Ed Allen 1904-74 og Riverboat jazz - Little Beat Records

Edward ‘Ed’/‘Eddie’ Clifton Allen 

- samt lidt om Fate Marable og de tidlige ’Riverboat Days’ på Mississippi 

Ed Allen, kornet/vokal. Født Nashville, Tennessee, 15. december 1897; død New York City, 28. januar 1974 

I 1958 blev Ed Allen interviewet af Douglas Hague. Uddrag af denne beretning er nedenfor gengivet under reference 

DH/EA. Ed Allens erindringer varierer en smule fra interview til interview, hvorfor der er lagt størst vægt på de tidligst 

afgivne oplysninger. 

I 1961 fik saxofonisten Rudy Powell, som da spillede sammen med Ed Allen og Floyd Casey i ”New Garden Dance 

Hall”, disse to til at fortælle om deres tidlige år. Uddrag af dette interview er nedenfor gengivet under reference RP/EA 

eller RP/FC. 

Artiklen om Ed Allen af Alan Barrell i FOOTNOTE Vol. 4, No. 3, synes ikke at hvile på nogen efterprøvet research - det 

virker mest som om, at der er gengivet tidligere skrifter, hvorved fejl gentages, og den kan nok ikke tillægges større 

dokumentationsværdi. Men Barrell udpeger og beskriver en række af Ed Allens bedste indspilninger, hvilket er en fin 

ledetråd, hvis man vil studere musikken nærmere. 

Kapitel 1: Ed Allen 1904-21 

Skoleorkestre og ”kid bands” i St. Louis med Don Pasquall; første job på ”The River”; ”Alhambra Café”/Seattle og Jelly Roll Morton. 

Allen-familien flyttede til St. Louis i 1904, hvor Allen begyndte at spille piano i 10-års alderen, sidenhen kornet og trompet. 

RP/EA: “Quite a few of the schools in St. Louis had bands, orchestras etc., and the purpose of these organisations was 

to help further the knowledge of the young prospective musicians and provide them with experience that would be of use 

in the latter years.” 

Allen kom med i et sådant skoleorkester og valgte cornet som sit instrument. Da Allen var mellem 13 og 14 år gammel, 

blev han udvalgt til at være med i Knight of Pythias Kid Brass Band, hvilket orkester han (ofte som første kornettist) 

spillede med indtil ca. begyndelsen af 1918. En af hans kolleger i dette orkester var trompetisten Robert “Bob” Shoffner, 

som sidenhen opnåede en smule berømmelse i Chicago som medlem af bl.a. King Olivers orkester. 

RP/EA: “Bob (and I) took care of the difficult situations that would arise in our section from time to time in the Kid Band”. 

Nogle få år senere, ca. 1920, dannede de mere udadvendte musikere fra Knight of Pythias Band endnu et orkester, som 

Ed Allen også var medlem af. RP/EA: “This band played dances and roadhouses on the outskirts of St Louis”. 

Iht. Chilton spillede saxofonisten Jerome Don Pasquall med Allen på dette tidspunkt. Samtidig arbejdede Allen muligvis 

som lastbilchauffør. 

Jerome Don Pasquall: “. . . before all this happened (with Charlie Creath 1921), I played in a kid band, the Odd Fellows 

Brass Band, directed by P. B. Lankford, father of trombone player Harvey Lankford. Dewey Jackson, Bob Shoffner, 

Leonard Davis, Eddie Allen, Andrew “Big Babe” Webb and many others were in that band. “Big Babe” Webb was quite a 

trumpet player but never left St. Louis to my knowledge. Then there was Horace Eubanks from East St. Louis across the 

river. He was an eminent clarinet player, probably at his peak during the ‘teens, but I don’t believe he ever played with 

juvenile bands. I played mellophone with this band.” 

Ifølge nogle kilder var Allen i drengeårene en tid også medlem af en slags militærorkester. Der findes et billede af et 

sådant orkester, og som følge af de indtil nu verificerede musikere kan nedenstående foto ganske givet være det nævnte 

band (men Allen kan ikke udpeges med sikkerhed): 

”14th Regiment Band of St. Louis”. Siddende foran Major McElroy og dirigent P. B. Lankford (far til basunisten Harvey Lankford). Første række fra 

venstre, nr. 2, 3 og 4: Andrew Webb, Wilson Robinson og R. Q. Dickerson. Nr. 3 fra højre: Jerome Don Pasquall, mellofon. Anden række fra venstre nr. 

5: Leonard ”Ham” Davis.

Igennem sin opvækst og som ung mand må Allen have været nogenlunde vel bekendt med de musikalske aktiviteter på 

flodbådene, hvilket dels virkede som en ledetråd og dels som en ansporing i udfoldelserne. I hvert fald fik Allen, da han 

havde erhvervet lidt mere musikalsk erfaring, i ca. 1920/21 to ugers engagement på flodbåden S.S. ‘St. Paul’ med Charlie 

Creath and his Orchestra. Dette band alternerede med det berømte Fate Marable 

Orchestra, hvori berømte New Orleans jazzmænd - bl.a. en ung Louis Armstrong - en tid sad. Der har for Allens 

vedkommende muligvis været andre korte engagementer ombord på flodbådene, i hvert fald oparbejdede han en vis 

viden om orkestrene og deres forhold ombord. 

Jerome Don Pasquall 1923 

Omkring 1921 spillede Allen i Seattle, Washington, med pianisten Ralph Stevenson 

(det er en interessant sammenhæng, at Charles Creath havde været orkesterleder i 

Seattle inden han selv slog sig ned i St. Louis - Creath må næsten have været den, 

der formidlede dette job for Allen). 

Iht. Chilton spillede Stevenson's Band på Alhambra Café, og Allen og Jerome 

Pasquall rejste sammen til Seattle for begge at tiltræde hos Stevenson. 

Jerome Don Pasquall husker: “Around the summer of 1920, Ed Allen and I were in a 

group together at the Merrimac Highlands, St. Louis, which was an amusement park. 

One night a man from Seattle was brought out to the park by Charlie Creath, and on 

hearing us, was so enthusiastic that he hired the entire band to play at his club on the 

West Coast. Well, in June that year we packed up and went out to Alhambra Café in 

Seattle for several months. This band had sensational Ralph Stephenson on drums 

and as leader, Archie Jackson on piano; Leroy Pickett on violin – Leroy really played 

too, he wasn’t just one of the guys who stood in front of the band and looked good. Now, as early as this was, we were 

not the first jazz group out there at all. In fact Charlie Creath and others had been out there before us. Jelly Roll Morton 

was there the same time we were there. Out West he was known to everybody simply as “Roll”. He didn’t have a band 

though every so often he would come over and sit in with us. He was a sensational pianist and he had a terrific style with 

much originality. In fact in those days I thought he had the trumpet style on piano that Earl Hines was soon to make 

famous.” 

Jelly Roll Morton 1921 

DG/EA: “I knew Jelly Roll Morton from the West Coast back in 1921 when I played 

in Seattle, Washington, which was my first job away from home. He was another 

fine musician, oh yeah”. 

Ifølge Phil Pastras' "Dead Man Blues" (2001) rejste Jelly Roll Mortons 

samleverske Anita Gonzales pludselig til Seattle efter at deres fælles værtshus "The 

Jupiter" i San Francisco i 1919 blev lukket af politiet. Morton fulgte ret efter. 

"Although Morton spent almost about two years in the Pacific Northwest . . . less is 

known about that period than about the rest of his five years on the West Coast." 

Oscar Holden (pianist, klarinettist - født Nashville, Tennessee 1887, død Seattle 

1969) siges at have været klarinettist i et Jelly Roll Morton band, der ankom til 

Seattle 1919. 

Laurie Wright: "Jerome Pasquall, who spent several months in Seattle beginning 

in June 1920, recalled that Morton was there for much of the same period" - imidlertid er Mortons virke i Seattle 

tilsyneladende udelukkende som 'gambling man' og måske solo pianist. Ingen orkesteraktivitet har kunnet spores, og 

Allens omtale af Jelly Roll Morton må opfattes nøjagtigt på den måde, han verbalt udtrykker det - som et bekendtskab 

uden fælles musikalsk virksomhed. 

Den tidsmæssige usikkerhed må nok falde ud til fordel for året 1920. 

Kapitel 2: Ed Allen, Fate Marable, Charlie Creath på ‘the riverboats’ 1921-24 

Musikken på “The River”; Allens “Golden Whispering Band” i New Orleans 

St. Louis var et geografisk knudepunkt for trafikken på Mississippi. Byen har også udviklet en række betydelige 

trompetister så som Charlie Creath, Dewey Jackson, Ed Allen, R. Q. Dickerson, Leonard Davis, Harold baker, Irving 

Randoph, Joe Thomas, Clark Terry og Miles Davis. Mange af disse havde major McElroy som lærer, og han har således 

haft sin andel i traditionens udvikling. 

Charles Creath var en af de tidligste trompetister og hans orkester fik i 1920 engagement på Streckfus-flodbåden S.S. 

