Take 5 With Tommy Ladnier

Tommy Ladnier is a forgotten early jazz trumpeter who participated in a number of notable recording sessions starting with a variety of sessions backing some of the early women blues singers like Ida Cox and Ma Rainey. These recordings were under the leadership of pianist Lovie Austin. Later he was among the Black Americans jazz artists to tour Europe during the 1920s with Sam Wooding among others. He also was a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra for a few years. He also was with Nobel Sissle and later led a group with Sideny Bechet with whom he made the famous New Orleans Feetwarmers recordings. For this edition of Take 5 we can only touch upon a few of the 187 recordings he can be heard on.

We start with one of his accompaniments to Ma Rainey on Paramount Records as part of Lovie Austin and her Blues Serenaders. Jimmy O'Bryant is the clarinet player on "Bo-Weavil Blues."

Next up is Tommy's trumpet featured on Lovie Austin and Her Blues Serenaders recording of "Traveling Blues."

Sam Wooding's Orchestra was recorded during their extensive touring of Europe. Here is "Shanghai Shuffle."

With Fletcher Henderson, Ladnier was featured on the Don Redman arrangement of Jelly Roll Morton's "The Chant." Fats Waller was on organ for this session.

We close this brief appreciation of Ladnier with one of the recordings with Bechet aspart of the New Orleans Feetwarmer, "Sweetie Dear."

Hope you enjoyed this. Bo Lindström and Daniel Vernhettes wrote an incredible biography of Ladnier, Traveling Blues published by JazzEdit. I am not sure of it is still in print, but worth looking for if you have interest in pre-bop jazz history.