More and better details when I receive the book " Die ewige Freundin"

A heart attack cut short the career of this talented reed player, one of literally dozens of musicians who somehow earned a creepy, crawly, web-spinning nickname. From 1926 Courance was associated with the Cincinatti-based band of Wesley Helvey and also had a short playing relationship with superb trombonist J.C. Higginbotham. In the early '30s the reedman headed for New York City, by 1934 establishing a steady gig in the petite shadow of Tiny Bradshaw. The fall of the following year Courance began performing in France, a country where his surname sounded right at home. He began playing there with Freddy Taylor and in 1937 was performing in Paris with a guitarist whose name suggested a fondness for beer, Oscar Aleman.

Courance also continued working around France with Taylor. In the spring of 1938, Fletcher Allen called on Courance for a new ensemble he was convening, again to be based out of Paris. During the same year Courance made some exciting recordings under the leadership of trumpeter Bill Coleman, whose touring itinerary for the period involved a trip to Egypt for Courance. By 1940 the reedman was back in New York City but out of his love of traveling jumped at the opportunity to take part in various overseas tours being conducted by the

USO. These included 1945 and 1947 package tours in which he backed drumming bandleader Herbie Cowens. When he went to work for Wingie Carpenter in the '50s it represented a coming together of nicknames, as there is chance that there are as many Wingies in the music business as Spiders. After 1966 Courance was unable to continue performing. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide

This is help for the Voter

Django's second son Babik Reinhardt is famous within the gypsy jazz world but his first, Henri "Lousson" Reinhardt/Baumgartner, is a much less well known personality. Lousson was born in 1929 to Django's first wife, Florine "Bella" Mayer but Django had already separated from Bella before his birth. It appears Django was not at all involved in Lousson's upbringing and since he remained a nomadic, somewhat unsociable individual all his life, there is very little information available about him. One cannot help but feel that Django's apparent indifference to Lousson contrasts dramatically with his obvious devotion to Babik.

The Lousson Reinhardt Quartette plays "Love Is Here to Stay" on the "Gipsy Jazz School - Django's Legacy" CD.

Examples of his rhythm playing behind Django Reinhardt can be found on Volume 16 of the Fremeaux Intégrale Django Reinhardt series.

All the above were recorded on tape recorders. There are several other really poor quality tape recordings of Lousson in existence that have never been officially released.

Pat Davis

Frank Allen Davis was born May 26, 1909 in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the mid-20's, Davis played many road gigs with numerous band leaders including the infamous Blue Steele. Davis had worked with key members of a group formed from the nucleus of a Jean Goldkette unit and in 1929, this association led to his becoming a founding member of the Casa Loma Orchestra. From 1929 to mid-1943, Davis was the featured tenor saxophone soloist with the renowned "Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra." Returning to Little Rock in 1943, Davis continued to play locally while working other day jobs which were related to music such as salesman for local music stores, etc.. In the 50's and 60's, Pat was instrumental in organizing and playing with a multitude of groups which were the nucleic force driving the formation of what is now the Jazz Club Of Arkansas. Pat's son is Dr. Fallon Davis, a Little Rock dentist.

Bill Moore

1901, New York, NY
Died: 1964
Active: '20s, '30s, '40s
Genres: Jazz
Instrument: Trumpet

The rule involving the surname Moore as combined with any combination of Will, William, Willie, Bill, Billie, or Billy is that there will always be, well, Moore -- musicians, that is.

The trumpet and cornet player born William Henry Moore but often credited as Bill can claim some important firsts in the music business that go well beyond the admittedly large class of performers whose names are close enough to his to create confusion. As a member of the California Ramblers, one of the few successful bands to name itself after an inn, Moore became one of the first black members of a popular dance band. Which leads to another aspect of this brassman's innovations: the fact that he was one of the earliest examples of a prolific studio musician. Since the California Ramblers as a group concentrated on studio recordings rather than live gigs, prejudiced listeners really had no idea what the race of the musicians actually might have been.

Moore's steady involvement in a combo with the state of California in its name belies his Brooklyn origins as well as the fact that he had returned to New York City in his later years. The trumpeter's series of recordings with the California Ramblers overlapped with his membership in the Ben Bernie Orchestra, and as his career proceeded he was often on call with half a dozen such dance bands at once -- including organizations under the direction of Don Voorhees, Bert Lown, and Lester Lanin. Moore also recorded and performed steadily with the in-house orchestras of various radio stations. The throng he should not be mistaken for includes a new age percussionist, a New Orleans jazz tuba blower, and the big-band pianist and arranger Billy Moore. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide