The record changer (Mar-Dec 1947)

BUD SCOTT (Continued from Page 5) of years until I left New Orleans. The personnel of the band was Freddie Keppard, trumpet ; Eddie Vincent, trombone ; Big Eye Louis, clarinet ; John Vigne, drums ; Jimmy Palao, violin; Billy Marrero, bass. I enjoyed playing with that band more than any band I ever played with — even more than Robichaux. Robichaux had an older set of men and when I went with him I was very young. George Baquet was better than Big Eye Louis on clarinet. Henry Zeno was really great and Zue Robinson was playing marvelous trombone. Zue played very much like Ory, only Zue didn't jazz as much as Ory. Zue had a tone like Tommy Dorsey — a beautiful tone. I was the first musician who started singing in orchestras — started that in Robichaux's band. Then with Freddie I sang Oh, You Beautiful Doll. It was terrific with trombone behind it. I sometimes used a megaphone and sometimes I sang right out. Tony Jackson did Pretty Baby and You're Such a Pretty Thing. Tony came around to my house to play — he was a genius when you saw him — just put him in a heaven by himself. He had the technique of Art Tatum and he" had the jazz movement of a Fats Waller. He used to put the Poet and Peasant Overture in ragtime. But there was only one man I know in jazz piano playing — it's a pity you didn't hear him in his time — that was Jelly Roll Morton. Jelly Roll is a copyist of Tony's. He would play Tony's Black and White Rag and Cannon Ball. I think the greatest trumpet player in New Orleans was Freddie Keppard. There was a difference in style between Keppard and Bolden. Keppard had a more beautiful tone — both were great but Freddie was as great in his style as Bolden was in his. I liked Keppard better than . anyone, and that goes for today, too. Jim Williams was a great trumpet player. He was with Robichaux when I was with him. Manuel Perez was a great trumpet player and a jazz man — . everything, anyway you pick it. He could do all the tricks. Andrew Kimball was a fine trumpet player. Bunk Johnson had his style with the Joplin rags. Bunk was a good trumpet player — no two questions about that. He was popular but didn't have half the popularity of Freddie Keppard or Perez — they were the lions. Mutt Carey was just starting out at the time. Kid Ory had a trumpet player called Shiff. Ory was playing good — to me he always plays good. Ory's a good musician, he was \>om with a gift for trombone and he had all the greats in his bands, such as Louis Armstrong, Joe Oliver and Mutt Carey. Ory was always progressive. Louis could hardly play anything but blues at the time. When I left New Orleans in January 1913, I travelled in a show with Billy King and was playing violin. Started playing violin in New Orleans when I was in short pants ; studied music in high school and that's when I tried to learn guitar right. I was reading music by note at the age of eight years — never learned diagrams until after I left New Orleans and started to learn theory. I never got to meet Jelly Roll Morton during those early years in Storyville. Jelly Roll was a young man and had a way about him that I didn't have. He was used to the sophisticated side of life and I lean towards the social side; I used to sne down* to Storyville to hear him. In lat years, I subbed for Billy Phillips, but nev had a steady job there, nor did Bolden. B Freddie Keppard played there, as well Papa Mutt, George Baquet, Big Eye Lou limmy Noone and Sidney Bechet. I left New Orleans with Billy King a went to Mobile and stayed for about a yea then we went through the Carolinas and to Washington, D. C, and they made t Musical Director of the show. I was frigl ened because I had never directed a sho but I knew all the numbers. I managed stay with it and that's how I reached N( York in 1915. I was fortunate enough to meet W Marion Cooke and while I didn't know lot of music, my guitar playing was r one redeeming feature. I got a job with t Clef Club, who made, a specialty of entt taining the rich. They would send units casuals as far as London. E. Fenner w, the President ; it was an association a had club rooms. You could call there a: time of day 1 or night for entertainmei Very often people would come to the ch like Rothschild and other members of t club, sit down and be entertained rightthe at the club. Sometimes there would be high as thirty-five or 'forty units out on t same night. I played with the Clef Club Carnegie Hall in 1919. I stayed in New York until 1923. A mother was there, died there, and w buried in Long Island. I played everythi imaginable in New York — jazz, sympho — that's why I made such a good living New York — I was flexible. I played fii chair fiddle for four years straight. I studi The Ory Band recording for RKO's "Crossfire." Bud Scoff is in the foreground. (Photo RKO-Radio Pictures.) THE RECORD CHANGER 0