Hal Smith: Brother Kevin, let’s stay on the topic of West Coast drummers and talk about one of the best: Bill Dart. I think it’s safe to say that most of our readers associate him with Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena Jazz Band and a particular way of drumming that was limited to woodblocks, choke cymbal and tack-bottom tom-toms. But in other musical surroundings, Bill Dart used the entire set and sounded like the proverbial “different drummer!”
Let’s begin with a recording by the Yerba Buena Jazz Band taken from Rudi Blesh’s “This Is Jazz” broadcast—on location at Hambone Kelly’s in August, 1947. “Cakewalkin’ Babies” illustrates some of the techniques Dart often used with the Watters Band from 1946-1948: woodblocks on the ensemble chorus, behind the clarinet solo and the ensemble verse; tom-tom behind the trombone, choke cymbal behind the trumpet and back to woodblocks for the last ensemble. What are your thoughts on this recording, Brother?
Kevin Dorn : Greetings, Brother Hal! This recording definitely represents the classic sound of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band and the style of drumming most people associate with Bill Dart (not that most people are thinking about Bill Dart at all, sadly!). As we’ll see, he was actually incredibly versatile.
With the Yerba Buena Jazz Band, Dart had a way of playing that was obviously influenced very heavily by Baby Dodds’ playing in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, but Dart still had his own approach. In particular, I hear some subtle and interesting differences in how Dart and Dodds approached the woodblock, which was a prominent sound in both bands. Dart has more of a quarter note feel, with fewer rolls and parade-style figures than Dodds used. I’m curious if you hear it this way as well, or what your take is.
HS: When accompanying Wally Rose on piano rags, the woodblock playing was a little busier. But with the full band, as you said, there are more quarter notes and a driving feel that can be difficult to achieve on this particular percussion instrument.
Listening to “Cakewalkin’ Babies,” you would never guess that within a few months this great ensemble would start to unravel. Dissatisfaction with financial arrangements, the musical direction of the band and personal issues began to cause dissension within the band. Bill Dart experienced more than his share of grief since he wanted to receive a salary instead of being part of the Hambone Kelly’s “co-op.” Also, he was subject to some inconsiderate treatment—such as having one of his cymbals reduced in size with tin snips.
Finally, after walking onto the bandstand and finding all the cymbals missing from the drum set, the bass drum pedal removed and a plywood cutout with four woodblocks atop the snare drum, he was ready for a change.1 Coincidentally, so was Bob (Robert Alexander) Scobey. He scheduled a recording session as “Alexander’s Jazz Band” for the Trilon label in December of 1947.
Both Scobey and Turk Murphy were already thinking about leading their own groups and both made their first recordings as bandleaders just days before the 1948 Musicians’ Union recording band was enacted. Murphy opted for a drumless, bassless Hot Five instrumentation, but Scobey recorded with a full band, including former YBJB clarinetist Ellis Horne and current YBJB band members Wally Rose, Harry Mordecai (banjo), and Dart. Just listen to the exuberant drumming on “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover” and “Weary Blues” (with an all-too-brief stoptime for the drums). It sounds to me like Bob Scobey made the right choice for the drummer on this session. Do you agree?
KD: I completely agree! Dart is on fire here, really letting loose and grooving hard. It’s a shame he was subjected to that bad treatment in the Yerba Buena Jazz Band. I guess that’s why we need The Drummers Support Group! He certainly sounds unrestrained on these recordings. He has a great 4/4 feel and plays just the right amount of accents and fills. I hear similarities with some of our other favorite drummers, in particular Ben Pollack, Fred Higuera and Ray Bauduc. I normally don’t think of those players when I think of Bill Dart, so just between these recordings and YBJB, one gets a good sense of how versatile he was. He sounds great in both settings. I love the long cymbal crash at the end of Weary Blues!
HS: Yeah, it’s almost like that cymbal crash was a response to the situation at Hambone Kelly’s! We should definitely make Bill Dart a member emeritus of the Drummers Support Group! I’m betting that he heard Ben Pollack’s records and Bauduc’s too. He might have even heard Bauduc in person when the Crosby orchestra performed in San Francisco. And he must have been acquainted with Fred! Whoever inspired him, though, his own style was romping and propulsive and, thankfully, utilized the whole set.
