Robert Earle Spencer (born 26 June 1925 Welborn, Kansas – 19 September 1973 Fillmore, Utah)[1][2] was an American trombonist and leader of a progressive swing big band bearing his name — Earle Spencer and His Orchestra. He formed the band in 1946 and disbanded in 1949. The band recorded for Black & White Records — a label so named by its founder, Les Schreiber, to reflect the races of its recording artists.[3][4]
History of the Earle Spencer Orchestra
Spencer was a trombonist who, after playing in the band that he led from 1946 to 1949, gave up playing entirely, due partly to a heart murmur, due partly to the hard economics of big bands in that began in the late 1940s, and due partly to the band's record label, Black & White Records, which went out of business in October 1949.
Towards the end of World War II, a conscious movement towards the creation of a new style of big band jazz became apparent on America's west coast. The longest established of these self-styled "progressives" was Stan Kenton; then came Boyd Raeburn, and finally Earle Spencer.[5]
In 1946, Spencer formed his band in Los Angeles after being discharged from the U.S. Navy. Its compositions were progressively styled in the spirit of Stan Kenton, Johnny Richards, and Boyd Raeburn. High-note trumpeter Al Killian, trombonist Tommy Pederson, tenorman Lucky Thompson, trumpeter Buddy Childers and altoist Art Pepper, were among the notable members. Spencer apparently dropped out of music altogether by the end of 1949 – when he was still just 23 – and nothing much has been heard from him since.[6]
When Kenton was in his Artistry in Rhythm phase, Earle Spencer was running a roadshow version of the same thing. The evidence is on Concert in Jazz, Tops 1532, dimmed by relatively inadequate recording.[7]
The March 5, 1949 Billboard magazine listed the Earle Spencer Orchestra as a "B" Band — one that grossed less than $200,000, but more than $100,000 during 1948. Its booking agent firm was General Artist Corporation.[8]
Big bands were finding it difficult to survive in the late 1940s and were faced with limited bookings; so Spencer disbanded after a gig in Dallas.[9][10]
Edward Franklin Gabel ("Gabe;" 1924–2014) left Kenton as Kenton's bandboy to work for Earle Spencer as manager in 1947.[11][12]
Critical acclaim
"Box Lunch (at the Factory)," arranged by Paul Nelson (Black & White 875–A): The always interesting Earle Spencer has a potent, futuristic, impressionist work here. Complex working, stratospheric brass figures, intricate rhythms, and a terrific scream trumpet chorus make this a sure bet for amateurs of the super modern.[13]
Toni Aubin and Jerry Hegeman (from Fort Worth) joined the band while it was performing in Fort Worth. The band was booked first at the Lake Worth Casino, then 3 nights at the Bagdad Club.[14][15]
Toni Aubin (1924–1990)[i] had married Howard Ansley Phillips (1929–2010) who, from 1947 to 1949, played saxophone in the band. Aubin recorded "Sunday Afternoon" and other songs with the Spencer orchestra, but also recorded with the Louis Ohls Orchestra[ii] out of Arkadelphia, and the Phil Carreón Big Band out of Los Angeles, California.
James Lawrence Salko (1919–2003), Paul R. Lopez (born 1923), Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Clair Jones (tp) Earle Spencer, Ray Heath, Jr., Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Marshall Cram (tb) Les Robinson, Galen McReynolds (cl,as) Ralph Lee, Joe Koch (cl,ts) Hy Mandell (bar) Jack Marshall (g) Tommy Todd (p) Red Callender (b) Jackie Mills (born 11 March 1922 New York City) (d) Paul F. Polena, William (Bill) Gillette, Morty Corb, Paul Nelson, Frank Erickson (arr)
BW349: "Concerto for Guitar," Bill Gillette, arranger
BW350: "Bolero in Boogie," Paul Francis Polena, composer, 78 rpm B&WOCLC45771745
Al Killian, James Lawrence Salko (1919–2003), Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Clair Jones (tp) Earle Spencer, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Marshall Cram (tb) Skeets Herfurt, William Hudspeth (cl, as) Herbert Bickford (Herbie) Steward (1926–2003), Francis "Frank" Polifroni (né Francis Louis Polifroni; 1919–1996)[16] (cl, ts) Bob Snell (bar) Tony Rizzi (g) Milt Raskin (p) Artie Shapiro (b) Jackie Mills (born 11 March 1922 New York City) (d) William (Bill) Gillett, Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983) (arr)
BW384: "E.S. Boogie" (part 2), William Gillett, arranger
BW385: "E.S. Boogie" (part 1), William Gillett, arranger
BW386: "Spenceria" (unissued)
BW387: "Rhapsody in Boogie" (part 1), Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983), arranger
