In the dramatis personae of mid-20th century jazz, bassist and jive vocalist
Tiny Bam Brown is remembered for having served as
Bulee Slim Gaillard's right-hand man over the course of about 24 months.
Gaillard's initial success began in 1938 in collusion with singing bassist
Slam Stewart, who was drafted during the Second World War and then became a member of the
Art Tatum Trio. When
Gaillard cut his famous recording of "Cement Mixer Put-Ti-Put-Ti" in Los Angeles on January 12, 1945 with
Bam Brown and drummer
Zutty Singleton, it was the inauguration of a trio that would serve as the kernel of
Gaillard's increasingly popular bop-flavored novelty act throughout much of this period, and which became a quartet with the addition of pianist
Dodo Marmarosa. This group appeared in a short film performing "Laguna Oreenee," after which
Gaillard and
Brown cut a dozen titles for the King label with larger ensembles billed as
Slim Gaillard & His Boogiereeners; in addition to formidable young players like trumpeter
Howard McGhee and saxophonist
Lucky Thompson, these recordings also featured a pianist named Fletcher Smith who doubled on harpsichord, and the drumming and/or scatting of
Leo Scat Watson, former leader of the
Spirits of Rhythm and a perfect addition to the mayhem-inducing company of
Gaillard and
Brown. During the final weeks of 1945, while cutting about 40 sides with
Marmarosa,
Singleton, or
Watson,
Gaillard and
Brown perfected their peculiarly slaphappy routine, which generally consisted of boogie, swing, and bop-based jive tunes sung by
Gaillard while
Brown echoed his utterances in a funny little high-pitched voice. This was
Gaillard's second great period of recording activity, riddled with unprecedented amounts of nonsensical crosstalk, hepcat horseplay, silly subject matter, and interesting titles like "Voutoreene," "Ding Dong Oreenee," "Drei Six Cents," and "Oxydol Highball."
The pinnacle of this entire story occurred on December 29, 1945, when the
Slim Gaillard Quartet cut four titles with
Dizzy Gillespie,
Charlie Parker, and tenor saxophonist
Jack McVea. Immortalized under the heading of "Slim's Jam," these records document
Brown's ability to support heavy hitters like
Bird and
Diz while engaging in vocal duets with
Gaillard on "Flat Foot Floogie" and "Popity Pop." The second leg of
Brown's two-year adventure with
Gaillard began with a visitation from boogie-woogie pianist Wini Beatty and another fine date involving
Thompson and
McGhee alongside bop clarinetist
Marshall Royal. It was at this session that
Gaillard and
Brown introduced one of their most effective numbers, "Chicken Rhythm." After knocking off a few V-Discs with
Leo Watson, the two performed their definitive collaborative opus, the "Opera in Vout" or "Groove Juice Symphony," at the Embassy Theater in Los Angeles as part of
Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package on April 22, 1946. Weeks later, the two men waxed four titles with pianist Bill Early and drummer
Scatman Crothers. A brief engagement at Billy Berg's club constituted
Watson's final collaboration with
Gaillard and
Brown; a film soundtrack made shortly thereafter has drumming by
Crothers.
Brown's final sessions with
Gaillard include 16 sides released on the MGM label, with the only other identified participants being
Marmarosa and one Jim Hawthorne who barks like a dog on the "Serenade to a Poodle." By far the best titles from 1947 are "Down by the Station" and the entertaining "Money, Money, Money." After this,
Bam Brown disappears from the
Gaillard discography, and from the annals of jazz history. He was replaced with Ernie Shepard who was succeeded by
Clyde Lombardi,
Ray Brown and Percy Heath -- great modern bassists, but obviously none of them clowned around and carried on the way he had. ~ arwulf arwulf