Red Nichols

In the early 1930s, Red Nichols found himself overrated across Europe, where his recordings circulated widely unlike those of his Black peers, only to face later undervaluation and unfair accusations of merely imitating Bix. Yet he stood among the premier cornetists arising during the 1920s. As a skilled improviser whose emotional range fell short of Bix Beiderbecke or Louis Armstrong, Nichols operated largely as a relentless session player, joining recording dates—frequently under assumed names—at a volume matched by few other brass musicians of his time. These efforts appeared under guises including Red Nichols & His Five Pennies, the Arkansas Travelers, the Red Heads, the Louisiana Rhythm Kings, and the Charleston Chasers, typically drawing from the same pool of musicians.

His cornet training came from his father, who taught music at a college. Relocating from Utah to New York during 1923 positioned the adept sight-reader, capable of infusing dance band dates with jazz elements, for immediate popularity. Initial outings spotlighted trombonist Miff Mole alongside Jimmy Dorsey handling alto saxophone and clarinet, delivering sophisticated arrangements that incorporated unusual intervals, whole-tone scales, and Vic Berton's timpani within fiery group passages.

As the decade progressed, his ensembles boasted emerging talents such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Pee Wee Russell, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Adrian Rollini, Gene Krupa, and the exceptional mellophone player Dudley Fosdick; their rendition of "Ida" unexpectedly succeeded commercially. Maintaining the Five Pennies designation even as ensembles expanded, Nichols by 1929 began interspersing dates with larger, more commercial groups alongside intimate combos. Though he navigated the early Depression through theatrical engagements, his prolific recording career halted by 1932. He led a mediocre swing orchestra through 1942, stepped away from music temporarily, and spent several months during 1944 in Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra.

Reassembling the Five Pennies that same year as a Dixieland sextet, the addition of bass saxophonist Joe Rushton as a steady member elevated it to one of the stronger traditional jazz units over the ensuing two decades. Among several striking fiery interpretations of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," the standout arrived in 1959. That year also saw the release of the entertaining though loosely biographical film The Five Pennies, which incorporated Nichols' cornet performances and Danny Kaye's portrayal, elevating him to national fame near the close of his extensive career. While digital reissues have presented his prior recordings sporadically, subsequent albums stay inaccessible.