Françoise Hardy born 17 January 1944

Françoise Madeleine Hardy (17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter who was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in French yé-yé music and became a cultural icon in France and internationally. In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian, and German. Her musical career spanned more than 50 years, with over 30 studio albums released. She also represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963. 

Hardy was born in the middle of an air raid in Nazi-occupied Paris, and raised in the city, mostly by her mother. Her younger sister, Michèle, was born eighteen months later. At the insistence of their father, the girls went to a Catholic school called Institution La Bruyère, under the tutelage of Trinitarian nuns. Between 1952 and 1960, Hardy and her sister were sent every summer to Austria to learn German, encouraged by her mother's new lover, an Austrian baron. Her father played piano and Hardy was introduced to piano lessons as a very young child, which she dropped after experiencing stage fright when she was required to perform on stage at the Salle Gaveau. 

Aged 16, she received her first guitar as a present and began writing her own songs, performing them live and auditioning for record labels. In 1961, she signed with Disques Vogue. Inspired by the French chanson style of crooned ballads as well as the emerging edgier styles of pop and rock’n’roll, Hardy became a key part of the yé-yé style that dominated mid-century French music. It was named after the predilection for English-language bands of the time to chant “yeah”, and Hardy had a hand in its coinage: an early song, La Fille Avec Toi, began with the English words: “Oh, oh, yeah, yeah.” 

                                    

The self-penned ballad Tous les garçons et les filles was her breakthrough in 1962, and sold more than 2.5m copies; it topped the French charts, as did early singles Je Suis D’Accord and Le Temps de L’Amour. In 1963, Hardy represented Monaco at the Eurovision song contest and finished fifth. Her growing European fame meant she began rerecording her repertoire in multiple languages, including English. Her 1964 song All Over the World, translated from Dans le Monde Entier, became her only UK Top 20 hit, but her fame endured in France, Italy and Germany. In 1968, Comment te Dire Adieu, a version of It Hurts to Say Goodbye (originally made famous by Vera Lynn) with lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg, became one of her biggest hits. 

Hardy’s beauty and deft aesthetic – which encompassed cleanly silhouetted tailoring alongside more casual looks, including knitwear and rock-leaning denim and leather – defined the seeming effortlessness of 20th-century French cool. She became a muse to designers including Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne, and was also a frequent subject for fashion photography, shot by the likes of Richard Avedon, David Bailey and William Klein. Later, designer Rei Kawakubo would name her label Comme des Garçons after a line in a Hardy song. 

Hardy was an object of adoration to many male stars of 60s pop including the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. Bob Dylan wrote a poem about her for the liner notes of his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan, beginning: “For Françoise Hardy, at the Seine’s edge, a giant shadow of Notre Dame seeks t’ grab my foot …”  She was also courted by directors, appearing in films by Jean-Luc Godard, Roger Vadim, John Frankenheimer and more. 

Hardy left Disques Vogue amid financial disputes, and signed a three-year deal with Sonopresse in 1970. This creatively rich period saw her record with Brazilian musician Tuca on 1971’s highly acclaimed La Question, and continue her multi-lingual releases, but by the contract’s end her stardom had waned and it was not renewed. 

She spent the mid-1970s chiefly focused on raising her son, Thomas, with her partner, musician and actor Jacques Dutronc. Releases restarted with 1977’s Star, and Hardy embraced, although not always enthusiastically, the sounds of funk, disco and electronic pop. A longer hiatus in the 1980s was punctuated by 1988’s Décalages, billed as her final album, though she returned in 1996 with Le Danger, switching her palette to moody contemporary rock. She released six further albums, ending with Personne D’Autre in 2018. 

Hardy had lymphatic cancer since 2004, and had undergone years of radiotherapy and other treatments for the illness. In 2015, she was briefly placed in an induced coma after her condition worsened, and had issues with speech, swallowing and respiration in the following years. Francoise Hardy died of laryngeal cancer in Paris, on 11 June 2024, at the age of 80. Prior to her death she had also experienced several falls and bone fractures. 

(Edited from John Henley obit @ The Guardian & Wikipedia)

 

Pete Franklin born 16 January 1928

Pete Franklin (January 16, 1928 – July 31, 1975), was an American blues singer, musician and songwriter also known as Guitar Pete Franklin. 