”St. Paul” - men Creath havde været på andre flodbåde tidligere end dette. I 1921 overtog Creath et andet orkester - med 

bl.a. Jerome Don Pasquall - og havde engagement i ”Alamac Hall”. Fra 1921-24 var Creath tilbage på The River, derefter 

var han en tid i klubberne ”The Plantation” og ”Jazzland”. I 1926 kom han med Fate Marable på S.S. ”Capitol”, men en

tuberkulosesygdom tvang ham ud af musikbranchen fra 1928-30. Derefter måtte han af hensyn til lungekapaciteten oftest 

skifte til sit oprindelige instrument saxofon. I 1933 var han med Harvey Lankford’s Synco High Hatters (se afbildet plakat 

sidst i artiklen), og herefter blev han joint-leader med Marable 1934-36 ombord på S.S. ”St. Paul”, hvor også Dewey 

Jackson var med. I senere år havde Creath egen natklub og var en tid inspektør på en flyfabrik. Helbredet var dårligt og 

han døde i Chicago den 23. oktober 1951. 

Creath nød som den første megen anerkendelse blandt sine St. Louis-kolleger, især i 20’erne. Han huskes for et 

kraftfuldt spil med dristige halv-ventil effekter; og han var en mester med forskellige dæmpere. Intet af dette afspejles dog 

markant på hans få indspillede pladesider. 

Charles Creath (tv. hans svoger Zutty Singleton) Dewey Jackson 

Dewey Jackson begyndte tidligt som professionel - med Odd Fellow Boys’ Band 

1912, Tommy Evans 1916-17 og George Reynolds’ Keystone Band 1918. Ofte 

med Creath i dennes tidligere karriere og første gang så tidligt som foråret 1919 

på Mississippi. Jackson havde også engagement på ”Jazzland” i St. Louis (med 

trommeslageren Floyd Casey). 1921-23 eget ”Golden Melody Orchestra” med 

bl.a. Boyd Atkins og Harry Dial. Jackson blev hyret af Streckfus/Marable i foråret 

1924, og havde de næste 2 år eget orkester ombord på S.S. ”Capitol”. Bl.a. 

vintersæsonen 1925-26 ud fra New Orleans som ”St. Louis Peacock Charleston 

Orchestra”. Derefter var Jackson en tid i New York, men kom tilbage til St. Louis 

og arbejdede både for Marable og Creath samt med egne bands frem til ca. 1942 

- om sommeren på Mississippi og om vinteren i St. Louis etablissementer. Clark 

Terry indtrådte f.eks. i 1937, og andre Ellington-folk som Harold Baker og Jimmy 

Blanton havde deres tid hos Marable. Ude af musikbranchen en tid, men fra ca. 

1950 atter aktiv (bl.a. med Singleton Palmer) i småbands. Død 1. januar 1994. 

Den store hovedfigur og organisator var dog Fate C. Marable. Han blev født den 2. december 1890 i Paducah, Kentucky. 

Lærte klaverspil af sin mor; adskillige brødre var musikere. Offentlig optræden som 9-årig. ”Marable was the best known 

leader and hardest taskmaster on the boats.” Han tiltrådte hos Streckfus Line på S.S. “J.S.” i Little Rock, Arkansas, 

direkte fra sin hjemby Paducah, Kentucky, in 1907. Etablerede duo med violinisten Emil Flindt, hvilken senere blev 

udvidet med Tony Catalano, tpt., og Rex Jessup, dms. I 1910 udskiftede han disse tre med Alie Ferguson, tpt., Red 

Robinson, vln., og Max Goempler, dms., - alle hvide. Det er interessant at notere, at Marable i sine første 10 år hos 

Streckfus Line var leder af grupper, hvori han var den eneste sorte musiker. Det ændredes i 1917, hvor han dannede sit ’ 

. . . all colored Kentucky Jazz Band’ med Percy Suggs, cnt. William Moore, trb. Eugene Derrick, clt. Marable, pno. John 

Williams, dms., - John Robichaux, vln., indtrådte kort tid efter. Bortset fra nogle få måneder i 1921-22 arbejdede Marable 

fra 1907 til 1940 for brødrene Streckfus på deres udflugtsbåde. Zutty Singleton: “There was a saying in New Orleans . . . 

when some musician would get a job on the riverboats with Marable, they’d say, ‘. . . well, you’re going to the 

conservatory’. That’s because Fate was such a fine musician and the men who worked with him had to be really good.” 

Dewey Jackson interview: “. . . one or more of the Streckfus brothers hired the musicians, they appointed the person 

they considered to be the most likely to succeed as leader; but it seems that Marable had more freedom than this”. 

Trompetisten Henry Red Allen arbejdede for Marable før sin indtræden i Luis Russells Orchestra. Ifølge hans beretning 

holdt Streckfus familien nøje styr på, hvad der foregik - man pålagde hver musiker at stille et depositum på USD 50 som 

sikkerhed for god opførsel - men mente derudover, at det var Marable, der førte kontrol med den musikalske side af 

selskabets virke som følge af hans usædvanlige flair for talent. ”Creath, Jackson and Marable were all in the same band 

together, but as they were all leaders in their own right there was some tension going on. I remember once hearing them 

in a cabaret and when Dewey - a great blues player - ran over his horn to warm it up, the people would start screaming.

Then Charlie Creath would hit just one note and draw attention - his tone was so big and wide that he would pull 

everything together - and I thought that both were great trumpeters.” 

Steamer ’Saint Paul’, den største og mest populære udflugts båd. "The ‘Saint 

Paul’ was a side-wheel wood hull packet and excursion boat built in St. Louis, 

Mo., in 1883. She measured 300 x 37.4 x 6.4. Rebuilt at Dubuque, 1903 to 

measure 276.6 x 37 x 6.4. Built by St. Louis and St. Paul Packet Co., and ran 

that trade under the Diamond Jo banner for many years. Ran St. Louis- 

Vicksburg, chartered to Anchor Line, December 1886, Capt. Charles Zeigler, 

with W.H. Pritchat and Oscar Moore, clerks. Diamond Jo rebuilt her 1892-1894 

and had her on the ways over a year, the work done at the Eagle yard, 

Dubuque, Capt. John Killeen superintending. Streckfus Line acquired her in 

1911, continued her in the St. Paul trade into 1917 and then rebuilt her into an 

excursion boat for St. Louis service, in charge of Capt. Ben Winters and Capt. 

Oscar Olson. Capt. Thomas W. Posey became her pilot and was on her until 

the end. First came to Pittsburgh summer of 1937, Capt. Hilmar Lax. Again ran 

Ohio River excursions based at Pittsburgh 1938-1939, Capt. Edgar F. Mabrey, 

with Tom Posey and Fred Way, Jr. pilots. In winter of 1939-1940 was rebuilt at 

Paducah and renamed Senator." Destroyed: 1953, Jan 19, was towed below 

St. Louis for abandonment. 

Et Marable band, omkring 1916, ved dampcalliopen på 

dækket. Ukendt besætning: Trompet, basun, 2 violiner, 

Marable/klaver, og trommer. Det ser ud som om, at de 

ukendte medlemmer er hvide! Harry Dial:”Fate was one fine 

musician who received his musical education at Straights 

College in New Orleans; the Streckfus people sent him there. 

And he was such a good musician that long BEFORE he had 

his first Negro band on the boats, he was leading a 10-piece 

white band, whose leader had died. Those men were so fond 

of Fate’s ability that they asked him to take over the band. He 

had a white band for about seven years BEFORE he had his 

first colored band - maybe from 1912 to 1919. Marable’s 

popularity with musicians and public extended, as well, to the 

men who owned and operated the Streckfus Lines. 

Whenever Fate wanted to work, he worked. If he didn’t want 

to go, in later years, Streckfus got another leader. Most of the 

time, he wanted to work. But anyway, he had a standing 

engagement with Streckfus; he was THAT good.” 

Marable ved dampcalliopen ombord på S.S. ”J.S.” 

Harry Dial: “Marable used to play a steam calliope as a daily feature aboard one of the New Orleans boats - about 15 minutes or half an hour of such 

music - because it drew a crowd. It also drew attention to the boat itself which could be seen clear up Canal Street, all lighted up just like an apartment 

building.” Dampudledningen kunne bevirke, at calliopen blev så varm, at hænderne blev skoldet eller forbrændte ved betjeningen - men der skulle 

lægges kræfter i den funktionelle indsats, hvilket til gengæld gav ekstra styrke i klaverspillet.

Ombord S.S. ’Sidney’ 1918, fra venstre: Warren ’Baby’ Dodds, dms. William ’Bebe’ Ridgley, trb. Joe Howard, cor. Louis Armstrong, cor. 

Marable, pno. David Jones, mellophone. Johnny Dodds, clt. John St. Cyr, bjo. Pops Foster, sbs. 

Bag Johnny Dodds en Streckfus Steamers operatør, Carl Mangan. 

Sam Dutrey var egentlig fast klarinettist. Johnny Dodds vikarierede en uge eller to, men havde næppe andre jobs med Marable. 

Det var her, at Armstrong ”first played excursion trips with Marable in the winter of 1918.” Fra maj 1919 til september 1921 var Armstrong permanent i 

Marables orkestre, såvel på bådene som i land. Louis Armstrong husker, hvordan han lærte at læse noder i løbet af sin tid hos den rødhårede leder: “In 

that orchestra David Jones played C-melody sax and mellophone . . . I mention him particularly because he took the trouble between trips to teach me 

to read music . . . Brother Jones, as I later called him, taught me how to divide the notes so that whenever Fate threw a new arrangement, I was able to 

cope with it.” Andre prima vista læsere var Boyd Atkins, John St. Cyr og Baby Dodds. 

Nogle kilder hævder: The Jaz-E-Saz Band, on the S.S. St. Paul, 1919. Andre: Fate Marable’s Band, taken about 1920 in St. Louis aboard the S.S. 

