Jack Bland (May 8, 1899 – August 1968) 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 ...

banjoist and guitarist. Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Bland co-founded the

Mound City Blue Blowers The Mound City Blue Blowers were an American novelty jazz ensemble, formed in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was co-founded by Red McKenzie and Jack Bland and performed from 1923 to 1936. First assembled in 1923, the group's original membe ...

with

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 ...

in 1924 in St. Louis. Their first hit record was "Arkansas Blues", a success in Chicago and the American midwest. After

Eddie Lang Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as p ...

joined the group late in 1924, the group booked a tour in England. Later in the 1920s, Bland began playing more cello and guitar. In 1929, Lang left the group, and

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

joined;

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swing ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

, and

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

would all play in the ensemble in the 1930s, which moved to more of a

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 ( ...

sound. Also in 1929, the Blue Blowers appeared in a 1929 short film, ''

The Opry House ''The Opry House'' is a 1929 Mickey Mouse short animated film released by Celebrity Pictures, as part of the ''Mickey Mouse'' film series. It was the fifth Mickey Mouse short to be released, the second of that year. It cast Mickey as the owner of ...

''. In 1932 Bland did session work in New York City with the

Rhythmakers Rhythmakers, sometime known as The Rhythmakers or the Chicago Rhythm Kings in later re-issues of their music, was a jazz recording group which recorded music in four sessions in New York City in 1932. A racially integrated ensemble, the group was u ...

, a recording ensemble featuring singer Billy Banks, with

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 ...

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

, and

Zutty Singleton Arthur James "Zutty" Singleton (May 14, 1898 – July 14, 1975) was an American jazz drummer. Career Singleton was born in Bunkie, Louisiana, United States, and raised in New Orleans. According to his ''Jazz Profiles'' biography, his unusual ...

. Musicians

Pops Foster George Murphy "Pops" Foster (May 19, 1892 – October 30, 1969) was an American jazz musician, best known for his vigorous slap bass playing of the string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally. Biography Foster was born to ...

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 ...

also played with the group at times. In the 1940s Bland played on

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

at Jimmy Ryan's Club, playing with Allen and Singleton as well as

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 ...

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 care ...

Ike Quebec Ike Abrams Quebec (August 17, 1918 – January 16, 1963) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career in the big band era of the 1940s, then fell from prominence for a time until launching a comeback in the years before his dea ...

, and

Hot Lips Page Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sh ...

; some of their sessions were recorded by

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 ...

and released on

Commodore Records Commodore Records was an American independent record label known for producing Dixieland jazz and swing. It is also remembered for releasing Billie Holiday's hit " Strange Fruit". History Commodore Records was founded in the spring of 1938 by Mi ...

. From 1942 to 1944 he played with

Art Hodes Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist. Biography Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...

and also with

; he led his own band from 1944 to 1950. In the 1950s, Bland moved to Los Angeles and retired from performing, taking work as a taxicab driver. He died there on October 18, 1968.

References

Jack Bland Jack Bland (May 8, 1899 – August 1968) was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist. Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Sedalia, Missouri, Bland co-founded the Mound City Blue Blowers with Red McKenzie in 1924 in St. Louis. Their first hit record was "A ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bland, Jack American jazz banjoists American jazz guitarists Guitarists from Missouri 1968 deaths 1899 births 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists Jazz musicians from Missouri 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians