddie
1905 births
1973 deaths
American jazz bandleaders
American jazz banjoists
American jazz guitarists
American male guitarists
Dixieland jazz musicians
Guitarists from Indiana
People from Goodland, Indiana
Chiaroscuro Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Dixieland guitarists
McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans members
Jazzology Records artists
Columbia Records artists