Edward Lamonte Franklin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents both from Tennessee, played the piano and sang songs of wildly popular down-home blues honkers and shouters like Robert Johnson, Son House, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Charlie Patton. On many nights, the sounds of raucous laughter and great music reverberated throughout the house and figuratively shook the structure off it’s foundations. Franklin’s mother wrote many songs for her lodger Leroy Carr, and Franklin’s interest in music developed early, beginning with piano, on which he was as adept as on guitar. His guitar work was influenced by the work of Scrapper Blackwell, whilst on the piano his style was similar to his mother's one time lodger, Leroy Carr. 

                                    

In 1945 Franklin joined the us Army Air Force and played guitar and sang the blues as an entertainer in the Special Service Unit.  A versatile and accomplished musician, Franklin was able to adapt to electric blues, and provided backing to many musicians. His first recording took place in 1947, when he accompanied St. Louis Jimmy on guitar for the latter's single "Coming Up Fast". Franklin's own work started in 1949 with his single release, "Casey Brown Blues". Franklin found work in the early-to-mid 1950's backing several artists other duties included making recordings with Jazz Gillum, John Brim, Sunnyland Slim, and Tampa Red. 

Franklin with Scrapper Blackwell

Settled in his hometown of Indianapolis, he divided his time between his job at a local factory and music. He was “rediscovered” by Art Rosenbaum, and finally found the opportunity to record a full album co-produced by Kenneth Goldstein. which was recorded on July 12, 1961, in Indianapolis. The disc composed of many covers of Curtis Jones, Doctor Clayton, Leroy Carr, Tampa Red and his most famous own composition "Guitar Pete's blues" and is a very rare record that rarely appears on the market.  In 1963, Bluesville Records re- released the album as “The Blues of Pete Franklin: Guitar Pete's Blues.”   

After this Franklin’s trail goes cold until August 1971 when he was recorded at the 33rd National Folk Festival, held August 26-29, 1971, at Wolf Trap Farm Park in Vienna, Virginia, then another recording session in Indianapolis during 1972 for the Blue Goose label. Unfortunately both sessions were never issued. 

Franklin, a heavy drinker, died at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, in July 1975 from a heart disease, aged 47. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. 

(Very scarce web information edited from Wikipedia, Indianapolis Rhythm, AllMusic & Blues sessions.com) 

Ivor Novello born 15 January 1893

Ivor Novello (15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. 

Born David Ivor Davies in Cardiff, Wales, he was the son of a tax-collector father and a well-known singing teacher mother. Their son proved a natural musician, and as a boy was a good enough pianist to play accompaniment at his mother's rehearsals and in her classes. He was fascinated by the theater from an early age as well, and in his youth crossed paths with such figures as Adelina Patti and Clara Butt. By age ten, he'd earned a scholarship to Magdelene College School, Oxford, and at 15 he was writing one-act plays and was a successful songwriter; at 17, he had a contract with Boosey & Hawkes publishers for his work. When he was 18, he went to New York, where he created his first full-length stage work, although he found little in the way of material success from this venture, and was subsequently forced to return to England. 

At 20 he was back in London and signed a contract with Ascherberg, Hopwood, & Crew as a songwriter. The outbreak of the First World War a year later was to set in motion Novello's adult career as a songwriter, as he generated a string of patriotic and morale-boosting songs that were embraced by the public, most notably "Keep the Home Fires Burning." By 1916 Novello himself was in uniform as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service, but he kept writing songs, now for London stage shows. He also found room to embark on an acting career in both European and Hollywood movies, and on-stage in London, and quickly established himself as a popular matinee idol. 

By 1921, he'd extended his acting career to Hollywood. It was during this same period that he had his first professional contact with Jack Buchanan, when he composed "And Her Mother Came Too" for him in the stage revue A-to-Z. Novello was equally known in America during the 1920s as a composer and screen actor, in movies such as The Bohemian Girl, The White Rose, The Constant Nymph, and The Vortex. His most enduringly important screen performance, however, was in The Lodger (1926), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which was the director's first thriller, his first important movie, and his first hit, and remains one of the most widely known of British silent films. 

