RIP - Arvell Shaw, Jazz Bassist, Dies at 79
Someone
Arvell Shaw, Jazz Bassist, Dies at 79
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Arvell Shaw, a swinging bassist whose thumping, straight-ahead style gave
musical backbone to Louis Armstrong's genius for a quarter-century, died on
Thursday at his home in Roosevelt, N.Y. He was 79.
The apparent cause was a heart attack, said Cynthia Moton, his companion.
Mr. Shaw began playing with the Louis Armstrong Orchestra in 1945, and when
Armstrong disbanded the orchestra in 1947, he was one of the first members
of a septet called Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars.
Mr. Shaw was the last of the original group, which also included Jack
Teagarden, Earl Hines, Big Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Dick Cary and the
vocalist Velma Middleton.
Michael Cogswell, director of the Louis Armstrong House and Archives of
Queens College, said only a handful of the many musicians who played with
the All-Stars over the years are still living. "He was one of the last of
his generation," Mr. Cogwell said. "He was a rock-solid rhythm-section bass
player."
Mr. Shaw's bearlike frame hulking over the bass and his almost constant
smile were his trademarks. He once said that playing with Armstrong was his
God-ordained mission, and he played that way.
He also performed with Benny Goodman and many others. But he was best known
for his long collaboration with Armstrong.
Mr. Shaw appeared with him in the films "The Glenn Miller Story" in 1954 and
"High Society" in 1956.
Arvell James Shaw was born in St. Louis on Sept. 15, 1923. In an interview
for the 2001 Ken Burns documentary, "Jazz," he said his father took him to
see Armstrong perform when he was 8 or 9 at the Comet Theater there. "I'd
heard a few records of him but when he walked out on that stage and started
playing, it was like an electric shock went up my spine," he said.
He played the tuba and trombone in his high school band and switched to the
double bass while in the Navy in the early 1940's. The bandmaster chose him
because he was the tallest.
In 1945 Armstrong was in St. Louis when his bassist left the band
temporarily while his wife had a baby. Armstrong asked the local musicians'
union for the best bass player, and Mr. Shaw, back home in the West End of
St. Louis, got the call.
"I was only supposed to be in the band three weeks, and it turned out to be
25 years," Mr. Shaw said in a 1996 interview with WHPC-FM, the station of
Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y.
Mr. Shaw called himself one of the luckiest men who ever lived, because of
the opportunity to play with Armstrong. The All-Stars' travels took them all
over the world, including the Congo during civil strife. Both sides came to
see the group and sat side by side, cheering. When the audience left, they
resumed fighting.
For much of his time with the band, Mr. Shaw came and went in order to be
home to help raise his daughter Victoria, who has autism. He often played
for charities helping people with developmental disabilities, particularly
Plus Group Homes.
In addition to Victoria Patsy Shaw and Ms. Moton, he is survived by his
brother, Rudy of Charlotte, N.C., and his sister, Marvella of St. Louis.
During the 1970's and early 80's, Mr. Shaw played with bands for the
Broadway shows "Bubbling Brown Sugar" and "Ain't Misbehaving." He said in an
interview with Newsday last year that he would keep playing music until he
dropped.
Though blinded by glaucoma, he seemed to be having a great time playing and
singing in his deep voice on a chartered jazz theme cruise last month. His
most frequent solo was a version of Armstrong's hit "What a Wonderful
World."
sgordon
who I had not yet seen before. He was one of my favorite jazz bassists.
Besides his great work with Armstrong, there is a chilling arco solo
on "Alone Together" with Wild Bill Davison's "Jazz Giants" that is worth
hunting out.
Scott
Robert J Dewar
nice gentleman and I love his work with Louis.
Hopefully, Louis and him are renewing their friendship up there in heaven.
:)
Robert J Dewar
"sgordon" <sgo...@sonic.net> wrote in message
news:UfKJ9.54182$Ik.15...@typhoon.sonic.net...
Abjorn
"sgordon" <sgo...@sonic.net> skrev i meddelandet
news:UfKJ9.54182$Ik.15...@typhoon.sonic.net...
concert. I heard him many times through the years, and I have a CD with him
visiting Wien, Austria, for the 100th birthday of Pops. There he sings "What
a Wonderful World", bringing tears to everyone's eyes.
A great musician is missed by the real jazz world.
Abjorn