Winter 2015-2016 Contents - San Francisco Traditional Jazz

Winter 2015-2016
Contents
Bob Mielke’s Bearcats at the Larks Club in Berkeley: Sound and Images – Part
Two by Dave Radlauer - 2
Continuation from Part One of Bob Mielke's Bearcats article in #69 Fall 2015 issue.
East Bay Jazz Clubs Of The 1950s by Dave Radlauer - 8
Sidebar to Bob Mielke’s Bearcats at the Larks Club in Berkeley: Sound and Images, parts one and two.
Frisco Cricket
Winter 2015-2016
Bob Mielke’s Bearcats at the Larks Club in Berkeley:
Sound and Images – Part Two
By Dave Radlauer
At the Lark’s Club 1954-56 Bob Mielke’s Bearcats Jazz Band became a popular and significant voice in the midcentury San Francisco jazz revival. Their unique blend of New Orleans style music and Kansas City-inspired riffing
shaped an independent jazz style.
Bearcats Alternates and Substitutes
Playing two or more nights a week key musicians sometimes could
not attend. A close coterie of friends and musical alternates
substituted, especially for clarinet player and medical student,
Bunky Colman.
In the band a piano player was only employed when a gig called
for it, though rarely (possibly never) at Lark’s Club. When a
Bearcats gig called for piano either Burt Bales or Bill Erickson was
preferred. Bunky Colman’s substitutes included Bill Napier and
often, Ellis Horne.
Bill Napier was a brilliant hot jazz musician and certainly one of the
best clarinet players produced by the Frisco revival. Owlish and
self contained, he played imaginative parts with a wide range of
tone colors. His daring solo improvisations teetered on the
precipice of disaster, yet never failed. He and Mielke were close
lifelong friends dating back to the 1940s.
Mielke, Don Fay, Bill Napier, Oxtot.
By contrast the introverted Ellis Horne developed his own thoughtful yet passionate
approach to clarinet in the Johnny Dodds tradition. He played his parts with a full
rich tone, provided stable support for the ensemble, and was always ready with a
tasteful solo or chorus of the blues. Integral to the classic Lu Watters Yerba Buena
Jazz Band of the 1940s, Ellis was a notable talent in San Francisco jazz for half a
century.
Though Don Fay was a busier drummer than Marchant, he was a welcome
substitute, longtime friend, and a good singer. He can often be heard loudly
encouraging his fellows from the drum kit.
Ellis Horne with Yerba Buena,
mid-1940s.
Trombonist Bill Bardin was the only
known sub for Mielke at Lark’s Club.
He was a key player for decades in
the bands of Dick Oxtot, Frank
Goulette, P.T. Stanton and Earl
Scheelar. As a youngster he’d
subbed for Turk Murphy in the
wartime Watters band.
Bardin and drummer Don Fay fit right in on the KZSU transcription
disc which contains the only extant Bearcat renditions of “Down by
the Riverside” and “Coquette.” On the latter Don’s shouted coaxing
is clearly audible.
Down by the Riverside
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Down_by_the_Riverside_MIELKE_C
P.T. Stanton and Bill Bardin, PT Stanton Night,
San Francisco, December 1972. Photo by Ed
Lawless.
ass_015_Bardin_Bearcats_Orrfelt_13_Bunky.mp3
Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You, vocal Oxtot
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Gee_Baby_Aint_I_Good_to_You_March_MIELKE_Cass_015_Bardin_Bearcats_Orrfelt_13
_Bunky.mp3
Weary Blues
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Weary_Blues_MIELKE_Cass_015_Bardin.mp3
Coquette
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Coquette_MIELKE_Cass_015_Bardin_Bearcats_Orrfelt_13_Bunky.mp3
Horn subs
It’s unclear who subbed for P.T. Stanton. Finding a stand-in could
not have been easy. Mielke employed various horn players in the
1950s. Bob thinks he might have hired Byron Berry at times. And
Earl Scheelar recalls being urgently called to a gig once when P.T.
was overcome by alcoholic indisposition.
Mielke did tap his good friend and excellent trumpet player, Bill
Erickson, “once in a while.” And Bill played horn in the Oxtot
Stompers version of the Bearcats heard at Burp Hollow a few years
later.
Close friends Mielke (beer can), Erickson
(trumpet), Napier (clarinet reed), Lee Howe and
unknown in the background, early 1950s.
East Bay Nightclubs
In the wake of success for joints like the Lark’s Club, or in San Francisco The Honeybucket and Tin Angel, nearly a
dozen nightclubs or bars on each side of the Bay began presenting revival jazz several nights a week.