Sidney. Fra venstre, stående: Warren “Baby” Dodds, dms; Joe Howard, cor; George “Pops” Foster, sbs; John St. Cyr, bjo/mellophone; David Jones, 

sax/mellophone; Sam Dutrey (broder til basunisten Honoré Dutrey), clt/sax. Siddende: Grant Cooper?, trb (Cooper var fra Creaths orkester og har 

åbenbart vikarieret for William Ridgley); Marable, pno/ldr; Louis Armstrong, cor/slide whistle.

Harry Dial: ”I went to work on the boats in 1923 - onboard steamer “J.S.” touring with Fate Marable making “day trips”excursions 

daily, upriver from St. Louis to around Alton, Illinois, and back. They had a beautiful dance floor aboard, and 

those boats were kept immaculate. Streckfus Steamship Lines was a very progressive company. 

Fate had come to St. Louis with a good-sized band in 1919 - 10 or 11 pieces - called “The Metropolitan jazz Band”, 

which comprised Louis Armstrong, Norman Mason, Louis Brashear (James Brecheur), George “Pops” Foster, Johnny St. 

Cyr, Fate himself, and Baby Dodds. There was also a violinist, Boyd Atkins, and two clarinettists, Jerome Pasquall and 

Johnny Dodds. Norman Mason, who later switched to saxophone, was a trumpeter in that band. David Jones, at this time, 

played nothing but mellophone; he switched to sax later, too. They didn’t have any special arrangements - they used 

stock music, and Fate used to cut them up and teach the guys instructions and things that he wanted. Those stocks had 

no banjo parts, though; those came later.”

Marable’s orkester ombord på Streckfus’ flagskib S.S. ’Capitol’ 1919, fra venstre: Henry Kimball, sbs. Boyd Atkins, vln. Marable, pno. John St. Cyr, sixstring-bjo. 

David Jones, sax/mellophone. Norman Mason, sax. Louis Armstrong, cor. Norman Brashear, trb. Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds, dms. Det er 

interessant at se, at Armstrong allerede her har sin slide-cornet (også på foto med King Oliver 1923) i brug. 

RP/FC: “In 1922, the Strekfuss Steamboat Line had three bands and it was decided to take the best men from each band 

and form the Whispering Gold Orchestra. The members of this band numbered ten and the men were selected from the 

Fate Marable, Bennie Washington, and Charlie Creath orchestras. 

This band was sent to New Orleans on the S.S. ‘Capitol’ under the leadership of Eddie Allen. 

Allen’s Whispering Gold Orchestra ombord på S.S. ’Capitol’, 1922, fra venstre: Harvey Lankford, trb. Sidney Desvigne, cnt. Floyd Casey, dms/vib. Allen, 

cor. John St. Cyr, six-string bjo. Isaac ’Ike’ Jefferson, pno. Norman Mason, clt/C-mel?/alt. Walter ‘Foots’ Thomas, clt/C-mel?/ten. Pops Foster, bbs/sbs. 

Gene Sedric, clt/sop/ten. Nodestativer indikerer, at der kan have været anvendt nedskrevne arrangementer. Nogle kilder anfører Burroughs Lovingood 

som den afbildede pianist - men i et interview med Bob Sales/Jazz Information 1940 udtaler Marable, at Lovingood medvirkede 'in later years', så 

Jefferson er nok korrekt. Desvignes var udelukkende nodelæser, men overtog bandet efter Allen og forblev på flodbådene frem til 1945. (Bedste kvalitet 

af dette billede ses i jazztidsskriftet FOOTNOTE, Vol 4, No 3). 

Efterhånden som orkestrene blev større, købte bassisterne tubaer, da den akustiske bas druknede i den kraftigere orkesterlyd. Pops Foster udviklede 

dog dertil en formidabel slap bass teknik, så baslyden gik bedre igennem.

The band stayed there until May 1923, after which it returned to St. Louis to open the summer season on the S.S. ‘St 

Paul’. An interesting and outstanding fact about this band was that they all played gold instruments. Ed retained 

leadership of this band for two years. The working routine of this band was very interesting, too. In the summer months, it 

would work out of St. Louis at nights on the S.S. ‘St. Paul’, and in the fall months the band would work out of New Orleans 

at nights”. 

’Marable’s New Orleans Harmonists’ ombord på S.S. ’St. Paul’ - formentlig den besætning, der ca. den 16. marts 1924 indspillede ’Frankie and 

Johnny’/’Pianoflage’ for Okeh. Pladen blev udgivet som ’Fate Morable’s Society Syncopators’. Fra venstre: Zutty Singleton, dms. Norman Mason 

(stående), 1. alt sax/clt. Bert Bailey, 2. tenor sax/clt. Marable, pno. Walter Thomas, 3. sax/clt/sop. Willie Foster, bjo. Sidney Desvigne, tpt. Amos White, 

tpt/mel. Henry Kimball, bbs. Harvey Lankford, trb. Garnett Bradley, vln. 

Den indspillede plade med Marables orkester - fejltrykt som Fate Morable. 

Plakaten er fra 1925 - flodbådsorkestrene spillede 

ofte koncerter i land i de byer, man anløb langs 

Mississippi. Marable’s orkestre havde i årene 1910- 

25 mange andre spektakulære navne så som 

”Marable’s Jazz E Saz Band”, ”Marable’s Ten Bold 

Harmony Kings”, ”The SS Capitol Harmony 

Syncopators”, ”Marable’s Cotton Pickers”, 

”Marable’s Capitol Revue Orchestra” og ”Madcap 

Cotton Pickers”.

Harry Dial beretter i sin biografi (Storyville Publications, 1984), at Allen, foruden sig selv, havde følgende besætning: 

Sidney Desvigne, tpt. Harvey Langford (sic), trb. Norman Mason, 1 alt. Walter Thomas, 2 alt. Bert Bailey, ten. Isaac 'Ike' 

Jefferson, pno. Willie Foster, bjo. George 'Pops' Foster, sbs. Floyd Casey, dms. "They took the name of the Whispering 

Gold Band because each player had purchased a gold-plated instrument and they were endeavouring to produce a soft 

style of jazz, primarily because Eddie was that type of trumpeter. He had a good tone and good ideas but wasn't as 

strong as most of the fellows, though he was a big man in stature. Eddie favoured Joe Oliver a great deal for he too had 

something wrong with one of his eyes and he was almost as big as Joe; I'd say just a little shorter." Dial kan muligvis have 

husket forkert med hensyn til Bert Bailey og Willie Foster, idet Marables besætning i foråret 1924 formodentlig 

inkluderede bl.a. disse to plus Harry Dial, Norman Mason, Walter Thomas, Sidney Desvigne og Harvey Lankford. 

“Capitol” var en flodbåd som overvintrede i St. Louis, men tilbragte sommermånederne (siger andre kilder) i New Orleans. 

Båden benyttedes i mange år mest til selskabsudflugter med dans hver aften. “Capitol”s orkestermedlemmer blev 

engageret hvor som helst op og ned langs Mississippi, men fra 1918 og indtil sidst i 20’erne brugte man mest New 

Orleans musikere. Marable var orkesterleder, dog undtaget nogle få måneder i 1921 og 1922 (det kniber med helt 

nøjagtig tidsfastsættelse både årstals- og datomæssigt), hvor henholdsvis Percy Suggs og Allen tiltrådte - orkestret var 

normalt på 8-10 mand. 

Som ovenfor nævnt anfører Floyd Casey, at Allen var engageret ca. 2 år for Strekfus, hvilket ikke helt passer ind i et 

tidsskema. 

Pops Foster fortæller følgende: “Then in 1921, before the season opened, Charlie Creath sent for me and Johnny St. 

Cyr to go to work on the steamer ‘St Paul’. I worked a month with Charlie and then the Streckfus people put me with 

Eddie Allen’s band. That was the year I first started playing tuba. I bought my own in 1921. They built the band around 

Eddie Allen and called it the Gold Whispering Band. That was the first time they started using soprano, tenor, and alto 

saxophones. Before that they were all C-melody horns. We called the band Eddie Allen’s Gold Whispering Band. Part of 

that year I worked in Eddie Allen’s band on days and Fate Marable’s band at night. 

When I got back to New Orleans with the Gold Whispering Band, we cut some cylinders at somebody’s house on 

Perdido Street. It was one of those old wind-up things. They were glass records. Two of the tunes we made were ‘Hot 

Lips’ and ‘When Hearts Are Young’. We made a bunch of tunes that day. I never heard them. Darnell Howard did and he 

said they came out good. Johnny St. Cyr had the cylinders. 

Noderne til ’Hot Lips’ og ’When Hearts Are Young’ blev begge udgivet i 1922. Måske det år, hvor 

optagelserne med størst sandsynlighed har fundet sted. 

I played with the Gold Whispering Band around New Orleans for a while and I jobbed around with other bands. Lorenzo 

Stalls, the guitar player, died when I was with the Gold Whispering Band. Our whole band went and marched behind him. 

The Streckfus people liked to have a guy who fronted his own band. They had Fate, Charley Creath, Dewey Jackson, 

Eddie Allen ...... we all got paid by the Streckfus people, not by Fate or the other guys, and they did the hiring and firing”. 

(Lorenzo Stalls (Staulz) er fotograferet med ”The Eagle Band” i New Orleans den 28. februar 1916. Besætning: Buddy 

Petit, cnt. Frankie Duson/Dusen, trb. ”Big Eye” Louis DeLisle Nelson, clt. Lorenzo Stalls/Staultz, gtr. Dandy Lewis, sbs. 