Dart was out of the Yerba Buena Band for much of 1948. During that time he worked quite a bit with Scobey’s Alexander’s Jazz Band. As the records illustrate, it was a stimulating musical environment. Here are two more sides by Alexander’s JB from 1948 with clarinetist Hots O’Casey and pianist Burt Bales bringing some real fire to the proceedings. And dig those cymbal crashes!
KD: I love those cymbal crashes on beat four, they really drives things along. There are also some unexpected and effective cymbal crashes on beat one. Any idea what size cymbal that was?
This is really fine drumming, driving and relaxed at the same time. As you pointed out, he’s making use of the full set. I particularly enjoy his choke cymbal playing on these tracks. He hardly varies the rhythm at all as he accents the backbeat. It’s a minimalistic approach that reminds me a bit of Paul Barbarin. I like the way he kept that up without changing it. It contrasted with the other sections and he didn’t even play a fill coming out of it, as most drummers would have done. I really love the choices he made here of what to play and in particular what NOT to play.
HS: It’s interesting that you mentioned Paul Barbarin. Trombonist Bob Mielke compared Dart’s New Orleans style drumming to Barbarin’s. I can hear the similarity; especially the steady rhythm on the choke cymbal.
As far as the cymbals go, I think he probably kept one large-size (maybe 18″) ride for gigs outside Hambone Kelly’s. Otherwise, I hear a lot of the same cymbals on the recordings with Watters, Scobey and others.
Before Dart returned to the Watters band in mid-1949, he played with trombonist Jack Sheedy’s band. Fortunately, this group recorded and we can hear even more of Dart’s “uncaged” playing—including a weird and wonderful Latin beat on “Lady Maude’s Dream,” some great tom-tom accents on “Down In Jungletown” and some Morey Feld-like cymbal crashes on beat one during “Tiger Rag.”
KD: I can’t understand why anyone would restrict Dart in that way, especially when we’ve heard what he could do when (presumably) left to his own devices. Again, paging The Drummers Support Group!
I absolutely love the beat he plays on “Lady Maude’s Dream!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like it. The cowbell on beats 1 and 3 are almost like a reverse backbeat, but then there’s also a strong 4/4 feeling underneath. It’s not at all like the very authentic Latin drumming we’ve heard from Fred Higuera, but it’s creative and really has a nice groove to it.
On “Down In Jungletown” there are some nice fills and accents that briefly superimpose a feeling of 3/4 over 4/4. Also when Dart plays the choke cymbal, he plays it with a strict quarter note pulse, as opposed to the standard ride rhythm he used when playing the choke cymbal on the Scobey recordings.
Those cymbal crashes he plays on beat 1 on “Tiger Rag” definitely remind me of Morey Feld! Dart also gets an unusual effect coming out of some of the instrumental breaks. Most drummers in this style would strike a cymbal on beat 4 coming out of a break, but he waits and crashes the cymbal on beat 1, but with a little grace note right before it on the snare drum. It’s like he’s waiting until the last possible second, almost like he stumbles into the downbeat. It’s unexpected and unique.
With the Watters band, even though he was restricted to only playing the choke cymbal, the rhythm section is really locked in and plays as one person. While I’m very familiar with Dart’s playing with Watters, I haven’t heard a lot of these other recordings so far, so thanks for bringing them to my attention!
HS: That’s what I’m here for! Unfortunately, the Scobey and Sheedy recordings are the only commercially-issued sides where Dart really cuts loose. There is a low-fi live recording of Alexander’s Jazz Band made in 1951 where Bill sounds like he purposely trying to play like Fred Higuera! And there is a live recording by an All-Star band with Scobey, Don Kinch, Bob Helm, Turk Murphy and Clancy Hayes where Dart plays some hot licks on the snare and afterbeats on the bass drum (!) Sad to say that the rhythm section was weak on that particular occasion and several of the tempos accelerate to an uncomfortable point. He also played with Dick Oxtot’s Polecats and the Ellis Horne Trio, but so far no recordings of either group have surfaced.