                                     

Novello's main interest was the stage, and he was never willing or able to tear himself too far away from live theater. He emerged, rather suddenly, with a hit of what were then serious proportions -- 243 performances -- in Glamorous Night (1935). The latter featured American-born soprano Mary Ellis, who was to be associated with most of his work over the next decade. He had an even bigger hit the following year with Careless Rapture, which ran for 296 performances, followed by a national tour that lasted for much of the next year. 

Novello was the toast of London's theater community, and he occupied a very unusual position socially across the remaining two decades of his life. At the time, homosexuality was a crime that was subject to prosecution in England, and the theatrical world was among the few respectable social strata in England that afforded any sort of open tolerance or protection to the gay community, within the limits of reasonable discretion; figures such as Noël Coward and Terence Rattigan, to name just two of the more celebrated theatrical talents of the period, were officially closeted but comfortable within these boundaries). 

Novello's role in his first two shows had been as a composer, but The Dancing Years (1939) brought him back as a performer alongside Ellis, in what was one of the last great London stage hits before the outbreak of World War II. The show was practically a Novello hits collection, and ran 187 performances, ending in September of 1939; it was revived three years later and ran for just under 1,000 performances, an extraordinary achievement but an understandable one, as a welcome piece of highly melodic and comforting nostalgia in the depths of the war years. Arc de Triumphe (1943) was another hit for Novello and Ellis. 

The biggest hit of his career came in 1945 with Perchance to Dream, which ran for over 1,000 performances over the next three years. This production was a double triumph for Novello as it used his own libretto. In 1949, Novello and librettist Christopher Hassall delivered King's Rhapsody, a Ruritanian romance that, in addition to such operetta-based pieces as "The Violin Began to Play" and "Someday My Heart Will Awake," contained an extended orchestral showpiece that reflected some of the developments that had overtaken theater in the previous decade. Novello was part of the cast as well and remained with the show until his sudden death in his flat at Covent Garden, London, from coronary thrombosis, on March 6, 1951. He was replaced in the cast by none other than Jack Buchanan, for whom he'd written "And Her Mother Came Too" 29 years before.  (Edited from AllMusic) 

Grady Tate born 14 January 1932

Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated Schoolhouse Rock! series. He received two Grammy nominations. 

Tate was born in Hayti, Durham, North Carolina, United States. He began singing at age four, impressing local Durham church and school audiences, but quit temporarily when his voice broke at age 12. Self-taught as a drummer at first, he picked up the fundamentals of jazz drumming during his hitch in the Air Force (1951-1955), and arranger Bill Berry made some vocal charts for him there. Upon his discharge, he returned to Durham to study psychology, literature, and theater at North Carolina College, before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1959 to teach high school and take up a musical career with Wild Bill Davis. A move to New York City in 1963 led to a gig with the Quincy Jones big band, and soon he caught on as a recording session drummer. 

His most famous records as an accompanist were made under the aegis of producer Creed Taylor, for whom he became the house drummer of choice. Tate played on many of Wes Montgomery's and Jimmy Smith's most popular recordings, as well as some by Nat Adderley, Stan Getz, Tony Bennett, Kenny Burrell, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Roland Kirk, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, J.J. Johnson, and Kai Winding, among countless other artists. 

Grady Tate's drumming helped to define a particular hard bop, soul jazz and organ trio sound during the mid-1960s and beyond. His slick, layered and intense sound is instantly recognizable for its understated style in which he integrates his trademark subtle nuances with sharp, crisp "on top of the beat" timing (in comparison to playing slightly before, or slightly after the beat). The Grady Tate sound can be heard prominently on many of the classic Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery albums recorded on the Verve label in the 1960s. 

                                   

Arranger Gary McFarland thought enough of Tate's singing voice to record a number of vocal albums for his short-lived Skye label, beginning with 1968's Windmills of My Mind. Yet despite further vocal sessions for Buddah, Janus, Impulse!, and a host of Japanese labels, Tate's profile as a singer was never as high as it could have been. During this period, he also stayed active appearing on albums with a bevy of jazz and soul artists including Ron Carter, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Gato Barbieri, and others. From 1968 – 1974 Tate performed as drummer for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. During the 1970s, Tate was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet. 

