Jess Stacy (August 11, 1904 – January 1, 1995) was an American jazz pianist who became famous during the Swing Era.
Early life
Stacy was born
Jesse Alexandria Stacy in
Bird's Point, MissouriBird's Point is an unincorporated community in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States. It lies on an island or former island in the Mississippi River near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers is situated directly across the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois. This is the...
, a small town across the Mississippi River from
Cairo, IllinoisCairo is a city in Alexander County, Illinois in the United States. The population was 3,632 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alexander County. The city's name is pronounced "Care-o"....
. In 1918 Stacy moved to
Cape Girardeau, MissouriCape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 35,349. A 2007 estimate, however, showed the population to be 37,525...
. There Stacy received his only formal music training studying under Professor Clyde Brandt, a professor of piano and violin at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College (now
Southeast Missouri State UniversitySoutheast Missouri State University is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, not far from the banks of the Mississippi River. The institution, having started as a normal school, has a traditional strength in teacher education...
), while sweeping up nights at Clark's Music Store.
By 1920 Stacy was playing piano in saxophonist Peg Meyer’s jazz ensemble at Cape Girardeau High School and at the Bluebird Confectionary on Broadway and Fountain and also at the Sweet Shop on Main Street. Originally labeled by schoolmates as "The Agony Four," "..... that band took them out of Cape Girardeau where, according to Stacy, 'everyone was square as a bear' ".
By 1921 the ensemble was known as "
Peg Meyer's Melody KingsThe Peg Meyer’s Melody Kings were a late 1910s thru early 1920s Missouri Swing band.The band got its start in 1919 during lunch hour at Cape Central High School gym, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The band was initially called the Agony Four . It consisted of four players: Jess Stacy , Martell...
" and started touring the Mississippi River on 'The Majestic' and other riverboats.
Early career
At some unrecorded date in the early 1920s Stacy moved 'upriver' to Chicago, Illinois where he made a name for himself performing with
Paul MaresPaul Mares , was an American early dixieland jazz cornet & trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.Mares was born in New Orleans. His father, Joseph E...
, leader of the
New Orleans Rhythm KingsThe New Orleans Rhythm Kings were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early-to-mid 1920s. The band was a combination of New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago Style Jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians.- History of the band :In 1919, New Orleans-born...
, playing a sub-genre of jazz appropriately called “Chicago-style”. Stacy cites his main influence at the time as
Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and, especially, pianist
Earl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early life:...
, pianist for both Louis Armstrong and the
Carroll DickersonCarroll Dickerson was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work touring with King Oliver....
band. Stacy would frequently go to just wherever Hines was playing and later even played with Hines' band as 'relief piano player' when allowed [as did Nat "King" Cole and
Teddy WilsonTheodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was a jazz pianist from the United States born in Austin, Texas. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald...
] but during this period Stacy was mainly playing with Floyd Towne’s dance orchestra.
Stacy’s big break came in 1935 when
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David Goodman was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
asked Stacy to join his band. Stacy left Floyd Towne, moved to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and spent the four years from 1935-1939 with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. He reached the peak of his acclaim when he performed with Goodman at
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1938 , the first jazz concert ever played at Carnegie. The Carnegie Hall performance has gained attention due to an unplanned yet widely praised piano solo by Stacy during "Sing, Sing, Sing.” Following a Goodman/Krupa duet, Stacy received a nod from Goodman to take a solo. He created a memorable masterpiece, reissued many times on record. Some believe that Stacy did not gain the recognition he rightly deserved because
Teddy WilsonTheodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was a jazz pianist from the United States born in Austin, Texas. His sophisticated and elegant style graced the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald...
was the 'permanent' pianist for the
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David Goodman was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
quartet, the most acclaimed of Goodman's bands.. But Stacy did play with such legends as
Bix BeiderbeckeLeon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the two most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" , in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity...
,
Eddie CondonAlbert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....
,
Bud FreemanLawrence "Bud" Freeman was a U.S. jazz musician, bandleader, amd composer, known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He had a smooth and full tenor sax style with a heavy robust swing. He was one of the most influential and important jazz tenor saxophonists of...
,
George GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are universally familiar....
,
Lionel HamptonLionel Leo Hampton , was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
,
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing...
,
Gene KrupaGene Krupa was an influential American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
,
Jack TeagardenWeldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden , known as "Big T", was an influential jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist.-Early life:...
and, later,
Horace HeidtHorace Heidt was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality.-Biography:Born in Alameda, California, Heidt attended Culver Academies...
.
A 1939 review of 'Jess Stacy' (Commodore 1503) stated:
"These two five-minute blues are probably the finest solos ever recorded by Jess Stacy and the best coupling ever issued by Milt Gabler on his Commodore label. When this most sensitive, intelligent and polished of piano players goes to work in the simple, traditional blues form, the result is likely to be more individual than authentic; and that was the case here. On the slow blues, EcStacy, and a faster one named the Sell Out, Stacy has lavished all his musical sincerity, his harmonic invention and delicate melodic ideas, all performed with uniquely fine touch and really incisive phrasing. EcStacy is quiet, and the chords ring out like chimes; in the Sell Out, Stacy's foot acts as bass drum and the swing is very easy and sure. Instead of the sterility which afflicts so many of the "advanced" jazz players, there is the sincere, personal emotion, and integrity, of a uniquely talented musician. Much intellect went into this music, and in places you can almost hear Jess' rapid thinking".
