Tut Soper

Little is well known on the subject of Tut Soper, and he appears to have made hardly any recordings, why should we value him? The response to this query materializes whenever we consider the countless accomplished Chicago music artists who regarded as him solid plenty of for regular work in their different bands. The initial definitive example will be Tut’s inclusion within an ill-fated dance orchestra that under no circumstances produced any recordings. This music group was being constructed and refined for a reliable gig in the Heaven Ballroom by Frank Teschemacher and Crazy Expenses Davison. The task was postponed permanently when Tesch was mortally hurt inside a ghastly car accident in the first morning hours from the 1st day time of March, 1932. It had been Tut himself who mentioned years later on that, from that time onward, the ensemble was “doomed.” In the times and weeks following a demise of his friend, Crazy Bill (who was simply driving the automobile that Tesch was tossed) couldn’t keep himself or the music group collectively. Tut proceeded to build up his profession as a favorite solo work. He found extra use reedmen Bud Freeman, Boyce Dark brown, and Orville “Bud” Jacobson, and with trumpeter Johnny Mendel. Tut also performed with drummer Danny Alvin and with Frank Snyder, who performed drums with the brand new Orleans Tempo Kings in 1922. While sizzling jazz was artistically satisfying, Tut found higher monetary security dealing with well-known hotel-orchestra innovator George Olsen. The fantastic recorded legacy of the grievously overlooked pianist includes six duets he documented with expert percussionist Warren “Baby” Dodds. Five of the sides, documented January 31, 1944, are available on Jazz & Blues Piano Vol. 2: 1924-1947. With Tut sounding sometimes a little like Earl Hines, these delicious stomps give a tangible framework for his popularity being a mainstay of traditional Chicago jazz. The just other session regarding this pianist which has emerged is normally a 1957 Dixie revival time led by guitarist/vocalist Marty Grosz, released on Riverside as Hooray for Bix! and reissued in 2000 on the nice Period Jazz label. Tut’s influence upon the progression of jazz in Chicago was higher than this couple of obscure phonograph information can ever show. His story acts as a reminder that the history of the music is normally a mosaic of several specific lives; it operates much deeper and it is far more elaborate than the regular pantheon of well-known brands and familiar encounters.