Among his most widely heard vocal performances are the songs "I Got Six", "Naughty Number Nine", and "Fireworks" from Multiplication Rock and America Rock, both part of the Schoolhouse Rock series. For the 1973 motion picture Cops And Robbers, Tate sang the title song, written by Michel Legrand and Jacques Wilson. On Mark Murphy's album Living Room, Tate shares the vocals on a medley of "Misty" and "Midnight Sun". On the album Threesome, with Monty Alexander and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Tate sings words to Miles Davis's composition "All Blues", aggregated from a number of well-known and standard blues songs as well as to the jazz standard "Weaver of Dreams" (written by Victor Young). Tate received two Grammy nominations as "Best Male Pop Vocalist" (1973 and 1989). The Manhattan Association of Cabaret Singers recognized him as "Outstanding Male Jazz/Blues Vocalist." 

Aretha Franklin & Grady tate

In 1981 Tate served as assistant conductor and drummer for Broadway shows Lena Horne, The Lady and Her Music, and Black and Blue in 1989. Despite the absence of his own solo albums, the '80s proved a fruitful time for the drummer, who returned to teaching and joined the faculty of Howard University in 1989- 2009. He also remained a highly sought-after session player, appearing with jazz artists like Jimmy Smith, Helen Merrill, and Teresa Brewer, as well as pop superstars like Simon & Garfunkel. His distinctive, undulating drum patterns were also used to good effect on composer Angelo Badalamenti's soundtrack to director David Lynch's Twin Peaks. 

He returned to his solo recording work with 1991's excellent, vocal-only album for Milestone, TNT, where drummer Dennis Mackrel used many patterns that he learned from Tate. Body and Soul followed a year later, and he resurfaced with Feeling Free in 1999. Several more well-regarded albums followed, including 2003's All Love with pianist Kenny Barron and 2006's From the Heart: Songs Sung Live at the Blue Note. Tate's drumming was once again featured on the soundtrack to David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return. 

Grady Tate died on October 8, 2017 at his home in Manhattan's Upper East Side. He was 85 years old. 

(Edited from AllMusic, Wikipedia, Drummerworld and Concord)

 

Putney Dandridge born 13 January 1902

Louis "Putney" Dandridge (January 13, 1902 – February 15, 1946) was an American jazz pianist and singer, whose impact on the music industry resonates through the ages. 

Born on January 13, 1902, in Richmond, Virginia, Putney Dandridge grew up in a culturally rich environment that fostered his artistic inclinations. Coming from a family that valued the arts, young Putney was surrounded by music from an early age and his first experiences with musical instruments would eventually lay the groundwork for his future career. The struggles of his social background shaped his determination, while the vibrant jazz culture of the time influenced his future choices in music. From childhood performances at local venues to being mesmerized by the sounds of early jazz, every note played a role in his shaping his aspirations to become a prominent figure in the music scene. 

                                     

Putney Dandridge's journey into the music industry began in earnest when he joined the Drake and Walker Show in 1918 until 1926. This initial foray into the performing arts was just the beginning--by 1930, he was accompanying the legendary Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, including appearances in the musical Brown Buddies which marked a significant milestone in his career. Dandridge's dedication was evident as he navigated various local venues and sought to establish himself in the bustling music scene of New York City's jazz clubs. His early recordings, featuring collaborations with notable jazz musicians, provided much-desired exposure and a taste of the artistry he would become known for. 

Adelaide Hall

The tides of fortune turned for Putney Dandridge during the early 1930s when his live performances caught the attention of critics and fans alike. His breakthrough came not through a single incident but rather through consistent efforts, leading to impactful recordings that showcased his artistry. One of his notable accomplishments was participating in the cast of the 1931 musical revue Heatin' Up Harlem, starring Adelaide Hall, where his talents shone brightly. The vinyl releases of his recordings during this period brought him significant recognition, appealing to both jazz aficionados and general audiences. 

Putney with Bojangles Robinson

In the 1932 American film Harlem Is Heaven, Dandridge, on the piano and reciting lyrics in a "speak set", accompanies Bojangles Robinson as the dancer sings "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't".  After touring in Illinois and the Great Lakes region, Dandridge settled in Cleveland, Ohio, forming a band with guitarist Lonnie Johnson. This period lasted until March 1935, when he attempted to perform as a solo act at Adrian’s Taproom. He took his show to New York City, beginning a series of long residences at the Hickory House on 52nd Street and other local clubs. 

