of Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, Earl Hines and Joe Sullivan, Morton’s style is the one he is generally associated with, and the one he performed and recorded most frequently.
Burton Franklin Bales was born in Stevensville, Montana. His
family moved to California when Burt was a pre-teen. His mother helped him
develop the ability to play piano by ear. Eventually he was good enough to play
at speakeasies in Northern California. He was freelancing in the Bay Area when
he encountered the musicians who eventually formed the Yerba Buena Jazz Band.
Burt Bales enlisted in the army in 1943 but was soon
discharged due to myopia. During WWII he played with ‘Papa Mutt’ Carey at the
Dawn Club and with Bunk Johnson at the C.I.O. Hall in San Francisco. He appears
on all the recordings by Johnson. Jelly Roll Morton influence is readily
apparent in Bales’ piano work. At the same time, he was developing a highly
individualistic style with an extremely powerful left hand and unusual
syncopated phrasing in the right.
After the war bales played as a soloist in several Bay
Area clubs, including the 1018 Club. He also made frequent rehearsals and
presumably a few engagements with banjoist/vocalist Clancy Hayes’ Bay City Boys.
At the end of 1947, Bales participated in the first recording session under
Turk Murphy’s name, the Bay City Stompers, for the Jazz Man label, and in 1948
recorded with Bob Scobey’s Alexander’s Jazz Band for Ragtime Records. Bales
played at Hambone Kelly’s in 1949 with a sextet led by Turk Murphy.
Bales travelled to Los Angeles to record with this same
ensemble, and on the same trip played a concert with Murphy’s group at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
He also played on subsequent sessions with Kid Ory’s rhythm men Ed Garland and Minor Hall, and on another date with George Bruns, Joe Darensbourg, Hall, and Jeanne Gayle. Back in San Francisco, Bales played with Wingy Manone, Turk Murphy and other bandleaders at the newly-opened Club Hangover.
He also played on subsequent sessions with Kid Ory’s rhythm men Ed Garland and Minor Hall, and on another date with George Bruns, Joe Darensbourg, Hall, and Jeanne Gayle. Back in San Francisco, Bales played with Wingy Manone, Turk Murphy and other bandleaders at the newly-opened Club Hangover.
expenses. He recovered fully, but walked with a cane for the rest of his life.
The 1960s were lean years for Bales. He left the steady
engagement at Pier 23 and played whatever jobs were offered. His timekeeping
had become more erratic, which may have accounted for the lack of playing
opportunities with bands. He worked occasionally with Earl Scheelar’s New
Orleans House Band, Ted Shafer’s Jelly Roll Jazz Band and a few other groups,
but mostly played solo piano.
During the 1970s, Bales’ work situation improved. In San
Francisco he played a long residency at Dick’s At The Beach, plus regular
appearances at the Washington Square Bar & Grill and the Rose and Thistle
British Pub. He performed at the Clancy Hayes Day benefits at Earthquake
McGoon’s in 1970 and 1971.
Later, he showed up regularly at Vic’s Place in the
Financial District, where Ev Farey’s Golden State Jazz Band performed. There
was no piano in the building, but Bales enjoyed sitting in just to sing with
the band. Across the Bay in Oakland, he performed at the Serenader, where many
East Bay musicians came to sit in.
After recovering from a serious illness, Bales made a
cross-country trip in 1980, visiting and playing sessions with old friends. By
the end of the ‘80s, he was suffering from cancer. However, he took one last
trip away from the Bay Area in 1989—appropriately, to New Orleans. Soon after
returning to San Francisco, he died on 26 October 1989.
"Burt's depth was refreshing. On one occasion he played an unbelievable
version of Chimes Blues. It was like
Elijah boarding his holy space ship.
When Bales finished, he sat there staring at the keyboard, silent, staggered. Finally, I asked, 'Burt are you OK?' He said:
'You know, an artist who is a painter, like Rembrandt or Da Vinci or Van
Gogh, its there, you can live it for all time.
They have it over us musicians.
Something like what just happened here is in the ether, lost
forever'." (Ken Mills)
(Edited from Wikipedia & Jazz Rhythm, but mainly from an article by Hal Smith @ Stanford Libraries)
(Edited from Wikipedia & Jazz Rhythm, but mainly from an article by Hal Smith @ Stanford Libraries)
1 comment:
Well music lovers here’s a playlist collected from numerous sources highlighting the ragtime artistry of Burt Bales. Please note the quality may vary somewhat as a few mp3s were taken straight from the 78’s. Hopefully they are in chronological order. Tracks 21-25 are taken from the first stereo broadcast from Pier 23 circa 1959 and very good they are too. Lastly you’ll hear the maestro himself singing a powerful rendition of Mack The Knife.
So for “Burt Bales – Collected” go here:
https://pixeldrain.com/u/9cJj8xam
01) Yellow Dog Blues - Turk Murphy's Bay City Stompers (1947)
02) 12th Street Rag - Burt Bales (1948)
03) Dill Pickles - Burt Bale & His Ragtime Piano
04) Canadian Capers - Burt Bales & His Ragtime Piano (1949)
05) Mister Joe - Burt Bales
06) New Orleans Joys - Burt Bales
07) Oh, You Beautiful Doll - Burt Bales & His Ragtime Piano
08) Wild Man Blues - Burt Bales
09) Doodle Doo Doo - Jeanne Gayle & the Gin Bottle 4 (1950)
10) The Curse Of An Aching Heart - Turk Murphy's Jazz Band
11) Chicago Breakdown _ Burt Bales (1953)
12) Kansas City Man Blues _ Burt Bales
13) Melancholy - Burt Bales
14) Midnight Mama - Burt Bales
15) Temptation Rag - Burt Bales
16) Darkness on the Delta - Burt Bales (1955)
17) King Porter Stomp - Burt Bales
18) Mr. Jelly Lord - Burt Bales
19) Sweet Savannah Sue - Burt Bales
20) Who's Sorry Now - Burt Bales with Frank Big Boy Goudie (1959)
21) London Blues - Estuary Jazz Group
22) Maple Leaf Rag - Estuary Jazz Group
23) Struttin with Some Barbeque - Estuary Jazz group
24) Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams - Estuary Jazz Group (voc. Suzanne Summers)
25) Mack the Knife - Estuary Jazz group (vocal Burt Bales)
Post a Comment