Les Robinson (cl, as) replaces Skeets Herfurt, James McGee (fhr) Richard G. Hofmann (fhr) Paul F. Polena (p-1) Bob Hayward (vcl) Frank Erickson (arr) added
BW388: "Amber Moon"
BW389: "Spencerian Theory" (part 2) Bob Hayward, vocal, Frank Erickson, arranger
BW390: "Rhapsody in Boogie" (part 2), Harry Paul Wham (1919–1983), arranger
BW391: "Spencerian Theory" (part 1), Bob Hayward, vocal, Frank Erickson, arranger
Al Killian, Frank Beach, Bob Fowler, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993), Mike Bryan (tp) Earle Spencer, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson, Ray Sims (Raymond C. Sims; 1921–2000), Jim Gales (tb) William Hudspeth, Les Robinson (cl,as) Raph Lee, Don Francis Lodice (1919–1995) (ts) Hy Mandell (bar) Hal Schaefer (p) Gene Sargent (g) The Arvin Garrison Quintet (1) : Arvin Garrison, Barney Kessel, Irving Ashby, Tony Rizzi, Gene Sargent (g-1) Artie Shapiro (b) Sam Weiss (d)
BW529: "Five Guitars in Flight" (we out,1)
BW530: "Polychronic Suite" (unissued)
BW531: "Gangbusters," music by Paul Francis Polena
BW532: "Piano Interlude," William Gillett, arranger
Sensation Of The Year 1946: Earl Spencer And His New Band — the following are probable personnel: Al Killian, Paul R. Lopez (born 1923), Bob Fowler, Clair Jones, Richard (Dick) Binns (1920–1993) (tp) Ray Sims, Ollie Wilson, Durward Morsch, Eugen Manson (tb) Ronnie Lang (born Ronald Langinger; 24 July 1929 Chicago), William Huspeth (as) Ralph Lee, Francis Polifroni (ts) Steve Perlow (bar) Bob Clarke (p) Tony Rizzi (g) Morty Corb (b) Bobby White (born Robert E. White; 28 June 1926, Chicago) (d) Doris Clark (vcl)
Radio Recorders, 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, California, February 7, 1949
Tony L. Faccinto (1927–2006), Buddy Childers, Joseph Gerald "Jerry" Munson, Jack Gerheim (Jacob William Garehime, Jr.; 1923–2004), Clyde Melvin Reasinger (born 1927) (trumpets); Earle Spencer, Jimmy Knepper, Junior Durward Morsch, Harry John Forbes, Earl Burgess Hamlin (1915–2008) (trombone) Art Pepper, Herb Geller (clarinet, alto sax), Thomas Kelly (Tommy) Makajon (1926–1981), Stanley Edward Heaney (clarinet, tenor sax), Howard Ansley Phillips (1929–2010) (bar) Robert Shannon Fletcher (piano) Laurindo Almeida (guitar), Willie Slater (b) Roy Edwin Hall (drums); Toni Aubin (vcl)
BW733-2: "Box Lunch" ("at the factory"), Paul Nelson, arranger
This session, one of Geller's earliest commercial recordings and the last of the Spencer orchestra, has personnel discrepancies with other sources, including:
Jazz Discography: 85 Years of Recorded Jazz, by Walter Bruyninckx & Dominique Truffandier, in CD–ROM format (self published), Mechelen, Belgium (2004) OCLC162319250
Except for Geller and a few others, the session lists different personnel. For example, Bob Lively is listed on alto sax along with Art Pepper. The personnel listed here are found in the Lord discography and the liner notes to Fresh Sound 2501. According to jazz historian Noal Cohen, Geller remembers being on this session: "I remember that because it was the first time I met and played with Art Pepper. It was around 1947, and perhaps my first recording as a sideman," — email from Geller to jazz historian Noal Cohen, October 4, 2011.[18]
The 1947 date is mentioned in other sources including the famous 11-volume Jepsen Jazz Discographies,[19] but seems unlikely given the number of Stan Kenton musicians present (Childers, Pepper, Almeida, Betts). Historian Cohen feels that 1949 is more reasonable because Kenton had disbanded in late 1948 after which these musicians joined Spencer (reported in Down Beat Magazine).[18]
Note 1: Paul Reiner (1905–1982) was the founder and president of Black & White Records
Note 2: The copyright entries attribute Spencer as composer, but, he did not compose any of the music. Crediting the band leader in the 1940s was simply a custom.
"On the Stand: Earl Spencer" (performance review), by Lee Zhito (1818–1995), Billboard February 22, 1947, pg. 19
Notes
^Toni Aubin's maiden name was Maria Antoinette Rubio; later known as Mary Phillips (Howard Ansley Phillips); she had a baby girl in 1951, but gave her for adoption; also has a son, Ian Charles Phillips (born 30 Sep 1949 Pasadena),whom she raised; she married Jack Stanley Lanning (1923–2000) in 1954.
^The AFRS "Jubilee" Transcription Programs: An Exploratory Discography, by Rainer E. Lotz(de) (born 1937) and Ulrich Neuert, Frankfurt: Norbert Rücker Verlag (1985), pps. 238, 257, 289; OCLC13271000; Online version OCLC690448644
