Brad Gowans
Arthur Bradford "Brad" Gowans (December 3, 1903, Billerica, Massachusetts – September 8, 1954, Los Angeles) was an American jazz trombonist and reedist. Gowans' earliest work was on the Dixieland jazz scene, playing with the Rhapsody Makers Band, Tommy DeRosa's New Orleans Jazz Band, and Perley Breed. In 1926 he played cornet with Joe Venuti, and worked later in the 1920s with Red Nichols, Jimmy Durante, Mal Hallett (1927–29), and Bert Lown. He left music for several years during the Great Depression, then returned to play with Bobby Hackett (1936), Frank Ward, Wingy Manone (1938), Hackett again, Joe Marsala, and Bud Freeman's Summa Cum Laude Band (1939–40). Early in the 1940s he played regularly at Nick's in Greenwich Village in New York City, and worked with Ray McKinley and Art Hodes. As a clarinetist, he played in the reconstituted Original Dixieland Jazz Band's 1940s recordings. He stopped playing again briefly in the mid-1940s, then returned to play with Max Kaminsky (1945–46), Jimmy Dorsey, and Nappy Lamare (1949–50). Following this he played freelance on the West Coast. He collapsed on stage in 1954 while playing with Eddie Skrivanek and died eight months later. Aside from his playing, he also arranged pieces for Bud Freeman and Lee Wiley, and invented the valide trombone, a hybrid slide-valve trombone which never caught on. He recorded a few times as a leader in 1926, 1927, and 1934, and did a full LP for Victor Records in 1946. Gowans is credited in Nat Hentoff's jazz history classic Hear Me Talkin' To Ya with one of the great all-time one-liners. Asked by a prospective band leader whether he could read music, Gowans reportedly replied, "Not well enough to hurt my playing." |
Birth and Death Data: Born December 3, 1903 (Billerica), Died September 8, 1954 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1949
Roles Represented in DAHR: trombone, leader, clarinet, valve trombone, trumpet, composer, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 46 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-023415 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | Heart of mine | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-023416 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | Let's break the good news | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-023417 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | Martha | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-023418 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | Manone blues | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-023419 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | The flat foot floogee | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-023420 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | Little Joe from Chicago | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trombone | |
Victor | BS-038291 | 10-in. | 7/19/1939 | I've found a new baby | Bud Freeman ; Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, valve trombone | |
Victor | BS-038292 | 10-in. | 7/19/1939 | Easy to get | Bud Freeman ; Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter, instrumentalist, valve trombone | |
Victor | BS-038293 | 10-in. | 7/19/1939 | China boy | Bud Freeman ; Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, valve trombone | |
Victor | BS-038294 | 10-in. | 7/19/1939 | The eel | Bud Freeman ; Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, valve trombone | |
Victor | PD6VB-1429 | 10-in. | 4/10/1946 | Jazz me blues | Brad Gowans' New York Nine | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, trombone, leader | |
Victor | PD6VB-1432 | 10-in. | 4/10/1946 | Singin' the blues (till my daddy comes home) | Brad Gowans' New York Nine | Jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, trombone, leader | |
Gennett | 9204 | 10-in. | 11/23/1924 | Tell me, dreamy eyes | Frank Cornwell ; Perley Breed's Shepard Colonial Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet | |
Gennett | 9205 | 10-in. | 11/23/1924 | Where's my sweetie hiding? | Perley Breed's Shepard Colonial Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet | |
Decca | 66072 | 10-in. | 8/11/1939 | There'll be some changes made | Eddie Condon | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66073 | 10-in. | 8/11/1939 | Nobody's sweetheart | Eddie Condon | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66074 | 10-in. | 8/11/1939 | Friar's point shuffle | Eddie Condon | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66075 | 10-in. | 8/11/1939 | Someday sweetheart | Eddie Condon | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66603 | 10-in. | 9/18/1939 | As long as I live | Bud Freeman | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66604 | 10-in. | 9/18/1939 | The sail fish | Bud Freeman | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66605 | 10-in. | 9/18/1939 | Sunday | Bud Freeman | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 66606 | 10-in. | 9/18/1939 | Satanic blues | Bud Freeman | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 67391 | 10-in. | 3/25/1940 | Oh! Baby | Bud Freeman and his Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 67392 | 10-in. | 3/25/1940 | I need some pettin' | Bud Freeman and his Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone | ||
Decca | 67393 | 10-in. | 3/25/1940 | Susie | Bud Freeman and his Summa Cum Laude Orchestra | instrumentalist, trombone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gowans, Brad," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107720.
Gowans, Brad. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107720.
"Gowans, Brad." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Brad Gowans
Discogs: Brad Gowans
Allmusic: Brad Gowans
Grove: Brad Gowans
IMDb: Brad Gowans
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gowans, Brad - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97865593
Wikidata: Brad Gowans - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q896784
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/19867907
MusicBrainz: Brad Gowans - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4f4b598b-14ba-4cc0-856d-a635f07629b1
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