Chinee Foster, dms. Charters/Rose-Souchon anfører med en vis usikkerhed Lorenzo Stalls død til omkring 1925-28, men 

årstallet synes iflg. Pops Foster hermed at ligge tidligere).

John Streckfus Sr., 

omgivet af sine 4 sønner, fra venstre: 

Roy Michael, Joseph Leo, Verne Walter og 

John Nicholas. 

Fotograferet den 5. januar 1920. 

Alle havde certifikat som flodbådskaptajn. 

RP/EA: “(I) used to play carnivals and 

bazaars with the brass band. ...there 

was a drummer by the name of Hobi 

John who was so lazy that, when he 

played a parade, two fellows would 

have to carry his bass drum. Hobi fell 

asleep while the band was playing a 

concert on an elevated platform. His 

bass drum got away from him, rolled 

off the platform, through the audience, 

and was last seen out of the park. 

Hobi slept through all of this 

excitement!” 

Så Allen/Whispering Gold Orchestra 

arbejdede sandsynligvis i selve New 

Orleans indtil maj 1923, omend det 

ikke står helt klart, hvorvidt historien 

om Hobi John relaterer til opholdet i New Orleans eller foregik i St. Louis. De nævnte optagelser er desværre aldrig blevet 

sporet. Det menes, at Pops Foster i anden sammenhæng har udtrykt betinget begejstring for tiden med Whispering Gold 

Orchestra. 

Harry Dial noterer: "When the band returned to St. Louis the following May, they were sounding good and got much better 

after they hired Burroughs T. Lovingood as their pianist." Det har ikke kunnet spores, hvorvidt Allens orkester havde 

engagementer efter tilbagekomsten fra New Orleans. Dial: "Just before the boat season started that spring (1923), 

Eugene Sedric was picked for Julian Arthur's band to do the stage work in Jimmie Cooper's 'Black And White Revue'." 

Desuden blev Lovingood på et tidspunkt (måske først i sensommeren 1924) medlem af Marables orkester som ekstra 

pianist. 

Marable ca. 1940 - samme år nødvendiggjorde en alvorlig betændelse i en finger en længere pause, og Marable forlod Streckfus og The River. Spillede 

på diverse småklubber i St. Louis i midt-40erne, f.eks. ”Club Windsor” og ”Victorian Club”. Fik lungebetændelse og døde på Homer G. Phillips Hospital 

den 16. januar 1947. Marables afgjorte fortjenester til trods var han nu langt fra vellidt i alle sammenhænge - den beretning er unødig i herværende 

sammenhæng, men er omtalt i interviews efterfølgende denne beretning. 

Kapitel 3: 1924-26 

Med Earl Hines i Chicago; Jordan’s Ten Sharps and Flats; til New York i nært samarbejde med Clarence Williams 

Tilbage i St. Louis spillede Allen et stykke tid i Chauffeurs’ Club, sandsynligvis med Gene Sedric og muligvis også med 

Walter “Foots” Thomas, men rejste sidst i 1924 til Chicago, hvor han blev medlem af Earl Hines band, der spillede i Elite 

No. 2 Club på State Street. DH/EA: “I then went to Chicago and worked with Earl Hines at the Elite Club for about six 

months. It was Boyd Atkins who recommended me to Earl. In fact, Atkins and trumpeter Bob Shoffner were the only two 

musicians I knew in Chicago at that time; Shoffner coming from St. Louis”.

Elite Club ejedes af Harry Collins (der var af yderst tvivlsom karakter), åbnede ved midnatstid og lukkede kl. 06.00. Et 

after hours sted (med spillebule i baglokalet), som især besøgtes af musikere, varieté-, film- og teaterfolk samt naturligvis 

gangstere og alfonser. Så vidt det kan spores, havde Earl Hines en kvartet (guitar/Vernie Robinson, violin/Jimmy Hayes, 

ukendt janitshar), medens han var engageret på Elite - engagementet synes at ligge forud for Allens ankomst, så der er 

lidt tvivl om, hvornår Allen egentlig var med Hines. 

(Elite-engagementet er også rapporteret af Charters/Kunstadt: A History of the New York Scene). Hines selv nævner 

dog på intet tidspunkt, at han har haft engageret Allen. 

Joe Jordan (1882 - 1971) rejste tidligt i Europa. Han var en erfaren og respekteret orkesterleder, frodig komponist og meget dygtig arrangør. 

Billedet til venstre er fra 1915 og billedet til højre fra 1919. 

Allen forlod Chicago i juli 1925 som medlem af Joe Jordan’s Ten Sharps and Flats, der akkompagnerede Ed Daily’s Black 

and White Show. (Joe Jordan var en bredt orienteret musiker og beskæftigede sig med alle former for musik. Det blev 

sagt om hans evner og kvalifikationer, at han var i stand til at skrive et fuldt orkester-arrangement på 15 minutter. Jordan 

var komponist til mange mere kendte melodier, bl.a. That Teasin’ Rag, som Original Dixieland Jazz Band brugte i deres 

udgave af Original Dixieland One-Step). Joe Jordans besætning var: Allen/William Logan, cnts. Joe Brown, trb. Benny 

Morton (broder til Norval Morton i Erskine Tates orkester)/ James Nichols, clts/altos. Clarence Miller, ten. Joe Jordan, 

pno. Mike McKendrick, bjo. Ed Bergon (Bergen/Burgin?), bbs. Jasper Taylor, dms. Allen turnerede med dette “Rarin’ to 

Go” Burlesque Show i over halvandet år. 

Chicago Defender rapporterer orkesteret i New York i august 1925, medens andre kilder mener, at første gang var januar 

1926. I øvrigt har Chicago Defender notitser om engagementer som følger: Washington DC, 29.8.25 og 2.9.25. Cleveland 

26.9.25. Gayety Theatre, Kansas City, 31.10.25. Star & Garter Theatre, Chicago, 8.11.25. Afrejse Chicago 21.11.25. 

Enroute Ohio 26.11.25. Brooklyn/Gayety Theatre, Rochester/Gayety Theatre, Buffalo/ Orpheum Theatre, Cincinnati, alle 

jan/feb 1926. I øststaterne 13-30.1.26. 6.3.26-3.4.26 i øststaterne “taking New York by storm”. Gayety Theatre, Pittsburg, 

19.5.26. Øststaterne 19.6.26. Orpheum Theatre, Newark, Lafayette Theatre, New York omkring juni 1926 samt vaudeville 

indtil beg. august 1926. Lafayette Theatre, New York 11.8.26. Gayety Theatre, Detroit/Columbia Theatre, Cleveland 

28.8.26. Toledo 18.9.26. Lyric Theatre, Dayton, Ohio 25.9.26. Gayety Theatre, St Louis, 9.10.26. Star & Garter Theatre, 

Chicago, 17.10.26. Colonial Theatre, Utica, 27.11.26. Columbia Theatre, New York 25.12.26. Orpheum Theatre, 

Patterson, New Jersey 8.1.27. Empire Theatre, Newark, New Jersey 15.1.27. Empire Theatre, Brooklyn 29.1.27. Gayety 

Theatre, Boston 12.2.27. Plaza Theatre, Worcester, Massachusetts 19.2.27. 

Rudy Powell beretter: “Between 1925 and 1926, I met Eddie Allen in New York not too long after his arrival in this city. I 

can say here and now, he really made me perk up my ears and listen! He had the musicians comparing him with the 

great Joe Oliver when he’d use his plunger and with Joe Smith when he would play open horn. They would cry: “Watch

out, King Oliver! Eddie is on the warpath again!” A lot of Ed’s solos on records would cause quite a bit of controversy, due 

to the similarity of his sound and King Oliver’s. Many times Eddie was mistaken for Oliver and vice versa”. 

Joe Jordan opererede altså en del i og omkring New York, hvilket gjorde det muligt for Clarence Williams at benytte Ed 

Allen - i øvrigt brugte Williams andre musikere fra Jordans band, og nogle gange simpelthen hele orkestret (ligesom 

Jordan arbejdede lejlighedsvis for Clarence Williams’ Music Publishing Company) til sine pladeindspilninger. Jordans 

band opholdt sig, som anført, næsten permanent i New York i sommeren 1926. 

I vistnok denne periode spillede Allen samtidig også nogle småengagementer i dance halls sammen med trompetisten 

Ward Pinkett (som Jelly Roll Morton benyttede på sine Red Hot Pepper optagelser). Iflg DG/EA syntes Allen, at Pinkett 

“was a fine trumpeter”. 

Kapitel 4: 1927-30 

Allen nu fast medlem af Clarence Williams’ musikerstab I grammofonstudierne; Floyd Casey også til New York; plader med King Oliver; Allie Ross 1927-30 

Allen udtrådte af showet i Cleveland omkring begyndelsen af marts 1927 og tog fast ophold i New York, men spillede et 

kortere engagement med Jordan på Gayety Theatre, Washington DC, omkring 26.3.27. 

DH/EA: “I settled in New York and roomed with Clarence Williams on 136th Street in Harlem. I wrote to Floyd Casey to 

come to New York and together we recorded and worked with Bessie Smith, Clara Smith, Sara Martin and many others. It 

was Clarence Williams who kept us buzy with record dates. Clarence, Cecil Scott, Buster Bailey, Willie Williams 

(Clarence’s brother), and a few others were those who I recorded with most frequently.” 