However… we can enjoy Dart’s unique New Orleans drumming on a 1954 rehearsal by Bob Mielke’s “Superior Stompers.” The complex bass drum beats on “Bogalusa Strut” are fascinating and the way Dart uses the tom-toms and choke cymbal plus an unyielding 4/4 bass drum on “Ice Cream” makes me think that he could have played with just about any of the best New Orleans revival groups.
KD: Yes, this is truly some great N.O. revival drumming! I hear attributes of players such as Baby Dodds, Sammy Penn and Paul Barbarin, but Dart still has his own unique approach. He does many things on these tracks that we haven’t heard him do in other recordings, like the intricate bass drum playing on “Bogalusa Strut.” The figures are so complex, it almost sounds like two different drummers, like one would hear in a parade. It’s a great contrast when he settles into that strong 4/4 on the bass drum.
There’s also the ride cymbal, which he plays throughout these two tracks. Notice how he plays almost exclusively quarter notes on the ride, very rarely the standard ride rhythm. Then there’s the hi-hat on beats 2 and 4, an uncommon sound in New Orleans Jazz drumming. I didn’t hear any of these things on the previous recordings we heard, and it’s all combined with a great feel!
These tracks again show Dart’s versatility. I would never have guessed this is the same drummer as on the Yerba Buena Jazz Band recordings. Were you as surprised as I am when you first heard these?
HS: Yes, I was! Several years ago I talked with trombonist Bob Mielke about Bill Dart. He told me that “Dart played like a man who had just been let out of jail” when he played drums with the Superior Stompers and the Bearcats. Back then I had not heard any of the recordings by Alexander’s Jazz Band and Jack Sheedy’s Jazz Band or these recordings by the Superior Stompers, so “Ice Cream” and “Bogalusa Strut” really opened my eyes and ears! I agree with Bob Mielke that the drumming—particularly on “Ice Cream”—really does sound like Dart had just been let out of jail! And that steady 4/4 on the bass drum and the ringing ride cymbal reminds me of the way Joe Watkins played with George Lewis’ band. Driving and HOT!
In 1966, Dart played a concert with Dick Oxtot’s Jazz Band for the New Orleans Jazz Club of Northern California. Interestingly, this is almost the same lineup as the Superior Stompers a dozen years before.
Let’s listen to “Over The Waves.”—another number that was a staple of the George Lewis band repertoire. I can’t wait to read what you have to say about the wacky drum break on that one!
KD: I love it! In fact, it might be one of my new favorite drum breaks! It has a great use of space, combined with the effect of a drumset falling down a flight of stairs (and I mean that in the best possible way). It sounds like someone in the band loved it as well. It grooves, it’s unexpected, and it’s a perfect transition from 3/4 to 4/4.
Other than that, we hear more of that quarter note ride beat and some more great fills, which build up towards the end of the tune, adding excitement. Touching again on Dart’s choices of what to play and what to leave out, I think part of what makes his fills so effective is that he doesn’t play one every 8 bars or at the end of every chorus. Often he won’t play a fill when one would expect him to, and that makes it really stand out when he DOES play one. His playing is very unpredictable on the last few recordings we’ve heard and I love that.
I think you’ve picked a great selection of tracks that really showcase Bill Dart’s versatility. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them and for me the two biggest highlights have been his four bar break here and the Latin groove from “Lady Maude’s Dream.” I’d love to hear what the highlights for you have been and also what your take is on this crazy drum break!
HS: The first thing that went through my mind when I heard that break was “How did he do that?” It’s a real “go for broke” kind of break; a spiritual heir to Vic Berton’s on “Some Sweet Day” with Red and Miff and Dave Tough’s on “At The Codfish Ball” with the Clambake Seven. And the integration of the cowbell and tom-toms with the snare and bass drum reminds me of the kinds of drum breaks Ben Pollack played with his own Pick-A-Rib Boys.
You mentioned the fact that Dart doesn’t always play a turnaround or fill when you would expect to hear one. And when he does play one, the accents sometimes land on odd beats and the fills begin and/or end in unusual places. Otherwise, the exuberant drumming certainly gave the Oxtot band a lot of forward momentum! I remember playing a similar recording for our friend Chris Tyle, who remarked “He sounds like a rock’n’roll drummer!” Dart’s “revival” playing had that same kind of “rock” energy.
