Introduction
Jack Pettis (February 10, 1902—August 24, 1963) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist.
He was active professionally from 1918 to 1937 and played and recorded with several famed jazz musicians of the time, such as Elmer Schoebel, Irving Kaufman, Ben Bernie, Benny Goodman, Irving Mills, and Jack Teagarden.
Early life
Jack Pettis was born John Barton Pettis in Ehrmandale, Indiana, on February 10, 1902, to Samuel Arthur Pettis (1874–1934), a miner, and Cora Ella Jones Rhodes (1877–1955). He had a sister, Margaret Germaine Pettis Maurer (1899–1984).
When he was young, his family relocated to Chicago.
After the end of the First World War in 1918, Pettis went with a friend to a music store where they both bought a c-melody saxophone. Pettis taught himself to play that instrument and led a successful career in music.
Career
Pettis began his professional music career in 1918, playing his saxophone with cornetist Paul Mares and pianist Elmer Schoebel.
In the summer of 1921, he played on the amusement cruiser of the Streckfus Steamers.
In 1922, Pettis formed a jazz band named Friar's Society Orchestra with trombonist George Brunies, trumpeter Paul Mares, clarinetist Leon Roppolo, and pianist/composer Elmer Schoebel. They named the band after the Friar's Inn in Chicago, a famed jazz music venue in the 1920s where they were playing at the time. The band was later renamed New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK). The band was joined by drummer Frank Snyder and bassist Arnold Loyacano.
NORK released many recordings in 1922-1923 with Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana. On August 29, 1922, they recorded "Discontented Blues" and "Bugle Call Blues", accompanied by bassist Joe Loyacano and banjo player Lou Black.
Many of the NORK's compositions have become jazz standards, such as "Milenberg Joys", "Bugle Call Rag", "Tin Roof Blues", and "Tiger Rag" (composed in 1917 by Nick LaRocca). "Milenberg Joys" was composed by Jelly Roll Morton after Milneburg, a settlement on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans where Elysian Fields Avenue ends. The settlement was named after the Scottish-American entrepreneur Alexander Milne who developed the land in that area.
After leaving NORK in 1923, Pettis accompanied dancer Ann Pennington and played with the Hotel Carlton Terrace Orchestra in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he was spotted by conductor/violinist Ben Bernie who hired Pettis to his bands. Pettis worked with Bernie until 1929.
Shortly after, Pettis moved to New York City and began working with Bernie's bands—Ben Bernie And His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra and Ben Bernie And All The Lads. In 1924, he played tenor saxophone on Bernie's recordings of "Yes Sir! That's My Baby" and "Collegiate" on Vocalion Records with pianist Oscar Levant; and singers Irving Kaufman, Jack Kaufman, Lester O'Keefe, and Moe Jaffe.
In 1925, Pettis played solo on "Sweet Georgia Brown", a track composed by Bernie and Maceo Pinkard with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. The song became a jazz standard and has been covered by numerous musicians, including:
- Ethel Waters (1925)
- Cab Calloway (1931)
- Coleman Hawkins with Benny Carter and Django Reinhardt (1937)
- Art Tatum (1941)
- Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (1943)
- Bud Powell (1950)
- Red Norvo with Charles Mingus and Tal Farlow (1950)
- Gale Storm (1956)
- Anita O'Day (1958)
- Edmond Hall (1958)
- Carol Burnett (1960)
- Nancy Sinatra (1966)
Living in New York, beginning in 1926, Pettis formed his own jazz bands (Jack Pettis and his Pets, Jack Pettis And His Orchestra, and Jack Pettis And His Band) and in the next two years, made many recordings on which many famed jazz musicians of the time contributed, including Irving Mills, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Tony Parenti, Frank Signorelli, Lennie Hayton, Tommy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Dick McDonough, Benny Goodman, Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, Joe Tarto, and Phil Napoleon.
In 1927, his band recorded "St. Louis Shuffle" (co-written by Pettis and Fats Waller). Pettis and Waller also wrote "Freshman Hop", which was recorded in 1927 by pianist Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra with Charlie Dixon (banjo); June Cole (bass); Kaiser Marshall (drums); Buster Bailey, Coleman Hawkins, and Don Redman (saxophone); Charlie Green, and Jimmy Harrison (trombone); Joe Smith, Russell Smith, and Tommy Ladnier (trumpet).
While working with his and other bands, Pettis continued to play with Bernie's Orchestra until 1929. After leaving Bernie's band, he got married to Kathryne Ann 'Taddy' Keller, a member of the pop music group "Keller Sisters and Lynch" (Annie Catherine "Nan" Keller, Kathryne Ann "Taddy" Keller, and Frank Lynch).
Pettis then worked with Irving Mills and played saxophone on 6 of 16 tracks of Irving Mills And His Hotsy Totsy Gang's album Doin' The New Lowdown, 1928-1929, Vol. 1 alongside Gil Rodin (alto saxophone), Harry Goodman (brass bass), Fud Livingston (clarinet, alto saxophone), Jimmy McPartland (cornet), Ben Pollack (drums), Eddie Lang (guitar), Dudley Fosdick (mellophone), and Elizabeth Welch (vocals).
In the following years, Pettis worked with pianist/songwriter Al Goering and made his last recordings in 1937 ("Hawaiian Heat Wave" and "Swing Session in Siberia").
Pettis retired from playing music in the late 1930s.
Personal life
In 1929, Pettis married Kathryne Ann "Taddy" Keller (1930—July 2, 1962). Kathryne was a member of the pop music group Keller Sisters and Lynch. They had a daughter, Barbara Joan Pettis McClure (1930–2002).
In the mid-1950s, Pettis and the family lived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he worked at a local radio station.
Death
Pettis died from cirrhosis in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on August 24, 1963, at age 61.
References
- Richard Cook, Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6.
- Carlo Bohländer, Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclams Jazzführer, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-15-010355-X.