King Oliver boede også hos Clarence Williams og Eva Taylor (iflg. Eva Taylor). På grund af deres voldsomt omfattende 

musikalske aktiviteter og for at undgå transporttiden til residencen i Jamaica, Long Island, købte CW/ET nemlig også et 

hus i New York City. Ejendommen, der lå på 236 West 136th Street, var meget rummelig, og mange af de fast tilknyttede 

musikere har tilsyneladende i småperioder haft mere eller mindre permanent ophold hos familien Williams i NYC. 

Senere tog Allen bopæl på 260 West 143rd Street. 

Nedenfor en billedserie (alle taget samme dag) fra ca. februar 1927 med Clarence Williams’ studie-grupper: 

Fra venstre: Carmelo Jari, Prince Robinson, Cyrus St. Clair, Clarence Williams, Buddy Christian, Charlie Irvis, 

Sara Martin, Floyd Casey, Eva Taylor og Allen.

Sara Martin, Clarence Williams og Eva Taylor. 

Fra venstre: Carmelo Jari, Buddy Christian, Prince Robinson, Clarence Williams, Charlie Irvis, Eva Taylor, Cyrus St. Clair, Floyd Casey og Allen.

Fra venstre: 

Prince Robinson, 

Clarence Williams, 

Allen og 

Floyd Casey. 

På dette foto synes 

det lidt mærkeligt, at 

Floyd Casey pludselig 

fremtræder væsentlig 

lavere end Allen, da 

Casey på det øverste 

billede er orkestrets 

højeste person (det 

fremgår også af 

S.S. Capitol billedet, at 

Casey er en høj mand). 

Er det mon én og 

samme person? 

Clarence Williams 

brugte imidlertid ikke 

andre percusionister 

end Casey. 

Clarence Williams etablerede for alvor sit “Washboard Band” (som studiegruppe) i løbet af 1926 og Allen indspillede nu 

fast med denne og visse andre af Clarence Williams grammofonorkestre i årene 1927-35 og 1937. 

Allen fortæller bl.a: “When we recorded with Clarence Williams, he would pick most of the tunes, those that the record 

company didn’t pick. Of course, he picked a lot of his own numbers, but we would use anybody else’s tunes, too. The 

companies liked to feature mostly the blues at that time - blues from all over the country. They weren’t so much on 

popular numbers as they are today. We made records for several people and sometimes the boys would record under 

different names for different companies. At one time Clarence made records for every company in New York: On one 

record it would be “Clarence Williams’ Washboard Beaters” and on another simply “Barrelhouse Five”. A bunch of records 

we made, we used Willie the Lion Smith or James P. Johnson or Fats Waller on piano while Clarence would sing and be 

the director - many times Clarence did not play piano, even on those sessions on which he was the leader. These 

records, before the time that radio became really popular, they sold very well; mostly they used to send them down 

south”. 

Rudy Powell: “Eddie told me, he stayed in the recording studios so much, he was on the verge of giving up his room and 

putting a bed in the studio.” 

DH/EA+Rudy Powell: “There was a popular comedy team of Moran and Mack that was billed as the Two Black Crows. 

This team was in the Columbia Recording Studios (near Columbia Circle) to do a session and they had failed to secure a 

piano man and a trumpet player which their script called for in certain spots for particular effects. I went up there to collect 

some money for a session I had been on, and happened to be in the hall when they came out of the studio to call for a 

couple of musicians. Well, Mack approached me and asked if I played the trumpet and I said, yes. Well, he said, we need 

a man to play a little bugle break. I told them I didn’t have my horn with me and they told me if I didn’t mind getting it they 

would pay my cab fare. When I came back they asked if I could play a few chords on the piano and I said I play a little ‘St 

Louis Blues’ and Mack said they would pay more if I did, a few chords in the G. And they smiled and said that would be 

super. At this point, I hesitated, and Moran and Mack asked me what was the trouble. I answered by saying: “Fellows, you 

have forgotten the most important item, and that is, how much does this job pay?” They laughed, while I pocketed a fifty 

dollar bill.” 

Allen kunne ikke længere huske titlen på pladen, kun at det var en comedy sketch om krigen. 

Da Allen forlod Jordan i Cleveland, kom han med i violinisten Allie Ross’ orkester, med hvem han rejste tilbage til New 

York og i hvis band han spillede i årene 1927-30. Det menes, at Allen var engageret med revuen “Bottomland” fra 20.6.27 

til 24.7.27 - den 20.6-27.6.27 var man på Savoy Theatre, Atlantic City, og fra 27.6-24.7.27 på Princess Theatre, New 

York, men om det også var med Ross kan ikke stadfæstes.

Kapitel 5: 1930-37 

Med Le Roy Tibbs; Earle Howard; sidste pladeindspilninger med Clarence Williams 

King Oliver og Allen blev gode venner via deres mange fælles pladeindspilninger med Clarence Williams, og (DH/EA) ‘. . . 

sometimes I sat in with King Oliver, when he was in New York at the Savoy Ballroom’ - dog næppe ofte, da Oliver på det 

tidspunkt selv havde vanskeligheder med at skaffe engagementer af længere varighed. 

DH/EA: “A singer whom I thought was very good, although not a blues singer, was Eva Taylor. She had a nice style and 

used to sing with the Band of a Thousand Medley’s on NBC Radio. We made some commercials for NBC but they never 

came through. This was all during the early thirties”. 

I 1930 blev Allie Ross’ orkester overtaget af Le Roy 

Tibbs, der tilføjede en string section, og som havde 

engagement på Connie’s Inn i Harlem, New York City. 

DH/EA: “I also knew Jabbo Smith when he was 

working at Small’s Paradise with Charlie Johnson’s 

band, while I was working at Connie’s Inn with Leroy 

Tibbs. I liked Jabbo’s style very much, he could really 

swing. 

Another excellent trumpeter from St. Louis was 

Leonard ‘Ham’ Davis, who passed away a few months 

ago (1958). Louis Metcalf is another cat from St. Louis 

who can play a fine horn”. 

Allen var fra ca. foråret 1932 til ca. april 1933 

medlem af Earle Howard’s Band, som spillede på 

Rose Danceland i New York City. Besætningen var 

Allen/Billy Douglass/John Brown, tpts. Allen 

Jackson/Cecil Scott, saxes. Earle Howard, pno. Arnold 

Canty, gtr. Frank Smith, sbs. Paul Barbarin, dms. 

Da Harry Dial den 17. januar 1934 kom til New York, 

kontaktede han tidligere venner og kollegaer fra St. 

Louis, heriblandt Leonard 'Ham' Davis, Allen, Eugene 

Sedric, Zutty Singleton, Jerome Pasquall og Floyd 

Casey - det synes som om, at Edgar Battle og 

Pasquall har formidlet, at Dial indtrådte i Sam 

Woodings orkester og medvirkede frem til påske 

lørdag 1934. Der forlyder intet om samarbejde med 

Allen. 

Da Clarence Williams/Eva Taylor fra begyndelsen af 

30’erne i højere grad koncentrerede sig om at 

producere radioudsendelser, ebbede 

pladeoptagelserne efterhånden ud, og Allens sidste pladesider med Williams var syv spirituals indspillet ca. oktober 1937. 

Kapitel 6: 1937-74 

Mindre prominente engagementer; taxi-dance halls; de sidste plader 1959 og 1961; ’last days’ 

Fra sidst i 30’erne spillede Allen hovedsageligt i New Yorks ‘taxi’ dance halls afbrudt af en kort tid i midt-40erne, hvor han 

havde eget band (kvartet?) med bl a Floyd Casey i Tony Pastor’s Club og desuden i noget længere tid, måske frem til ca. 

1949, i Stuyvesant Casino (‘a spot that featured dixieland’) to week-ends om måneden - i dette sidste band sad bl.a. Baby 

Dodds og Cecil Scott. Baby Dodds nævner ikke dette band/engagement i sine erindringer, men omtaler dog, at han 

spillede med Cecil Scott i New York. 

Harry Dial husker i sine erindringer, at han spillede i Allens orkester "on a full-time basis at the Dreamland, another taxi 

dance hall, but it's a job and the war had just about doubled the pay in those places. I went there sometime in May and 

the job lasted until Christmas Eve, when the police walked in and snatched the license off the wall, I think because one of 

the hostesses had beaten a sailor something terrible with a chair a few nights before." Det synes som om, at dette 

engagement har været i 1944 eller 1945. 

Allen er hos visse kilder nævnt som medlem af Joe Sullivan’s Café Society orkester i 1940. Det er en fejl, det var Edward 

‘Andy’ Anderson, som imidlertid også havde arbejdet for (og på det tidspunkt var stilmæssigt påvirket af) Oliver i 20’erne 

og Clarence Williams i 30’erne, hvilket kan være årsag til misforståelsen. 

Paradoksalt nok var Allen lige ved hånden og i fuldt vigør, da man havde travlt med at genopdage New Orleans 

veteranerne, som i mange tilfælde ikke kunne spille noget videre - men han forblev overset og glemt til sit sidste leveår.

Clarence Williams, som sidst i 40’erne solgte sit forlag og trak sig tilbage (også pga. sygdom) fortsatte med at spille og 

komponere i sit hjem - han havde måske stadig visse idéer om at indspille, som understøttes af Allens efterfølgende 

udsagn fra begyndelsen af 50’erne: “Clarence called me recently and said he’d like to use me for some recording he’s 

going to do, but just as we got started into rehearsing, he got very sick and had to go to the hospital. I imagine we’ll start 

in again pretty soon. He’s planning to do a whole album and though I don’t know what all the tunes are, I know he’s going 

to use Cecil Scott and Cy St. Clair for the job. Well, we’ve made many records together before and you know - we’re 

really looking forward to being together again”. 