In Oakland there was Reno’s (where the Bearcats moved in September, 1956), Storyville, Charlie Tye’s, and briefly
The Blind Pig. Pioneer Village had two East Bay venues where Bob Scobey or the Bearcats played: Lafayette, in the
hills east of Oakland and San Leandro to the south. Later, in the early 1970s, Oxtot held forth at The Ordinary in
downtown Oakland with a rolling jam session for years.
In Berkeley, Monkey Inn, LaVal’s Garden’s and Nod’s Taproom were popular for years. Bret Runkle’s self-published
1978 monograph further explores Bay Area Jazz Clubs of the Fifties. “Casuals,” that is parties, special events, and
college fraternity or high school dances were another welcome source of income, often paying union rate, or even
better than the so- called beer and peanuts joints. (See East Bay Jazz Clubs.)
Lark’s Club Transcriptions and Bob Orrfelt’s Tapes
Quite a few audiotapes and transcription discs of the Bearcats were made at Lark’s
Club. Many performances were preserved through the efforts of Bearcats fan and
audio engineer, Bob Orrfelt who brought a massive Ampex tape recorder to the club.
Decades later he copied many reels to cassettes. Over the years enthusiasts dubbed
and circulated the music. Not until 50 years later was a sampling of these remarkable
performances issued (GHB BCD-66, 2002).
Trombone, clarinet, cornet, 6.23.55.
Several Orrfelt
cassettes were
recently rescued from
dusty, forgotten, and
almost discarded
boxes in Bob’s garage.
The musical trove
presented here for the
first time, is now
preserved with other
tapes and photos in
the Mielke collection.
Sadly, most of Orrfelt’s
three-dozen tapes
have disappeared over
time.
Local radio station KZSU
cut several transcriptions
for broadcast.
Repertoire
Surveying about 100 recovered tracks from Lark’s Club yields multiple renditions of the band’s most popular
specialties: “Saturday Night Function,” “Joshua,” “Sing On,” “Mecca Flat Blues,” “Moose March,” “Milenberg Joys,”
“Pontchartrain,” “Tiger Rag,” “Corrine, Corrina” and “My Lovin’ Imogene,” written and sung by Oxtot. Dick loved
popular music from the 1920s, songs about Lucky Lindberg, and he had a special talent for adding a knowing leer to
collegiate varsity cheer.
Stylistically, this is not Traditional Jazz, but loose 4/4 swing. There’s almost nothing of the Watters-Murphy-Scobey
sound. The nearest they get to Trad Jazz are the New Orleans marches, played by the full ensemble all the way
through with scarcely a break or solo.
1919 March
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/1919_March_MIELKE_Cass_015_Bardin_Bearcats_Orrfelt_13_Bunky.mp3
Moose March, Ellis Horne
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Moose_March_MIELKE_Cass_013_Bearcats_tapes_36_Ellis_Horne.mp3
That’s my Weakness Now, Oxtot leads group vocal
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Thats_my_Weakness_Now_MIELKE_Cass_17_Orrfelt_Bearcats.mp3
Yes, We Have no Bananas, Ellis Horne, vocal Oxtot
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Yes_We_Have_no_Bananas_MIELKE_Cass_013_Bearcats_tapes_36_Ellis_Horne.mp3
Bob, Dick, Bill, Pete, P.T., 8.2.55.
The Photography of Bob Mielke
Vocalizing. Note Bunky’s medical attire 8.2.55.
Most folks are unaware that Mielke was an avid
shutterbug. Earlier in life Bob had aspirations of
becoming a professional or artistic photographer,
specializing in stark, black and white scenes of gritty
urban life. So he had expert knowledge, a good
camera, and for a while his own dark room. In fact,
Bob’s own jazz photos and those he collected from
other photographers offer surprising visual
documentation of the East Bay and greater Frisco
revival jazz scene back to the late ‘40s at Hambone
Kelly’s.
Mielke’s Lark’s Club images are strong and immediate,
with an artistic flair. Some were done in low lighting
and clearly intended to be evocative, a modern slice of
life, or abstract. Two intriguing sets of photographs
labeled “Nancy Tapscott,” dated 6.23.55 and 8.2.55,
were shot or composed, and printed by Mielke. They
can be paired with a similarly labeled 6.15.55
“Tapscott” transcription disc, allowing us to savor
sounds directly associated with these striking images.
Bourbon Street Parade, Bill Napier (clarinet), Tapscott 6.15.55
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Bourbon_Street_Parade_Bearcats_Larks.mp3
Careless Love, Bill Napier (bass clarinet and clarinet), Tapscott 6.15.55 (tape damage)
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Careless_Love_Bearcats_Larks.mp3
Allen, Mielke, Fay, Napier, Oxtot 6.23.55.