Well, Brother—this has been a very enjoyable remote conversation. I’m glad that you enjoyed hearing some new material and I can’t thank you enough for your astute and well-written comments on the sides we listened to. I look forward to our next “meeting of the minds.”
KD: Likewise, Brother! Always an absolute pleasure talking drums with you!
Hal Smith is an Arkansas-based drummer and writer. He leads the El Dorado Jazz Band and the Mortonia Seven and works with a variety of jazz and swing bands. Visit him online at halsmithmusic.com.
Kevin Dorn has been one of the busiest and most highly regarded drummers in swing and traditional jazz for many years. Find him online at www.kevindorn.com.
1 I (HS) described some of the musical and personal issues during Bill Dart’s stint with the Yerba Buena Jazz Band for the Charles N. Huggins Project/San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation/The Stanford Libraries. The article can be read here: tinyurl.com/billdartstanford. Note: the photo labeled “Turk Murphy Jazz Band” was taken at a concert sponsored by the Bayside Jazz Society in 1951. Bob Helm, Don Kinch, Turk Murphy and Dart performed with the “all-star band,” which was put together by the organizers of the concert. Turk Murphy was outspoken in his dislike of Dart’s playing and would never have hired him for the Murphy band.
2 Sincere thanks to Dave Radlauer/Jazz Rhythm (www.jazzhotbigstep.com) for sharing these extremely rare recordings.
Links to discussed recordings:
Lu Watters’ Yerba Buena Jazz Band “Cakewalking Babies From Home” 1947
(Lu Watters, trumpet/leader; Bob Scobey, trumpet; Turk Murphy, trombone; Bob Helm, clarinet; Wally Rose, piano; Harry Mordecai, banjo; Dick Lammi, tuba; Bill Dart, drums)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8KxIRnotOQ
Alexander’s Jazz Band “I’m Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover” 1947
(R. Alexander Scobey, trumpet/leader/vocal; Jack Buck, trombone/vocal; Ellis Horne, clarinet/vocal; Wally Rose, piano; Harry Mordecai, banjo; Squire Girsback, bass; Bill Dart, drums)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsKBNka5ck
(Same personnel as previous track)
“Weary Blues” 1947
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kkj48kQH1E
Alexander’s Jazz Band “Wang Wang Blues” 1948
(Bob Scobey, trumpet/leader; Jack Buck, trombone; Hots O’Casey, clarinet; Burt Bales, piano; Bill Newman, banjo/guitar; Squire Girsback, bass/sousaphone; Bill Dart, drums)
(Same personnel as previous track)
“Clarinet Marmalade” 1948
Lu Watters’ Jazz Band “Aunt Hagar’s Blues” 1949
(Lu Watters, trumpet/leader; Don Noakes, trombone; Bob Helm, clarinet; Wally Rose, piano; Pat Patton and Clancy Hayes, banjos; Dick Lammi, tuba; Bill Dart, drums)
Jack Sheedy’s Jazz Band “Lady Maude’s Dream” 1949
(Jack Sheedy, trombone/leader/vocal; Jack Minger, cornet; Vince Cattolica, clarinet; Bill Erickson, piano; Paul Miller, guitar; Vernon Alley, bass; Bill Dart, drums)
(Same personnel as previous track)
“Down In Jungle Town” 1949
(Same personnel as previous track)
“Tiger Rag” 1949
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYopV_t_Ml0
Superior Stompers “Bogalusa Strut” 1954
(Bob Mielke, trombone/leader; P.T. Stanton, cornet; Bunky Colman, clarinet; Dick Oxtot, banjo; Don Noakes, bass; Bill Dart, drums)
(Same personnel as previous track)
“Ice Cream”
Dick Oxtot’s Jazz Band 1966
(Dick Oxtot, banjo/leader; P.T. Stanton, cornet; Bill Bardin, trombone; Bunky Colman, clarinet; Peter Allen, bass; Bill Dart, drums)
“Over The Waves”
Hal Smith is an Arkansas-based drummer and writer. He leads the El Dorado Jazz Band and the
Mortonia Seven and works with a variety of jazz and swing bands. Visit him online at
halsmithmusic.com
Kevin Dorn is familiar to our readers as a much-in-demand jazz drummer based in the NYC area. Find him on the web atwww.kevindorn.com