After leaving the Goodman Orchestra, Stacy joined the
Bob CrosbyBob Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group Crosby and the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
(
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American popular singer and actor whose career stretched over more than half a century from 1926 until his death....
's brother) Orchestra and his famous small jazz group the
Bob CrosbyBob Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group Crosby and the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
Bob-Cats. During his period with the latter band Stacy received yet wider acclaim. He won the national
Down BeatDown Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
piano polls in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943. Stacy would later be credited with revitalizing the dying band . When the Crosby band broke up, Stacy rejoined Goodman in 1942 for a short period before joining the
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
Orchestra.
Stacy spent six months with the
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
band. He then left to put together a big band of his own, named the Jess Stacy Band and recorded with vocalist
Lee WileyLee Wiley was an American jazz singer popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. She possessed an attractive, slightly husky tone and delivered lyrics with warmth and intimacy....
, to whom he was married. But by then "big band" music was losing popularity, and the band suffered economically. The band did not last long and Wiley and Stacy would later divorce.
Later career
In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles California. As with many jazz 'stars', his career declined to mostly club work. Finally one evening, while working the piano bar in Leon's Steak House, Stacy walked out in the middle of a number after a drunken woman, while requesting the "Beer Barrel Polka" for the third time that evening, spilled a beer in his lap. Stacy declared that he was 'done' with the music business and he retired from public performances.
Unusually for a 'jazzer', Stacy chose to leave the music industry and take regular jobs until he was able to retire. For a time Stacy worked as a salesman, then warehouseman, then postman, for Max Factor cosmetics.
Later, he would be "re-discovered" as fame of his past career became known. However Stacy was selective in his performances - he played for
Nelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s, struggled with the advent of rock 'n' roll, and saw a career revival in the early 1980s...
on the soundtrack of the 1973 movie '
The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City during the summer of 1922 and is a critique of the American Dream....
'. Then 1974 he was invited to play at the
Newport Jazz FestivalThe Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by the jazz impresario George Wein, prompted by socialite Elaine Lorillard, whose wealthy husband helped finance the festival's startup....
in New York and, as a result, was asked to record for Chiaroscuro twice, in 1974 and, in 1977, "Stacy Still Swings". The years after that included compilations and some club work. Stacy’s final performance was broadcast on
Marian McPartlandMargaret Marian McPartland , is an English Jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio.-Early life:...
’s “Piano Jazz” for
National Public RadioNational Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law...
on Dec. 1, 1981.
Personal life
Stacy had a tumultuous love life as a young man. His first wife was Helen Robinson. Both were very young when they married in 1924. Stacy worked nights playing in clubs and slept during the day while Helen worked days. Helen needed more security than Stacy was willing to provide. Stacy was unable to give up the dream of his music to work at a radio station and be secure in his employment. This did not change when the couple had a child, Frederick Jess. The couple would later divorce and Helen would go on to marry a friend of Stacy's, Phil Wing, the embodiment of all Helen had wanted Stacy to be.
Stacy's second wife was the beautiful and wild
Lee WileyLee Wiley was an American jazz singer popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. She possessed an attractive, slightly husky tone and delivered lyrics with warmth and intimacy....
, a jazz singer of considerable acclaim during her era and 'rediscovered' since. The couple was described by their friend Deane Kincade as being as "compatible as two cats, tails tied together, hanging over a clothesline." After being married less than three years, the couple divorced in 1948. Lee's response to Stacy's desire to get a divorce was, "What will Bing Crosby be thinking of you divorcing me?" while Stacy said of Wiley, "They did not burn the last witch at Salem."
Lee Wiley then married a retired business man, Nat Tischenkel, in 1966 and died of stomach cancer in 1975. Stacy did not attend her funeral.
Stacy then married, thirdly, Patricia Peck on September 8, 1950. They had been friends and dating for a decade when they married. Stacy and Peck lived in L.A. and were married very happily for forty-five years.
Later life
After his brief and 'selective' revival in the 1970s, Stacy again retired from the music scene and lived a quiet existence with his wife, Patricia Peck Stacy.
Stacy died of congestive heart failure in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
on January 1 1995.
Since his death Stacy has gained new attention and honors. In 1996 he was inducted into the
Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and in 1998 a biography of him 'Jess Stacy: The Quiet Man of Jazz. a Biography and Discography' came out.
Additional Readings
- Raymond F. “Peg” Meyer. Backwoods Jazz in the twenties. Edited and with an introduction by Frank Nickell. Published by Center for Regional History and Cultural Heritage Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau Missouri, c1989.
- Levin, Floyd. Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (Berkely: U of California P, 2000.)
- Kenney, W. H. Jazz on the River. University of Chicago Press, 2005. ISNB 0226437337X
- Keller, Keith. "Oh, Jess: A Jazz Life." The Mayan Music Corporation, 1989. ISBN 8788043088X
- Coller, Derek. Jess Stacy: The Quiet Man of Jazz. G H B Jazz Foundation, 1998. ISBN 0963889044X
External links