[Tradjazz] Trad Jazz on the Radio

[RICK KNITTEL]

Hello Bruce;

I remember many of the names you mentioned in that I grew up in New
Jersey and in my formative years, listened to Al (Jazzbo) Collins from
the Purple Grotto because he was "COOL" man and featured all Christmas
songs (some jazzy) on the 4th of July. It was the early 1950's and I was
playing in a 12 piece swing/dance band formed by musicians in my high
school in Union. Jazzbo also recorded bop versions of the fairy tales
Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood that were originally written
by Steve Allen.

When as a freshman at Cornell, in 1953-54, in Ithaca NY, I discovered a
program out of Cincinnati, Ohio that I could pick up at night hosted by
the Gene Shepard of A Christmas Story fame. He did a lot of musing about
his childhood but also occasionally played jazz recordings from the 20's
and 30's. I think it was this program that influenced my musical
preferences more toward Dixieland and away from modern jazz. I
subsequently joined and later led a Dixie band which we called The
Cornell Ivy Five + One, took it on a 3-month European tour and recorded
an LP in September of 1959.

The name Ted Johnson also is familiar to me in that I played a summer
Dixieland gig in 1956 in a place in Belmar NJ called The Deck which was
arranged for that band by Ted.


Rick Knittel - The Maine Street Paraders
37 Ship Channel Road; South Portland, Maine 04106-5136
Bus phone; (207)-741-2407; fax 2409; Cell: (207)-233-3480; Home;
(207)-799-6382
E-mail; Knittelsportland at juno.com; Winter (mid Jan to mid April) Office; 
7657 Bergamo Ave; Sarasota, FL 34238-4765; Phone/Fax; (941)-924-5186
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