Så vidt vides blev der desværre ikke mere ud af planerne, og Allen forsvandt ud i ubemærkethed. Pengemangel 

bevirkede flytning til en mindre prominent adresse, nemlig 700 East 139th Street, Bronx, New York 10454. 

Allen i sit hjem 1957 

DH/EA: ‘In 1958 Douglas Hague asked Ed Allen if he ever heard from 

Clarence Williams, and Allen informed that Clarence was running a thrift 

shop in Harlem while Joe Jordan was living in England’. 

Under en USA-rejse i 1959 aflagde Chris Barber besøg hos Clarence 

Williams ude på Long Island med det formål at indspille noget musik i stil 

med Williams’ forhenværende washboard bands. CW var for syg til selv at 

deltage, men Barber kom i forbindelse med tre af hans tidligere sidemen - 

Allen, Cecil Scott og Floyd Casey. Sammen med Don Frye og Leonard 

Gaskin samt T-Bone Jefferson (alias Chris Barber) indspillede man den 3. 

november med Scott som leder en LP “Harlem Washboard” for engelsk 

Columbia. Denne session var en stor succes, og Allen spiller afslappet open 

lead og soli med dæmper. 

Det blev til endnu en session for Swingville den 20. juli 1961 (producer Chris 

Albertson) med Cliff Jackson’s Washboard Wonders. Her var Allen sammen 

med sine gamle venner Rudy Powell og Floyd Casey samt Cliff Jackson, 

Elmer Snowden og Abe Bolar. Foruden washboard trakterer Casey en 

kazoo. 

Allen spillede faktisk permanent 6 aftener om ugen i “New Gardens Dance Hall” (a dime-a-dance “rub” joint), 116 East 

14th Street, med Benton Heath’s lille band næsten uafbrudt 1945-63. Kunstadt beretter i 1961: “If you walk along 

Fourteenth Street, east of Union Square, on a warm summer evening when the windows are open, you can hear the 

music from the New Gardens, a taxi dance hall next to Lüchow’s. The old Clarence Williams’ trumpet player, Ed Allen, 

plays with the small band, along with Clarence’s washboard player, Floyd Casey, who plays drums now, and the 

clarinet/saxophone player who got his first job with Elmer Snowden’s band at the Lenox Club in 1926, Rudy Powell.” 

I 1961 medvirkede foruden disse tre Bernard Ford, ten. Benton Heath, pno., og Abe Bolar, sbs. DH/EA: “Many 

musicians come around to ‘jelly’, for we work long hours and get pretty tired, so we’re always glad to have someone come 

down - Rex Stewart and Tony Parenti have come over a number of times”. 

På Douglas Hagues spørgsmål om, hvad han syntes om den moderne jazz svarede Allen: “Well, I think that many times 

the modern musicians and today’s Dixielanders forget the beat and become involved with doing fantastic things with their 

horns. But if the beat is swinging, I don’t care what style it is. If it swings, it’s good”. 

Allen og Abe Bolar ”New Gardens Dance Hall” 1960 Allen og Rudy Powell

Fra 1963 forværredes helbredet så meget, at Allen måtte opgive sit levebrød som fuldtidsmusiker. Han blev forkrøblet af 

gigt i benene og ledbetændelse i almindelighed, havde desuden nedsat synsfunktion (vist samme øjensygdom som King 

Oliver) og sukkersyge, hvilket sidste også førte til blærebesvær. Gigten gjorde ham til veritabel fange i sin Bronx lejlighed 

og i mange år var den eneste besøgende stort set rengøringskonen, der kom 3 gange om ugen og tillige tog sig af indkøb 

og madlavning. Allen var derfor ret ensom, så meget mere som mange af hans kolleger var døde før ham - hans 

formodentlig bedste ven Floyd Casey døde 7. september 1967. Heldigvis blev Allens sidste års tid lidt mere 

opmuntrende. 

Dr. Albert Vollmer, tandlæge/pladesamler/producer/orkesterleder(HB&JB) påbegyndte en række besøg og bragte 

lejlighedsvis Allen med hjem til sig selv, hvor de sammen lyttede til plader og Allen berettede om hine tider. Vollmer 

sørgede også for, at Allen uden omkostninger fik den nødvendige medicin til lindring for blæreproblemerne. 

Tidsskriftet ‘Footnote’ foranstaltede en indsamling til indkøb af en kassettebåndoptager samt tapes med mange af 

Allens og hans tidligere venners pladeoptagelser således, at han kunne afkorte de ensomme stunder med musikken. “I 

never realized I sounded that good”, var Allens kommentar efter at have lyttet til de gamle pladesider. 

Allen c. 1973. 

Humphrey Lyttelton omtalte Allens situation i sit ‘Best of 

Jazz’ BBC Program, medens englænderne Peter Carr (som 

havde besøgt Allen i Bronx) og Eric Townley i maj 1973 via 

Jazz Journals læserbrevspalte berettede om hans 

fortvivlede situation og opfordrede til at vise om ikke andet 

så moralsk støtte. 

Dette medførte en strøm af breve (nogle faktisk med 

penge) fra pladesamlere over hele verden, hvilket var til stor 

fortrøstning for Allen. Tillige foranstaltede hans meget 

hjælpsomme nabo, Mrs. Juanita James, at Allens 75 års 

fødselsdag blev fejret, hvilket også var ham til megen 

opmuntring. 

Den 28. januar 1974 døde Allen på Lincoln Hospital East 

Bronx, New York City. Dødsårsagen var lungebetændelse 

som følgevirkning af et fald i lejligheden to uger tidligere, 

hvorved Allen brækkede venstre lårben. Uheldigvis kom Juanita James først til stede adskillige timer efter uheldets 

indtræden, men hun fik Allen bragt til det nærliggende Lincoln Hospital. Allerede efter første dag blev Allen overført til 

intensivafdelingen, hvor han undergik en trakeotomi operation - han var dog for svækket til at overleve. Allen blev 

begravet den 2. februar på “a nice cemetery north of Peekshill, up along the Hudson. The services in The Bronx were well 

attended. Wilber Kirk, Walter Conyers, and Puss Johnson were there amongst others, and four cars followed the hearse 

to the cemetery. It was cold and snowing, and there was no music”. 

Allen er, som nævnt af Rudy Powell, oprindelig inspireret af især Charlie Creath (med dæmper) og Joe Smith (på åbent 

horn). I 1928 etc. var Allen dog ikke upåvirket af at spille en del sammen med King Oliver på en række af Clarence 

Williams’ studieoptagelser. Benyttede i sin tidlige karriere samme type dæmper som King Oliver, ‘and produced a 

pleasant tone with a wa-wa mute’. 

I 1958 udtalte Allen: “Joe (Oliver) used a plunger mute while I used my hand as a mute. With my hand I used to get 

different tones and sometimes sounded like Joe”. Han bliver vidt forskelligt bedømt for sine evner. Nogle mener (med 

urette), at han havde en meget dårlig tone (hør ham spille open lead i 5 kor på ’Red River Blues’ optaget for Okeh den 

23. maj 1928 og 1+5 kor på ’I Need You’ optaget for Columbia 29. maj 1928 - King Oliver er i begge tilfælde den anden 

kornettist) og endvidere svag fornemmelse for det melodiske samt en vis rytmisk stivhed. Andre mener, at han var en af 

de bedste til at lede ensemblespil i New Orleans-stil. 

Allen spillede gennem sin karrierre i en direkte, sober stil med fuld tone især i mellemregistret og med visse ikke uefne 

afstikkere op i det høje register. Han var en god bluesfortolker med en intens og fængende stemningssans samt et særligt 

udviklet øre for akkompagnementer. Dertil af betydelig konstant formåen: Altid interessant at lytte til og ind imellem med 

overvældende præstationer (jf. Bessie Smith pladesiderne). Det fornemmes, at han påny i midt-30’erne lægger stilen lidt 

om. 

Allen blev ikke nogen særlig berømt jazz kornettist og rangerede for den sags skyld heller ikke mellem de bedste, men 

han har absolut fortjent langt mere rampelys, og de sparsomme omtaler i opslagsværkerne, hvis han overhovedet er 

nævnt, modsvarer ikke hans fortjenester. 

Måske skyldes mangelfuldhederne også, at hans pladeproduktion trods en væsentlig mængde indspilninger er 

forholdsvis sjælden således, at et bredere kendskab til Allen i mange år kun var beskåret deciderede samlere, som 

imidlertid ikke altid var klar over, hvem de lyttede til, idet King Oliver (og endog Louis Armstrong) som oftest blev 

godskrevet for Allens præstationer. 

Med LP’ens komme rettedes der noget op på dette forhold (og sidenhen er stort set al musik blevet tilgængelig via 

internettet). Allen var en beskeden og tilbageholdende mand, og beskrives således: “...there is a similarity about Clarence 

Williams and Ed Allen. They are both short, a little plump, wearing glasses, and looking like very unpretentious but 

pleasant men”.