Roy Eldridge

From 1935 to 1936, he recorded numerous sides under his own name, many of which highlighted some major jazz talents of the period, including Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Henry "Red" Allen, Buster Bailey, John Kirby, Chu Berry, Cozy Cole and more. As his songs climbed various charts and received airplay, Dandridge found himself at the forefront of the jazz scene. His music was celebrated for its sophistication and emotional depth, garnering accolades from peers and critics. With various nominations and awards recognizing his contribution to the industry, Putney Dandridge's story began to intertwine with the golden age of jazz, leaving behind a legacy that music lovers continue to cherish today. 

Yet after December 1936 there were no further recording sessions and Dandridge vanished from the music scene. It is speculated that he may have been forced to retire due to ill health as he died at the young age of 44years old, in Wall Township, New Jersey, 15th February 1946. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Vinyl Me Please)

Lou Preager born 12 January 1906

Louis Preager (12 January 1906 – 14 November 1978), known as Lou Preager, was an English pianist, dance band leader, disc jockey and businessman. He was active from the 1930s to the 1950s; with his band he made many recordings. They also appeared on radio and television. 

Louis Jacob Preager was born in Poplar, London, and came from a Jewish background. He was the son of Louis Preager, a tailor, and his wife Rebecca (née Cohen De Murcia). While at school, the younger Louis he played the piano in dance bands, and from age 19 he was a full-time musician. He played in fashionable London clubs and restaurants; in 1931 he joined "Eugene Pini and his Tango Orchestra" at the Monseigneur, and later joined the Billy Reid Accordion Band. In 1933, Preager led an 11-piece band, playing at Ciro's and later at Romano's in the Strand. His first recordings were released in 1935. 

Preager joined the Intelligence Corps in 1941. His right arm was seriously injured in a motor accident, and he received hospital treatment for eight months. He was invalided out of the army in 1942, and he formed a 14-piece orchestra to play at the Hammersmith Palais in London; it was the resident band there for 18 years. It made frequent radio broadcasts, including, from 1942, 96 editions of Music While You Work. The band later appeared on television. A number of vocalists sang with the band, including Paul Rich, Edna Kaye, Rita Williams and Elisabeth Welch. 

                                     

Preager's radio broadcasts, Write a Tune for £1000, a songwriting contest broadcast in 1945, 1947 and 1950, were very popular, and produced the hit song "Cruising Down the River". During the 1950s, Preager presented Housewives' Choice on the BBC Light Programme and, at the time was a well-known disc jockey. Lou Preager and his Orchestra were featured frequently on televisIon, with 'Palais Party' on ITV in 1955 and later with the very successful 'Find a Singer', for which Lou wrote the script, shared the presentation and was involved with the production, as well as conducting the band! 

In 1959, he decided that it was time for a change and his orchestra moved to the Lyceum in The Strand. He was regularly featured on television's 'Come Dancing' in the days when this programme came simultaneously from two ballrooms, each in the region of the competing teams. In later years Lou appeared as an adjudicator. 

During his career he made recordings for Regal Zonophone Records and the Columbia Graphophone Company. He won three Carl Alan Awards for the best Palais Band. Over the years, many of Britain’s up-and-coming musicians, such as Don Lusher and Johnny Gray, played with his bands, and his numerous vocalists included Paul Rich, Edna Kaye, Rita Williams, Steve Martin, Elisabeth Welch, Paula Green, Anne Lenner, Judy Shirley, Eileen Orchard, Ken Barry, Helen Clare and many more. 

Preager was also a shrewd businessman, with interests in book publishing, television, records and film production, and entertainment agencies. In 1958, Preager married Rose Sharp in Marylebone, where the couple lived. In 1962 ill health caused Lou Preager to retire. Internal operations in 1955, 1961 and 1962 affected him for the rest of his life. During his career he had won several trophies, including, on three occasions, the Carl Allan Award for the best palais band. Lou left London and went to live in Slough, where he bought the local Carlton Ballroom. After a heart attack in 1967, however, he sold the ballroom, settling down to a quiet life playing golf, billiards and snooker. 