Disbanding
The Bearcats foundered in the early 1960s due partly to economics and personal circumstances, though in response
to public demand they reunited frequently. The musicians remained lifelong friends and associates. But as
audiences and musicians matured they had families to support, developed other avocations, and gradually
dispersed. The Larks Club was razed a few years later when that block was redeveloped for low-income housing.
Today these lively recordings, and Mielke’s evocative photo collection, portray a pivotal music venue. The sounds
and images vividly recall halcyon days when young revival jazz enthusiasts of the East Bay flocked to Bill Nelson’s
racially mixed Lark’s Club in Berkeley to hear Bob Mielke’s Bearcats Jazz Band blowing up a storm three nights a
week.
Milenberg Joys
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Milenberg_Joys_MIELKE_Cass_012_Bearcats_Larks.mp3
Panama (tape damage)
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Panama_MIELKE_Cass_013_Bearcats_tapes_36_Ellis_Horne.mp3
Pontchartrain Blues
http://jazzhotbigstep.com/LARKS_CLUB/Ponchartrain_Blues_MIELKE_Cass_014_Bearcats_Orrfelt_20.mp3
Primary Sources
This article is based in part on discussions and interviews with
Barbara Dane, Dave Greer, Gene Maurice, Bob Mielke, Darylene
Oxtot and Earl Scheelar. Thanks to them all for corroborating
this text.
All photos are from Bob Mielke’s personal collection. Thanks to Hal Smith for assistance. Bearcats 1955 Empirical
master tape courtesy of Joe Spence.
Secondary sources:
●
●
●
●
Bob Mielke: A Life of Jazz, Goggin, Trafford Publishing, 2008
Jazz Scrapbook, Oxtot & Goggin, Creative Arts, 1999
Jazz West 2, K.O. Eckland, Donna Ewald, 1995
Bob Mielke’s Bearcats 1955, CD liner notes, GHB Records, BCD-66, 200
Besides the archived Lark’s Club tapes at the JAZZ RHYTHM website (www.JAZZHOTBigstep.com), these and similar
gems will soon be available as CDs or downloads from Frisco Jazz Archival Rarities.
The Mielke and Oxtot sound and image collections are on loan to Dave Radlauer for preservation, research and
publication. They’re destined for Stanford’s Braun Music Library archives where the SFTJF collection resides.
Frisco Cricket
Winter 2015-2016
East Bay Jazz Clubs Of The 1950s
By Dave Radlauer
Photo above: Bearcats: Goudie, Mielke, Stanton, Allen and Oxtot, Pioneer Village, 1957-58. Mielke collection.
After Hambone Kelly’s
Contemporaneous with events at the Lark’s Club, there were numerous East Bay jazz spots drawing fans during the
1950s. The seeds of the East Bay revival were sown in 1947 when Lu Watters and the Yerba Buena band moved their
operation to El Cerrito in the East Bay at Hambone Kelly’s.
By the late ‘40s musicians like Napier, Oxtot, Bardin and Mielke had been mentored by band members, or were
sitting in and jamming. Hambone Kelly’s and the attendant jazz scene drew yet others to the region. Its close at
the end of 1950 was only a temporary hiatus.
For a while, Victor’s and Roxie’s in Oakland (1950-54) filled the
gap. Bob Scobey and Burt Bales were heard regularly, often
with Clancy Hayes. Oxtot bands subbed for Scobey.
Mielke jams at Hambone’s with (L to R) Henry
Abramson, Pat Patton, Slim Evans, Bob Scobey,Bill
Dart and Paul Lingle. Patton negatives, printed by
Ed Lawless, Mielke collection.
Dick Oxtot Gets it Rolling
Likewise, horn players Earl Scheelar and Gene Maurice fondly
recall Larry Blake’s Rathskeller, just steps from the UC Berkeley
campus on Telegraph Ave. In the early 1950s most of the local
traditional and revival jazz musicians performed there. Bret Runkle
called it a beer and peanuts bar that for fledgling musicians such
as him might have been their first onstage performance.
Soon Dick Oxtot got music going at several steady gigs with jam groups or his Polecats bands. He was a former
habitué of Hambone’s, having lent Turk Murphy his $1300 stake in the enterprise. Recall that Dick’s transition from
cornet to banjo happened gradually over the decade. By 1953-54 Oxtot was jamming and playing music around El
Cerrito and Albany or at his Berkeley home. This was the nucleus from which Mielke’s Bearcats emerged. It’s notable
that former Yerba Buenan Bill Dart was the first Bearcats drummer, and remained a welcome guest of the band.
