John Kirby

During the peak of the big-band period, John Kirby directed a distinctive sextet whose membership included trumpeter Charlie Shavers, clarinetist Buster Bailey, altoist Russell Procope, pianist Billy Kyle, drummer O'Neil Spencer, and Kirby on bass. Although Shavers and Bailey sometimes played boldly, the meticulously scored ensembles maintained a restrained, introspective character while remaining technically brilliant. Originally a tuba specialist, Kirby changed to bass upon entering Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in 1930. He ranked among the stronger bassists of the decade, appearing with Henderson from 1930 to 1933 and again from 1935 to 1936, as well as with Chick Webb's orchestra between 1933 and 1935. By 1937 Kirby had assembled his own unit for an engagement at the Onyx Club, where Frankie Newton and Pete Brown each spent time before the final roster stabilized. With occasional singing supplied by Maxine Sullivan, then Kirby's wife, the John Kirby Sextet enjoyed wide favor from 1938 through 1942. Shavers' "Undecided" became a popular success, and the group's treatments of classical themes also drew strong attention. The ensemble's fortunes faded through the forties. After Spencer fell ill he was succeeded first by Specs Powell and later by Bill Beason; Kyle entered military service, and George Johnson took Procope's chair. Following Shavers' 1945 departure for Tommy Dorsey's band, only Bailey and Kirby remained from the original lineup. The group dissolved the next year, and although Kirby later tried to launch another comparable sextet, including a sparsely attended 1950 Carnegie Hall reunion concert, he never recovered his earlier level of achievement. All of his key sessions have been reissued by Classics.