JB: For this installment, we turn to the wild and wonderful world of the Firehouse Five Plus Two. I am happy to welcome Hal Smith back to the column after his furlough last month, especially as this is one of his all-time favorite groups and one of mine as well. Most historical notes you read here will be from the liner notes of Good Time Jazz LPs L-12010-12 and from Hal’s personal observations (he had the pleasure of hearing the band live in SoCal back in the 1960s).
For this inaugural exploration, we go back to the very beginning of the formation of the group, comprised of writers, animators and technicians who worked at Walt Disney studios in Hollywood. These amateur musicians would gather during their lunch break in trombonist Ward Kimball’s office to listen to, and play along with, old phonograph records. The legend has it that one fateful day, the phonograph player broke down, leaving them no choice but to carry on unaided. To their mutual surprise they sounded pretty good! Later, Kimball hosted jam sessions at his house which included jazz luminaries such as Albert Nicholas and Minor Hall (who no doubt inspired and influenced the band as it developed), together with musicians who would become important in the first incarnation of the band: trumpeter Johnny Lucas, banjoist Harper Goff, p