Oxtot was a vigorous gig getter. He played an active role initiating,
supporting, or building audiences for jazz in Berkeley at Monkey
Inn (1956- c.’66), and La Val’s Gardens (1957-58, 1964-68)
presenting pianists Norma Teagarden, Don Ewell and Englishmanvia-Berkeley, Cyril Bennett.Besides Dick’s role integral to the Lark’s
Club Bearcats, Oxtot played that club weekly with his own band.
Among his gigs was a remarkable band with Norma Teagarden at
Charlie Tye’s (1957) in Oakland, which he recalled as “a pretty
rough place.”
There was a freewheeling atmosphere at Nod’s Taproom in Berkeley
(1958-61) that amounted to an ongoing jam session where most of
the locals played: horn men Byron Berry or Bill Erickson, clarinetists
Frank Goudie or Earl Scheelar, trombonists Bob Mielke or
Jerry Butzen, Bret Runkle (washboard), Oxtot and others.
Oxtot at Charlie Tye’s, September, 1957. Oxtot
collection.
Many East Bay musicians and leaders developed their swinging,
adventurous styles in this milieu. And traditional Jazz ensembles in
the Yerba Buena two-beat mode played these same venues:
Sanford Newbauer’s Bay City, Frank Goulette’s Original Inferior
and the Great Pacific Jazz Bands.
The superb Bill Erickson combo: Frank Goudie
(clarinet), Jimmy Carter (drums), Bob Mielke
(trombone) and Bill Erickson (piano) held forth
Thursday nights at Monkey Inn, 1961-62. Mielke
collection.
Monkey Inn: “A Little Rough”
Monkey Inn was one of the more successful and long-lived nightspots for revival jazz in the East Bay, with music five
nights a week, c. 1956-66. It was was a beer and pizza joint located at the south end of Berkeley on Shattuck Ave.
near the Oakland border. Like many of these clubs it may have had sawdust on the floor.
The predominantly collegiate crowd’s response to music ranged from mild indifference to overheated enthusiasm.
“Things could get a little rough,” said Mielke who recalls an atmosphere of “frat boys out on their first beer benders.”
“A little pack of thugs,” was observer Dave Greer’s less charitable description. Earl Scheelar tells me he and
fellow musicians once packed up and left when a tough motorcycle gang showed up.
Several fine ensembles and combos played there: Oxtot and Le
Sharpton, Barbara Dane, and Earl Scheelar. Bill Erickson had a fine
combo with Bob Meilke and Frank “Big Boy” Goudie during 1961-62.
And Great Pacific Jazz Band played two-beat Traditional Jazz regularly
for several months in 1960. Photos, and Ed Sprankle’s lively tapes
are newly available.
Earl Scheelar, Barbara Dane, (unknown bass), Sam
Charters and Dick Oxtot at Monkey Inn, late
1950s. Oxtot collection.
Pioneer Village
Only a few facts can be gleaned from the handful of tantalizing
photos and ephemera extant from the intriguing Pioneer Village.
It had two locations: Lafayette in the hills east of Oakland and San
Leandro to the south. Bob Scobey, Ralph Sutton and various
formations of Mielke’s Bearcats appeared at both venues. Photos
of one stage reveal a large high-ceiling barnlike hall with an old
west motif; by contrast, the other Pioneer venue appears more
conventional.
A Mielke band at Pioneer Village, March, 1958.
Mielke, Bill Dart (drums), Bob Short (cornet, string
bass), Jack Buck (piano, trombone) and Mel
Leiberman (clarinet). Leiberman was an Oakland
car salesman who began clarinet at age ten and
once played with Jimmy Dorsey. Mielke collection.
Overflow
This is not a complete listing of East Bay clubs; for a comprehensive first-hand account see Bret Runkle, Bay Area Jazz
Clubs of the Fifties. Another steady source of income and exposure for bands were the frequent ‘casuals:’ dances and
fraternity parties.
Additionally, musicians’ homes served as a rotating series of Berkeley Jazz houses for informal recordings, sessions
and rehearsals at the residences of Oxtot, Mielke, or Bill Erickson; and later the rumpus room above Scheelar’s VW
garage. They provided an auxiliary space for jam sessions, music parties, woodshedding and the overflowing
creativity of the vibrant 1950s East Bay jazz revival.
Sources for this article are similar to the Lark’s Club article this issue; and it was fact checked by Dave Greer, Gene
Maurice and Earl Scheelar. Archived music from these venues may be found by following links to the JAZZ RHYTHM
website: JAZZHOTBigstep.com.