There is some debate over the earliest recordings Paul Gonsalves made. Ahead of celebrating the centenary of Paul Gonsalves next month, I thought it would be a good idea to present what are, possibly, the earliest recordings which feature him.
During The Second World War, Gonsalves' served in the Quartermaster Corp in India and Burma where he had the opportunity in Calcutta to play with the band of the Virginia born pianist Teddy Weatherford.
Several sides cut by the band appeared subsequently on the HMV India label and the possibility that Gonsalves participated in these sessions has long tantalised collectors.
There is an interesting piece on the provenance of the recordings on this web page from Finding Carlton. There is a also a follow up piece Resolved?
The following which may provide conclusive evidence of the presence of Paul on these discs, is taken from the website Shanghai Sojourns:
'Jack Armitage, writing in Le Jazz Hot, gives a good account of hearing the band at the Grand one evening. “I had taken four weeks leave in Calcutta....I was flattered to find (Weatherford) flushed with pleasure at the entry of an old acquaintance and that he would compose a programme specially for the occasion....that night he was so dazzling I would not hesitate to place him among the great musicians in jazz. He played all the pieces I asked of him, including Mr. Freddie Blues, as well as a unique version of Twelfth Street Rag, which I had never really liked. Not only did he play marvellously solo, but proved himself a real strength in the rhythm section. One could feel his enormous power, the solid swing of the firm left hand lifting the band....most of the time the band worked out in a room full of British airmen, G.I.’s, both black and white, and Anglo Hindus....as a leader of the orchestra Teddy left much to be desired. Of course, he never had the same musicians, so the ensembles suffered from a serious handicap....for all that the brass section was good and had power.
The best musician was undoubtedly Cedric West, the guitarist. His tone was warm and he had plenty of ideas. He was also learning to play trombone and beginning to play very agreeably. For their best work, the band played a good proportion of excellent arrangements like Tommy Dorsey’s Boogie Woogie and several numbers of Count Basie... then they had plenty of swing and the soloists played their choruses with enthusiasm....the rest of the time they were content with standard arrangements or improvising softly on the blues, all interluded with Teddy’s solos.”
Armitage’s comment that Teddy never had the same musicians is not altogether true, as the band was basically constant for two years. Those remembered by Reuben Solomon were: George Banks, Bill McDermott, another (trumpets), George Leonardi (trombone), Reuben Solomon (clarinet, alto sax), Roy Butler, Sonny Gill (tenor saxes), another sax, Tony Gonsalves (bass), Cedric West (trombone, guitar), Jimmy Smith (drums). There were, however, many ‘sitters-in’ for, despite the drabness of the band’s daytime repertoire, at night it was one of the hottest bands in Calcutta.
The most famous of the ‘extras’ was Paul Gonsalves, then a truck driver in the Quartermasters’ Corps, who used to borrow an alto sax from the Services’ Club and jam with the band.'
Here are five of those HMV India sides with Teddy Weatherford...
