Biography
Fate Marable earned lasting recognition in early jazz circles through his long-running leadership of riverboat ensembles. Public performances began for him at age nine, and by 1907 he was already handling both piano and calliope duties on a Mississippi steamship. The Kentucky Jazz Band came together under his direction in 1917, and the roster of musicians who passed through his groups over the next two decades included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, Pops Foster, Zutty Singleton, Henry "Red" Allen, Gene Sedric, Jimmy Blanton, and Earl Bostic. During the 1930s he occasionally shared leadership duties with Charlie Creath, and although he made St. Louis his base he continued to draw top New Orleans jazz talent into his ranks. A severe finger infection forced his withdrawal from music in 1940 for an extended stretch. By the middle of the decade he had returned to local stages, working piano jobs in St. Louis-area venues until pneumonia ended his life. The sole documented sides by his band, the 1924 titles Frankie and Johnny and Pianoflage, survive in technically and musically deficient condition, leaving the true strength and elegance of those ensembles beyond reach.