Hal Smith: Brother Kevin, in our last column we agreed to write something about the "Daddy Of 'Em All"—Ben Pollack. Besides his wonderful talent as a drummer, he was a notable bandleader whose groups included such luminaries as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Matty Matlock, Fud Livingston, Jimmy McPartland, Muggsy Spanier, Harry James, Irving Fazola, and many, many more. He was also responsible, indirectly, for the formation of the Bob Crosby Orchestra.
We could take up more than one article with Ben Pollack's biography (and discography), but for that information, let's refer our readers to Richard Sudhalter's Lost Chords and also the fantastic seven-volume CD set of Pollack's recordings on the Jazz Oracle label. And to maximize our available space, let's start this article by talking about Ben Pollack's first recordings—with the great New Orleans Rhythm Kings.
Pollack was only 20 when he recorded Lil Hardin's song "Sweet Lovin' Man" with the NORK on Mar. 12, 1923—before King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band record of the same song! The drumming is a little hard to hear on this side and due to the limitations of the recording techniques, Pollack was confined to playing woodblocks and choke cymbal. However, I hear a steady 4/4 pulse on the blocks, unlike the heavily syncopated style that other drummers employed. Also, he really lays into the offbeats on the choke cymbal o