Kapitel 7: Allens pladeindspilninger 

Allen har medvirket på efterfølgende recording sessions. (CW) angiver at der er tale om en gruppe under ledelse af 

Clarence Williams. Diverse pladepseudonymer er også angivet i parantes. Oversigten bør ikke anses for komplet/korrekt: 

xx.xx.22, New Orleans. Wispering Gold Orchestra (cylinders untraced) 

25.01.26, New York. Dixie Washboard Band (CW) 

xx.02.26, New York. Dixie Washboard Band (CW) (Louisiana Washboard Band/ClarenceWilliams’ 

Washboard Beaters) 


08.05.26, New York. Joe Jordan’s Ten Sharps and Flats 

xx.05.26, New York. Dixie Washboard Band (CW) 

xx.05.26, New York. Dixie Washboard Band (CW) 

16.06.26, New York. Blue Grass Foot Warmers (CW) 

21.06.26, New York. Blue Grass Foot Warmers (CW) 

xx.07.26, New York. Joe Jordan’s Ten Sharps and Flats 

21.12.26, New York. Esther Bigeou (CW) (Clarence Williams’ Blue Five) 

29.01.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Four (Louis Armstrong’s Original Washboard 

Beaters) 

08.03.27, New York. Clarence Williams and His Washboard Band 


31.03.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Five 

13.04.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Five (Original Washboard Beaters/Jazzband 

Originale Americanos) 

14.04.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Blue Five 

16.04.27, New York. Eva Taylor (CW) (Clarence Williams’ Blue Five) 

27.04.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Blue Five Orchestra 

25.05.27, New York. Te Roy Williams and His Orchestra 

xx.07.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Orchestra (Charley Hunter’s Orchestra) 

18.08.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings 

xx.10.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Orchestra 

25.11.27, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Four 

xx.xx.27, New York. Moran and Mack 


01.02.28, New York. Le Roy Tibbs and his Connie’s Inn Orchestra 


18.04.28, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Five (Clarencio Guillermo y sus Diablos del Jazz) 

23.05.28, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Five 


02.06.28, New York. Eva Taylor (CW) 

23.06.28, New York. Clarence Williams’ Orchestra 


xx.08.28, Long Island City. Clarence Williams and His Orchestra (Comrade Pajandrasayarthi Chundernagore 

Vyshinski Ram Srinavinegar and His Red Hot Indians) 

xx.09.28, Long Island City. Anna Bell (CW) 

xx.09.28, New York. Clarence Williams’ Orchestra (?) 

xx.09.28, Long Island City. Katherine Henderson (CW) 

26.09.28, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Five (Clarence Williams and His Orchestra) 

xx.11.28, Long Island City. Sara Martin (CW) 

xx.11.28, Long Island City. Clarence Williams and His Orchestra 



20.12.28, New York. Eva Taylor (CW) 



xx.01.29, Long Island City. Laura Bryant (CW) 

xx.01.29, Long Island City. Clarence Williams’ Orchestra 

xx.01.29, Long Island City. Barrel House Five Orchestra (CW) 


14.02.29, New York. Clarence Williams’ Washboard Band 


20.03.29, New York. Mary Dixon 

xx.03.29, New York. Memphis Jazzers/New Orleans Pepsters (CW) (King Oliver and the Memphis 

Jazzers) 


15.05.29, New York. Bessie Smith (CW)


25.05.29, New York. Bertha Idaho (CW) 




26.08.29, New York. Clarence Williams and His Jazz Kings 

04.09.29, New York. Clara Smith 

26.09.29, New York. Clarence Williams and His Jazz Kings 

31.10.29, New York. Mary Dixon 

06.12.29, New York. Seven Gallon Jug Band (CW) 


03.01.30, New York. Seven Gallon Jug Band (CW) 


22.07.30, New York. Bessie Smith 


09.09.30, New York. Clarence Williams’ Jug Band (King Oliver with Clarence Williams’ Jug Band) 


14.07.33, New York. Clarence Williams and His Orchestra 









28.06.34, New York. Clarence Williams and Washboard Band 



22.08.34, New York. Clarence Williams and His Orchestra (Eva Taylor and Her boy Friends) 

05.09.34, New York. Alabama Jug Band (CW) 


03.10.34, New York. Alabama Jug Band (CW) 

01.02.35, New York. Birmingham Serenaders 



23.04.35, New York. Willie Smith and His Cubs (CW) 


22.05.35, New York. Willie Smith and His Cubs (CW) 

08.04.37, New York. Clarence Williams and His Washboard Band 

29.04.37, New York. Clarence Williams’ Swing Band 

xx.10.37, New York. Clarence Williams’ Swing Band 

03.11.59, New York. Cecil Scott and His Washboard Band 

20.07.61, New York. Cliff Jackson’s Washboard Wanderers

Andre beretninger om ’the riverboat days’ 

Charlie Creaths orkester i St. Louis i 1921. Det er interessant at bemærke nodestativet foran trommesættet! 

Fra venstre: Den legendariske Robert “Red” Muse, dms. Charlie Creath, cor. Grant Cooper, trb. Janie Hemingway, pno. Gene Sedric, clt. 

Kapitel 8: John Alexander “Johnny” St. Cyr 

About two weeks after, Fate Marable asked me to come on the river boat. I had a friend named Buford, who had a bar 

room at Gasket (Gasquet) and Villery (Villere), and I used to hang around there. I was living out back of town and Buford 

played a little. I left the banjo there, as I was in town every night, so I’d not have to go clear back home for the banjo if a 

job turned up. Buford asked if I minded if he played a little, and I said no. Marable went into Buford’s one Saturday night 

about midnight, after he left the boat, and Buford was playing the banjo. Marable said, ‘When did you buy the banjo,’ and 

Buford replied ‘It belongs to Johnny St. Cyr. He’s back there in the other room.’ Marable said to me, ‘Come out here and 

I’ll buy you a drink.’ He asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was playing out at the lake tomorrow. He asked me, 

‘Why don’t you come out on the boat, take a ride with us, bring your banjo.’ He said, ‘The only way you’ll come out there 

is if I take your banjo.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Buford and I almost had a fight over the banjo — but I promised to have it back there 

that Sunday night. I played with the band on the boat and one of the Strekfus Brothers called me into the office and asked 

me if I wanted to play with the band regularly ‘What are you paying?’ I asked. He said, ‘In New Orleans we are paying 

$30.00 a week, and when we get to St. Louis we pay $52.50 a week.’ I said ‘I’ll try it.’ He said, ‘You’ll get paid for all you 

did today’ — and I did get paid. I worked 1918, 1919 and 1920 on that boat. 

I finished the season in New Orleans and got ready to go to St. Louis. Piron called me up and said, ‘Come down to the 

shop, I want to talk some business with you.’ I went over to see him and he said, ‘Well, John, I finally talked the old man 

into giving me a little more money, and I want to get you back with the band out there, to work with us.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry, I 

can’t make it.’ Piron said, ‘I just talked the the old man into giving me some more money so I could get you back.’ I said, 

‘I’m sorry, I’m going away on the boat.’ 

I will try to give a little of the history of the Strekfus line, to the best of my recollection. Originally this was a packet line, 

hauling freight, on the river. After about 1900 the railroads started giving so much competition to the packets that they

were gradually being driven out of business. Mr. John Strekfus got the idea of making one of his packets into a floating 

dancehall, working out of his headquarters in St. Louis. At first his sons Joe, Roy and Johnnie, were the only musicians. 

They all had musical training and were good, legitimate musicians. This idea caught on with the public and soon they had 

more boats and the boys took over the management and hired musicians to play for them. The boys were all very good 

steamboat men, pilots, engineers, electricians and captains. At first they hired white bands to play for them. Fate Marable 

was playing piano with one of these bands. He was very light complexioned and a very good musician. Well, they started 

sending a boat down to New Orleans for the winter season. Fate got around town and liked our music, so he convinced 

Strekfus to try a band of New Orleans musicians, also he would be a leader in his own right, and he would collect leader’s 

pay. In 1918 I was asked by Fate to join his band. Of course, they had other boats and other bands all this time, in fact, at 

one time they had a total of four boats working. 

There were other people who tried this same idea on the river, but the Strekfus people were very smart politicians and 

they got all the best landings tied up in every city. These other guys would find themselves out of town when they went to 

dock, but the Strekfus boat would be right at the foot of the main street of town. 

Most of us were not real good readers and Fate agreed to help us with out parts until we caught on. We had William 

‘Bebe’ Ridgley on trombone; Joe Howard, cornet; Johnny Dodds, clarinet; Dave Jones, mellophone; Geo. ‘Pops’ Foster, 

bass; Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds, drums; myself on guitar and banjo; and Fate on piano. Well, we needed another cornet to fill 

out the band. We all had our eye on Louis Armstrong as the coming man on this instrument in New Orleans. So we were 

all bucking to get him in the band. At this time Louis was working for Kid Ory. Louis had gone in ‘hock’ to Ory for a new 

cornet and was paying back so much a week. When the time came for Louis to join us, Ory said he couldn’t take his horn 

because it wasn’t paid for. Louis came around very sad, said he couldn’t make it as he would have no instrument. We 

went to Roy Strekfus and explained the situation to him. He said, ‘Is this the man you want? Can he play the music?’ We 

said, ‘Yes.’ Strekfus replied, ‘Then I’ll give him an order for a new horn and he can pay for it so much a week.’ That was 

how Louis was able to join the band. Most of this band had been with Fate before I joined it in the early summer of 1918. 