He died on 14 November 1978 in Mallorca, aged 72. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Masters Of Melody & AllMusic)

Wilbur De Paris born 11 January 1900

Wilbur de Paris (January 11, 1900 – January 3, 1973) was a trombone player and band leader known for mixing Dixieland jazz with swing. 

Wilbur de Paris was born January 11, 1900, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his father, Sidney G. Paris, who came from West Virginia and who was a musician, a circus barker, a ventriloquist, a minstrel, etc., had met and married his mother, Fannie Hyatt. By the autumn of 1906, when he was five, de Paris had started playing alto saxophone, and a year later was working for his father in one of his plantation shows. 

These shows were small travelling theatrical-musical groups of singers, dancers, actors, comedians, and musicians who mainly worked for Theatre Owners and Bookers Association in the South. They performed in small tents and theatres with a mixture of drama, musical and comedy sketches, magic, etc., which would later be incorporated into vaudeville. After high school, de Paris worked for his father for a time, then worked for more travelling shows in the east, then started playing in Philadelphia in the early 1920s. 

De Paris heard jazz first at age 16, as a member of a summer show that played at the Lyric Theatre. He also met Louis Armstrong in 1922 whilst playing the C melody saxophone at Tom Anderson's Cafe, and with Armand J. Piron. His first band was Wilbur de Paris and his Cotton Pickers. During this time he permanently switched from saxophone to trombone. He worked with the Original Blue Rhythm Band, made his recording debut in 1928 with Leroy Smith and in 1929 was on a session apiece with Clarence Williams and Edith Wilson. 

After the Wall Street Crash in 1929 he disbanded his second group and went to New York where he performed and/or recorded with the violinist LeRoy Smith (1928), Jelly Roll Morton, (1930) Dave Nelson (1931) Noble Sissle (with whom he toured Europe 1931), and Edgar Hayes. After touring Europe with Teddy Hill’s Orchestra (1936-7) and recording with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1937) he played again with Armstrong (1937-40), led his own group from 1943, recording with his brother Sidney as the De Paris Brothers for Commodore Records, producing four songs. Wilbur then worked with Duke Ellington (1945-7). 

                                   

After Wilbur De Paris left Ellington, he and brother Sidney finally started to play together on a regular basis. At first they were co-leaders of a combo but, since Wilbur had devised the main concept and was the harder worker, he was soon considered its leader while Sidney was featured as the star soloist. It took a little time for their group to solidify and get regular work so there were a few departures. Wilbur performed often with Bechet during 1949-50 while Sidney led another Blue Note record date in 1951 and recorded with Bechet that year (without Wilbur). Wilbur also played with Ella Fitzgerald and Roy Eldridge’s big band. 

l-r: Sidney Bechet, Mezz Mezzrow,
Jack Butler, Wilber De Paris

But after they became the house band at Jimmy Ryan’s in 1951, a gig that lasted for 11 years, what became known as Wilbur De Paris’ New New Orleans Jazz Band was a reality. It’s members included and the famed ex-Jelly Roll Morton clarinetist Omer Simeon. Other band members included drummers Zutty Singleton & Freddie Moore. The banjo chair was filled first by Eddie Gibbs and later by Lee Blair also of Morton fame. Don Kirkpatrick was the band's most consistent piano player. 

Wilbur and the band at Jimmy Ryans 1958

The group had a varied repertory that included traditional jazz standards, light classics, hymns, folksongs, spirituals, blues and marches. Its style evoked Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers and at the same time had some of the rhythmic and harmonic characteristics of swing. Throughout the 1950s, the group recorded consistently exciting sets for Atlantic (all of which are unfortunately long out of print). 

Along with the DeParis-DeParis-Simeon frontline, the group also included pianist Sonny White, banjoist Lee Blair, Hayes Alvis, Benny Moten, Wendell Marshall or Leonard Gaskin on bass, Wilbert Kirk on drums, and, starting in 1955, trumpeter Doc Cheatham. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, de Paris toured Africa in 1957 as part of the President's International Program for Cultural Relations. Wilbur De Paris continued leading bands up until his death on 3 January 1973, in the Beekman Downtown Hospital, New York. He was survived by two sons and two daughters. 

(Edited from New Grove Dictionary Of Jazz, Syncopated Times & Wikipedia)