This is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all West Coast brass bassists. From the wharrruumph! of Dick Lammi with the Yerba Buena Jazz Band to the light, dancing bass lines of Bob Short with Turk Murphy's group, the tuba is one of the most instantly-identifiable sounds in San Francisco jazz. It has been an integral part of the San Francisco style since the earliest recordings of the revival-Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band, in December of 1941. Those first sides established a swaggering two-beat rhythm as a hallmark of San Francisco jazz. That rhythmic concept has also been a lightning rod to detractors of the YBJB (and subsequent groups playing the same style). In the '40s and '50s, critics frequently accused Watters and his associates of going back to the dark ages of jazz by imitating King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. However, the sound of the YBJB rhythm section was actually closer to a later Oliver band, the Dixie Syncopators, or perhaps Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. Though the heavy two-beat was anathema to hep-cat critics, it was an instant hit with dancers at the Dawn Club. Tuba-driven rhythm sections continue to attract dancers in great numbers at festivals and concerts even today. The purpose of this article is to give credit to the pioneers of the West Coast tuba style and their disciples who keep the music alive in the '90s.
Published in the The Frisco Cricket, which is available when you Join the Foundation (only $25!).