They had no banjo before I came into the band. Johnny Dodds had replaced Sam Dutrey, Sr., then Louis came in a little 

later to fill out the cornet section. This was on the Steamer Sidney. This was their first and smallest boat. We were playing 

at night, plus Sunday afternoon and evening. We were getting $35.00 a week. Johnny Dodds left the band shortly after I 

joined and Sam Dutrey came back. As I recollect, Johnny just took Dutrey’s place for a few weeks. I don’t think Johnny 

ever played on the boats regularly. 

Here’s a couple of little stories that happened in New Orleans in the summer of 1918. One night ‘Bebe’ Ridgley went over 

to Algiers after work to a party with some friends. Well, I guess it was a very good party, because when he came back the 

next morning he was still feeling pretty good. He was telling us all about the wonderful things they had to eat. They had 

chicken, they had gumbo, they had shrimp and so on. ‘Well,’ Fate said, ‘It sounds to me like you’re eating better than Roy 

Strekfus.’ ‘Breakfast, man I had breakfast, dinner and supper,’ ‘Bebe’ replied. 

Fate used to have a little Ford car that he kept on the boat so he could get around town. One evening several of us were 

going up Canal Street with him and we almost hit a woman, who was walking across the street. Louis Armstrong said, 

‘You’d better watch out, you’ll get arrested for emergency.’ We all said, ‘Emergency, what’s emergency?’ Louis said, ‘You 

hit that woman and you’ll soon find out what emergency is!’ 

Now, the music we played — how the band sounded — this would be more like a swing band than the New Orleans type 

jazz band. Strekfus had a standing order with the music publishers and they shipped him all the new arrangements right 

off the press. He just paid them by the month. We just played the arrangements as they were, we never changed them. 

We had no staff arranger, no special jazz arrangements. 

The other bands used the same music we did. We just had that feeling, that rhythm, that swing. We were very popular in 

New Orleans that summer and fall, so they made arrangements to take us to St. Louis for the next summer season. We 

rehearsed one morning a week (Tuesdays) for two hours, we played the same programme all week and changed on 

Sunday night. One of the Strekfus brothers was always at rehearsal to make sure everything was just the way they 

wanted it. 

This was strictly a reading band, no hot solos. We played all through the winter in New Orleans, then we went to St. Louis 

in April, by train, where we joined the St. Louis Musician’s Local, then up to Davenport, Iowa, where the boats were 

stored. Steamer St. Paul was our boat. Now, if Bix Biederbeke came out to hear us, I couldn’t say, but many musicians 

did come out to hear us and he may very well have been there. From Davenport we worked our way up to St. Paul, then 

back to St. Louis by Decoration Day (May 30). 

The first season in St. Louis we worked from 9 o’clock in the morning until 6 p.m., with an hour off at noon. Then back 

from 8 p.m. ’til 12.15 a.m. for the night trip. We were provided with room and board on the boat. The food was very plain, 

and sleeping accommodations not the most luxurious, so we all ate and slept ashore. ‘Pops’ Foster and I roomed 

together in a family home in St. Louis. We stayed with the same people every year. 

At first we got New Orleans pay, $35.00 a week in St. Louis, then later the Union got us the proper scale of $52.50. 

We had been very popular in New Orleans and had always drawn good crowds. This was where we were known and our 

music was not a novelty. We were a sensation when we hit St. Louis. There would be a crowd on the dock when we

pulled in after our day trip. The same people every day, just to hear us play the last number as the boat docked, including 

all the Strekfus office workers. 

When we worked, we did not play one number right after the other. There would be about five minutes between numbers. 

We would have fourteen numbers in the first half of the programme, then a fifteen minute intermission, then ten more 

numbers. We were allowed two requests in each half of the programme. ‘Bebe’ Ridgley left the band after a few weeks 

and returned to New Orleans. He was replaced by a St. Louis man, Grant Cooper. 

We had a very good front line that was used to playing jazz in New Orleans, and they could put that feeling into the 

arrangements we were using, although they were mostly just ‘stocks’. With men like Louis Armstrong, Dave Jones, Joe 

Howard, Sam Dutry (Dutrey) and ‘Bebe’ Ridgley — we just couldn’t miss. Also we had a very powerful rhythm section. 

Fate Marable was a very strong man on the piano, very good rhythm and he played very good chords. I will say now, that 

he was the equal of any band piano man that I ever played with anywhere. Fate also played the steam calliope on the 

upper deck and this was something to hear. This calliope could be heard for blocks and was a very good advertisement. 

The work of Baby, Pops and myself, is maybe better known because of our work on recordings, but well, Fate was right in 

there with us. In the rhythm section we could put in the little extra things just as we did in New Orleans. So, the band had 

a solid foundation. If this band ever recorded I am sure the records would still stand tip today. Of course the tempos were 

a little faster than those used today, because the one-step was still the big dance. The old recordings I’ve heard that 

sounded much like we did was the old Fletcher Henderson recording of Mandy Make up Your Mind. The ensemble parts 

of this number sound about like we did, we had no hot solos. Any solos would be written out. 

Sometimes one of the Strekfus family would hear a band play an arrangement that appealed to them. They would buy it 

from the leader and we would play it. The Strekfus family always travelled around to other cities and visited the ballrooms 

so they could keep up with what was going on with the bands. 

It was in the summer of 1919 that I bought the guitar-banjo that I still have today. Some fellow had hocked it with a pool 

room proprietor. He asked me to look at it for him. I did and asked him what he wanted for it. ‘$20.00’, he said, so I bought 

it. This is the instrument that I used on all my recording dates with the Hot 5 in Chicago several years later. I still have it 

and play it now and then, when a banjo is required on the job. Of course, it has been worked over several times, but it is 

still with me. 

In the fall of 1919 we went back to New Orleans on the Steamer Capitol. Davey Jones had taken up the saxophone and 

was playing well, and Norman Mason of St. Louis was added on sax, doubling on trumpet. Sam Dutrey and Joe Howard 

dropped out, I had taken up the mellophone under Dave Jones and did a little doubling myself. Saxophones were coming 

in at that time and getting to be very popular. After the winter of 1920, we returned to St. Louis for the summer and back 

on the Steamer St. Paul. We only played the night programme this year. The Union made them hire another band for day 

programmes. 

There were a couple of cabarets in St. Louis and one in East St. Louis that featured jazz music. Sometimes they would 

hire some of us from the boat to come in as an added attraction. Sometimes Louis and Baby would go to these places to 

sit in and blow off steam. For the most part we got all the playing we wanted on the boats and didn’t go out and sit in at 

these cabarets. 

During this summer Fate seemed to be getting bored with helping us with our reading. We were all getting dissatisfied 

with his attitude. So, because of this, we would not sign up for the winter in New Orleans of 1920-21. Well, Joe Strekfus 

looked into the matter and as a result he gave Fate the winter off, and made Ed Allen who had come into the band as a 

trumpet player, the leader playing piano in Fate’s place. My last summer on the boats (1921) Pops and I played with the 

Creath Band. When we returned to New Orleans that fall, I left the band and the boats for good. 

Plastering business was good at that time. I built a new home with the money I made on the boats and went back to nay 

trade. I played a few jobs around town, including a few parades in which I played Alto Horn, until I got the job at Pythian 

Roof Gardens with Manuel Perez. Joe Oliver sent for me in the late summer of 1923. He needed a good banjo player for 

his recording work and he assured me I could find plenty of steady work in Chicago. I was not hired to play with the band, 

just to record. I was a little doubtful about making this big step, but Manuel Perez encouraged me to go. He said, ‘They’ll 

be crazy about your work in Chicago’. 

Kapitel 9: Warren “Baby” Dodds 

(Under udarbejdelse)

Plakater fra hhv. 15. april og 13. maj 1933 Plakat ukendt årstal 

Foruden den berømte pianist/orkesterleder Clarence Williams findes andre personer af samme navn, som var aktive i anden halvdel af 20’erne: 

Clarence Williams, tidligere kornettist i Globe Theater Orchestra, Cleveland (også aktiv i Buffalo, N.Y.; muligvis med i Clara Smith’s band i Chicago så 

tidligt som 1920). 

Clarence Williams, musical director for Joe Simms’ “Dancing Days”, 1929. 

(Harry) Williams’ Washboard Band fra 1933 har ikke noget med pianisten Clarence Williams at gøre (relaterer til Washboard Rhythm Kings). 

Andre kilder: 

“Shining Trumpets”/Rudi Blesh/Alfred A. Knopf 1946 

“Who’s Who of Jazz”/John Chilton/Bloomsbury Book Shop 1972 

Harry Dial, interviews 

Warren “Baby” Dodds, scrap-book 

“Swing Out”/Gene Fernett/Pendell Publishing Company 1970 

Jazz Journal, Eric Townley 

”Jazz on the River”/William Howland Kenney/University of Chicago Press 2005 

“Clarence Williams”/Tom Lord/Storyville Publications and Co. 1976 

“Big Band Jazz”/Albert McCarthy/Barrie & Jenkins Ltd. 1974 

“Frog Blues & Jazz Annual Vol. 2”/Michael Rader and K. B. Rau/Paul Swinton & Frog Records Ltd. 2011 

“Jazzmen”/Frederikc Ramsey Jr. & Charles Edward Smith/Harcourt, Brace and Co. New York 1939 

“Jazzways”/George S. Rosenthal, Frank Zachary, Frederic Ramsey Jr., & Rudi Blesh/Greenberg Publishing 1946 

"Captain Fred Way's Packet Directory 1848-1983”/Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen

Ed Allen 1904-74 og Riverboat jazz - Little Beat Records

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?