The Earle Theatre was a 2768-seat theatre in Philadelphia, United States at 1046 Market Street, on the southeast corner of South 11th Street. It is associated with being a thriving venue for big band jazz music in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Earle Theatre was a 2768-seat theatre in Philadelphia, United States at 1046 Market Street, on the southeast corner of South 11th Street. It is associated with being a thriving venue for big band jazz music in the 1930s and 1940s.
The theatre, the most expensive venue in Philadelphia at the time of its opening on March 24, 1924, [1] was originally called the Elrae (Earle spelled backwards), after Stanley Corporation stockholder George H. Earle. [2] It was initially made for Vaudeville performances but was later adapted to a movie cinema. [3] The theatre was a thriving venue for theatrical stage performances, films, and big band jazz music in the 1930s and 1940s, nurturing talents such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Billy Eckstine. [4] The Count Basie Orchestra opened a one-week engagement at the Earle Theatre on Friday, 23 January 1942, breaking opening records. Basie also played at the Downbeat jazz club while in Philadelphia. [5] Cab Calloway had an annual concert at the theatre. [6]
The theatre returned to Vaudeville for periods, including April 1931 [7] and September 1940, with a four-week production of Boom Town. [8] By 1953 the popularity of the theatre had declined due to the growth of television, and the last stage show was given on February 26, 1953. The theatre was demolished later that year and replaced with a two-story department store. [1]
At the time of construction in 1923, the theatre was the costliest theatre ever constructed in Philadelphia. [3] The opulent grand theatre in the Italian renaissance style contained 2768 seats, of which 1164 seats were on the balcony. [9] The stage measured 62 feet by 35 feet. [3] George Matthews Harding painted the extravagant murals and friezes, and marble was imported from Italy. [9]
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands.
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement. The danceable swing style of big bands and bandleaders such as Benny Goodman was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, known as the swing era, when people were dancing the Lindy Hop. The verb "to swing" is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong groove or drive. Musicians of the swing era include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Benny Carter, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Earl Hines, Bunny Berigan, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Jimmie Lunceford, and Django Reinhardt.
James Melvin Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
The swing era was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Bennie Moten, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines, and Fletcher Henderson, and white bands from the 1920s led by the likes of Jean Goldkette, Russ Morgan and Isham Jones. An early milestone in the era was from "the King of Swing" Benny Goodman's performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935, bringing the music to the rest of the country. The 1930s also became the era of other great soloists: the tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Lester Young; the alto saxophonists Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges; the drummers Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Jo Jones and Sid Catlett; the pianists Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; the trumpeters Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Bunny Berigan, and Rex Stewart.
Elmer Chester Snowden was an American banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as both a player and a bandleader, and launched the careers of many top musicians.
Paul Francis Webster was a jazz trumpeter in the big band era. He was a high-note specialist for Jimmie Lunceford's band, and later played in several other big bands.
Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy transition style is bracketed by Count Basie, who in 1929 signed with Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra, and Kansas City native Charlie Parker, who promoted the bebop style in America.
Gerald Stanley Wilson was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Julie London, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Nancy Wilson.
Edward Durham was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, and Glenn Miller took great benefit from his composing and arranging skill.
Reunald Jones Sr., was an American jazz trumpeter, who worked in big bands and as a studio musician. He played lead trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra (1952–57).
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Walter Gilbert "Gil" Fuller was an American jazz arranger. He is no relation to the jazz trumpeter and vocalist Walter "Rosetta" Fuller.
Rozelle Claxton was an American jazz pianist and arranger.
Teddy McRae was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger.
The Lincoln Theatre is a 582-seat performing arts venue located at 769 E. Long Street in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The theater is owned by the City of Columbus under the auspices of the Lincoln Theatre Association. Operation of the facility is managed by CAPA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Strand Theatre is a restored vaudeville house located in Uphams Corner in Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned by the City of Boston and managed by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture.
Lester Rallingston "Shad" Collins was an American jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger, who played in several leading bands between the 1930s and 1950s, including those led by Chick Webb, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Lester Young, Cab Calloway and Sam "The Man" Taylor.
Southland was a ballroom/cafe on Warrenton Street in Boston, in the United States, in what is now the Charles Playhouse. Originally a church, converted into a club, is best known for featuring prominent jazz artists of the 1930s and 1940s such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, and many others. Southland was connected to the radio and it became a notable venue for broadcasting jazz over the radio in the 1940s. On 19 February 1940, Count Basie and his Orchestra opened a four-week engagement at Southland which was broadcast on 20 February. Southland's entertainment also featured dancers such as Rubberlegs Williams, who also sang with Basie on numerous occasions.
The Paradise Club or Club Paradise was a nightclub and jazz club at 220 North Illinois Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was one of two major black jazz clubs in Atlantic City during its heyday from the 1920s through 1950s, the other being Club Harlem. Entertaining a predominantly white clientele, it was known for its raucous floor shows featuring gyrating black dancers accompanied by high-energy jazz bands led by the likes of Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Lucky Millinder. In 1954 the Paradise Club merged with Club Harlem under joint ownership.
Miller Brothers and Lois, a renowned tap dance class act team, comprising Danny Miller, George Miller and Lois Bright, was a peak of platform dancing with the tall and graceful Lois said to distinguish the trio. The group performed the majority of their act on platforms of various heights, with the initial platform spelling out M-I-L-L-E-R. They performed over-the-tops, barrel turns and wings on six-foot-high pedestals. They toured theatres coast to coast with Jimmy Lunceford and his Orchestra, Cab Calloway and his Orchestra, and the Count Basie Band.
