Musicomania - John Kirby Sextet

John Kirby (December 31, 1908 – June 14, 1952), was a jazz double-bassist who also played trombone and tuba. Kirby's early life is largely unknown; he may have been born in Winchester, Virginia, although other sources state he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, orphaned, and adopted. He began working in New York at 17, initially playing trombone until it was stolen, when he switched to tuba. Some sources link him to Baltimore in 1926, but he seems to have been based in New York until moving to California shortly before his death. Kirby joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra as a tuba player in 1929. In the early 1930s, he performed some complicated tuba work on a number of Henderson's recordings, but switched to double-bass when tuba fell out of favor as jazz bands' primary bass instrument. About 1933 Kirby left Henderson to play with Chick Webb (twice), before returning to Henderson, and thence joining Lucky Millinder; he briefly led a quartet in 1935, but was usually employed as bassist in others' groups. Securing a gig at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street in 1937 confirmed Kirby's status as a bandleader, although in the first Onyx Club lineup, it was singer-drummer Leo Watson who got featured billing. Kirby's sextet was soon known as the Onyx Club Boys, and took the shape it would basically hold until World War II, usually with: Kirby, bass Charlie Shavers, trumpet Buster Bailey, clarinet Russell Procope, alto saxophone Billy Kyle, piano O'Neill Spencer, drums "The Biggest Little Band in the Land," as its P.R. called it, began recording in August 1937 and immediately enjoyed success with a swing version of "Loch Lomond." The group's name would vary with time and depending on who was officially credited as session leader: John Kirby and His Onyx Club Boys, John Kirby and His Orchestra, Buster Bailey and His Rhythm Busters, Buster Bailey and His Sextet. The band would become one of the more significant "small groups" in the Big Band era and was also notable for making the first recording of Shavers's song "Undecided". Vocals were often performed by Maxine Sullivan, who became Kirby's wife in 1938 (divorced 1941). In 1938 four members of the group (Shavers, Bailey, Kyle and Kirby) participated in two recording sessions for Vocalion Records (11 May and 23 June) accompanying singer Billie Holiday as Billie Holiday and her Orchestra. Kirby tended toward a lighter, classically influenced style of jazz, often referred to as chamber jazz, which has both strong defenders and ardent critics. He was very prolific and extremely popular from 1938-1941, but World War II took away Kyle and Procope; bad health claimed Spencer, who died from tuberculosis in 1944. Nevertheless, Kirby kept trying to lead a group in clubs and in the studio, occasionally managing to attract such talents as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Clyde Hart, Budd Johnson, and Zutty Singleton. As Kirby's career declined, he drank heavily and was beset by diabetes. After the war, Kirby got the surviving sextet members back together, with Sarah Vaughan as vocalist, but the reunion did not last. A concert at Carnegie Hall in December 1950, with Bailey plus drummer Sid Catlett, attracted only a small audience, which "crushed Kirby's spirit and badly damaged what little was left of his career." Kirby moved to Hollywood, California, where he died just before a planned comeback. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!