Alfred "Tubby" Hall (October 12, 1895 – May 13, 1945) 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 m ...

drummer. Hall was born in Sellers, Louisiana; his family moved to New Orleans in his childhood. His younger brother Minor "Ram" Hall also became a professional drummer. He played in many marching bands in New Orleans, including with Buddie Petit.
Chilton, John, ''Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street'', Da Capo Press, 1985, p. 132. . Retrieved May 20, 2010. In March 1917 Tubby Hall moved to Chicago, where he played with Sugar Johnny Smith. After two years in the United States Army, he returned to playing in Chicago mostly with New Orleans bands, joining

Carroll Dickerson Carroll Dickerson (November 1, 1895 – October 9, 1957) was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work to ...

's Orchestra (recording with it in 1927) and later with the groups of

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 wr ...

Jimmie Noone Jimmie Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical ...

, Tiny Parham, Johnny Dodds. Noted swing and big-band drummer

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, ...

said that Hall and Zutty Singleton "were great! They knew every trick and just how to phrase the parts of the choruses behind the horns, how to lead a man in, what to do at the turn-arounds, when to use sticks and when to use brushes, when to go for the rims or the woodblocks, what cymbals are for." He is seen in Armstrong's movies of the early 1930s, including the live action and Betty Boop cartoon ''

I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You ''I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Fleischer Studios animated short film starring Betty Boop, and featuring Koko the Clown and Bimbo (Fleischer), Bimbo. The cartoon features music by ...

'' (1932) and ''A Rhapsody in Black and Blue'' (1932), made by

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Only Armstrong and Hall got closeups in the two films, and both get their faces transposed with those of racially stereotyped "jungle natives" in the cartoon. Hall morphs from a jazz drummer to a cannibal stirring a cooking pot with two wooden sticks. His drumming style was forceful and sober, generally maintaining constant tempo on the

snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle f ...

. Jazz critic

Hugues Panassié Hugues Panassié (27 February 1912 in Paris – 8 December 1974 in Montauban) was a French Music criticism, critic, record producer, and impresario of traditional jazz. Career Panassié was born in Paris. When he was fourteen, he was stricke ...

considered him one of the three greatest jazz drummers of his generation, along with

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 ...

and Warren "Baby" Dodds.
Panassié, Hugues, ''The Real Jazz'', Smith and Durrell, Inc., 1942. Second printing August 1943, pp. 154, 155. Retrieved May 20, 2010. Tubby Hall died in Chicago.

References

External links

A Rhapsody in Black and Blue" (1932) at Google video.

Betty Boop: "I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascal you" (1932) at Internet Archive. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Tubby 1895 births 1945 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans African-American drummers American jazz drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers People from Norco, Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Eagle Band members 20th-century African-American musicians