Earl Hines New York City, 1947, Gottlieb Collection
We are into a second century of jazz in Pittsburgh, a foundational city of this American music. For Black History Month, a special focus on that historical and Pittsburgh perspective.
This time on the Scene, we focus on the major jazz figure of Earl “Fatha” Hines. Called “Fatha” because he was, early in his career, considered the father of what became jazz piano.
We also have music from saxophonist and educator Bobby Watson, paying homage to Madam CJ Walker, the black entrepreneur and vocalist who spent time in Pittsburgh and had an important role in the musical life of an Earl Hines mentor, vocalist Lois Deppe.
Also - a sneak preview of a new release by drummer George Heid III that also features Sonny Barbato, Eric Susoeff, Paul Thompson and Benny Benack III.
Connections
We’ll look and listen into some of Earl Hines’ influences, and his own words about how he developed his performing style from a 1963 appearance on the early public television program, Jazz Casual. We’ll also hear from contemporary jazz experts on Hines - Tom Roberts and Dr. Nelson Harrison.
We’ll also hear music from another Pittsburgher who was very important in the career of Earl Hines - a gentleman singer named Lois Deppe. Lois Deppe performed widely with Earl Hines, including at the Leiderhouse (precursor to Crawford’s Grill). In 1921, there are many reports of Deppe and Hines performing a duet on KDKA radio, which is considered the first live radio appearance by African American artists on radio in the US - a performance that was also heard over loudspeaker on Wylie Avenue in the Hill.
Deppe’s career later included work with notables like the influential McKinney’s Cotton Pickers from Detroit, bandleader/arranger Fletcher Henderson, and legendary players like tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and bassist John Kirby (who would later marry another influential Pittsburgh native, vocalist Ernestine Anderson).
Earl “Fatha” Hines on Ralph Gleason’s Jazz Casual on National Educational Television (NET) (February 15, 1963)
Another fascinating connection to this story is the African American entrepreneur, Madam C. J. Walker. Her career in women’s hair products made her a multi-millionaire - and in 1908-1910, she lived and worked in Pittsburgh. In 1910, she moved to Indianapolis where she started a larger beauty products factory, but she still, apparently, had her eye on Pittsburgh. As a singer and a patron of the arts, Walker brought a young Lois Deppe to perform in Indianapolis in 1913 (when he was age 16). She later brought Deppe to New York City and had him study with Enrico Caruso's vocal coach, Buzzi Pecci. By 1917, back in Pittsburgh, Deppe recruited a very young Earl Hines as his pianist for solo recitals and for his band, Deppe’s Serenaders for several years. The Serenaders are considered the first “swing band” in the history of Pittsburgh cited as performing at Pittsburgh's Paramount Inn as early as 1919.
In an interview with Melody Maker in 1954, another Pittsburgh jazz legend, Mary Lou Williams, recalled Lois Deppe:
One of our local characters, one of the most famed was Lois Deppe, the popular baritone singer who had been around since 1918 or earlier. His band was the talk of Pennsylvania, and at that time included the great Earl Hines -- a local boy from nearby Carnegie -- and Vance Dixon on saxophone and clarinet. Wherever Deppe's band appeared, the kids from all around were sure to go -- and when Vance started to slap-tongue on that saxophone they really went wild. Numbers I remember the band doing were Milenberg Joys, Isabelle and Congaine. The last two were recorded by Deppe in the early Twenties.
Earl Hines moved on to Chicago around 1924 after the strong encouragement to Earl and his parents by Eubie Blake (a friend of Hines’ Aunt Sadie). In Chicago, by 1927-28, the connection of Earl Hines to Louis Armstrong became revolutionary. Combining these two innovative players in the late 1920’s changed the sound of jazz, popular music and America. Hines would influence Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Nat “King” Cole and legions more.
Earl “Fatha” HInes, December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983. When not on the road, he spent the last three decades of his life in Oakland, California. After his passing, his estate donated to the University of California, Berkley for the Earl "Fatha" Hines Young Musicians Development Fund for the campus's Young Musicians Program, which provides year-round, individualized instruction to musically gifted low-income students in grades four to 12 at no cost to their families. Paricipants in the program have included saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Benny Green, and drummer Will Kennedy.
Take a dip into the history of jazz piano with Earl “Fatha” Hines on WZUM
The Scene - Thursday at 6pm, Sundays at 5pm, Friday and Saturday at noon on WZUM.
Pittsburgh Courier, September 1923
A 1975 documentary on the pianist Earl Hines. Filmed at Blues Alley in Washington DC, produced by Britain's ITV television.
Lois Deppe in 1931, sings with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, “My Pretty Girl.” New York City. Also in the band: Russel Smith, Bobby Stark, and Rex Stewart trumpets; Jimmy Harrison and Claude Jones trombones; Benny Carter and Harvey Boone alto sax; Coleman Hawkins tenor sax; Fletcher Henderson piano & director; Clarence Holiday banjo & guitar; John Kirby, tuba; and Walter Johnson drums. Solos by Coleman Hawkins, ts; Bobby Stark, tp; Harvey Boone, cl obligato