Jump to content

Carl Kress: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Citation bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
5,358,732 edits
Removed parameters. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Jonesey95 | via #UCB_webform 835/2500
m →top: fixing/removing associated acts param using AWB
 
(10 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|American jazz guitarist (1907–1965)}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{about|the guitarist|the film editor|Carl Kress (film editor)}}
| name = Carl Kress
{{Infobox musical artist
⚫
| image = Carl Kress, June 1947 (Gottlieb 13331).jpg
| caption = Carl Kress, c. June 1947
| name = Carl Kress
⚫
| image = Carl Kress, June 1947 (Gottlieb 13331).jpg
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|10|20}}
| caption = Carl Kress, c. June 1947
⚫
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|10|20}}
| birth_place = [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], New Jersey, U.S.
| birth_place = [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], New Jersey, U.S.
⚫
| death_date = {{Death date|1965|6|10}}
| death_place = [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], Nevada
| death_date = {{Death date|1965|6|10}}
| genre = [[Jazz]]
| death_place = [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], Nevada, U.S.
| occupation = Musician
| genre = [[Jazz]]
| instrument = Guitar
| occupation = Musician
| years_active = 1926–1965
| instrument = Guitar
| years_active = 1926–1965
| associated_acts = [[Dick McDonough]], [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]], [[Paul Whiteman]], [[Eddie Lang]]
| past_member_of = The [[Paul Whiteman]] Orchestra
}}
}}


'''Carl Kress''' (October 20, 1907 – June 10, 1965) was an American [[jazz]] guitarist.
'''Carl Kress''' (October 20, 1907 – June 10, 1965)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1406}}</ref> was an American [[jazz]] guitarist.


==Music career==
==Music career==
Kress started on piano before picking up the banjo. Beginning in 1926, he played guitar during his brief time as a member of [[Paul Whiteman]]'s orchestra. For most of his career, he was a [[studio musician]] and sideman buried in large orchestras, and his name was little known. His work in the 1920s and 1930s included sessions with [[The Boswell Sisters]], [[The Dorsey Brothers]], [[Bix Beiderbecke]], [[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Miff Mole]], [[Red Nichols]], [[Adrian Rollini]], and [[Frankie Trumbauer]].<ref name="Great">{{cite book|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=The Great Jazz Guitarists |date=2013 | publisher=Backbeat| location=San Francisco | isbn=978-1-61713-023-6|pages=113–114}}</ref>
Kress started on piano before picking up the banjo. Beginning in 1926, he played guitar during his brief period in [[Paul Whiteman]]'s orchestra. For most of his career, he was a [[studio musician]] and sideman buried in large orchestras, and his name was little known. His work in the 1920s and 1930s included sessions with [[The Boswell Sisters]], [[The Dorsey Brothers]], [[Bix Beiderbecke]], [[Hoagy Carmichael]], [[Miff Mole]], [[Red Nichols]], [[Adrian Rollini]], and [[Frankie Trumbauer]].<ref name="Great">{{cite book|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=The Great Jazz Guitarists |date=2013 | publisher=Backbeat| location=San Francisco | isbn=978-1-61713-023-6|pages=113–114}}</ref>


Outside of orchestras, Kress played in several guitar duets with [[Eddie Lang]] (1932), [[Dick McDonough]] (1934, 1937), [[Tony Mottola]] (1941), and [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]] (1961–1965). In 1938 and 1939 he made some solo recordings, the songs "Peg Leg Shuffle", "Helena", "Love Song", "Sutton Mutton", and "Afterthoughts". During the 1940s, he played [[Dixieland]] jazz with [[Bobby Hackett]], [[Pee Wee Russell]], and [[Muggsy Spanier]].<ref name="Great" />
Outside of orchestras, Kress played in several guitar duets with [[Eddie Lang]] (1932), [[Dick McDonough]] (1934, 1937), [[Tony Mottola]] (1941), and [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]] (1961–1965). In 1938 and 1939, he made some solo recordings, the songs "Peg Leg Shuffle", "Helena", "Love Song", "Sutton Mutton", and "Afterthoughts". During the 1940s, he played [[Dixieland]] jazz with [[Bobby Hackett]], [[Pee Wee Russell]], and [[Muggsy Spanier]].<ref name="Great" />


Kress was married to [[Helen Carroll]], a native of [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]], Indiana, who moved to New York City to become a singer. She was a member of the Satisifiers and sang with [[Perry Como]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Jo Stafford]]. Carl and Helen Kress lived in [[Manhasset, New York|Manhasset]], New York.<ref name="helen">{{cite web|title=Helen Kress|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20110306/PUBLICRECORDS04/103060331|website=Seacoast Online|access-date=9 August 2017|language=en|date=6 March 2011}}</ref> Carl Kress died of a heart attack in 1965 while he was on tour with his partner [[George Barnes (musician)]] in Reno, Nevada.<ref name="Great" />
Kress was married to [[Helen Carroll]], a native of [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]], Indiana, who moved to New York City to become a singer. She was a member of the Satisfiers and sang with [[Perry Como]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Jo Stafford]]. Carl and Helen Kress lived in [[Manhasset, New York|Manhasset]], New York.<ref name="helen">{{cite web|title=Helen Kress|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20110306/PUBLICRECORDS04/103060331|website=Seacoast Online|access-date=9 August 2017|language=en|date=6 March 2011}}</ref> Carl Kress died of a heart attack in 1965 while he was on tour with [[George Barnes (musician)]] in Reno, Nevada.<ref name="Great" />


==Technique==
==Technique==
Line 34: Line 35:
although he [[reentrant tuning|down-tuned]] the A-string an [[octave]].<ref name="Lieberson1996Duet" />
although he [[reentrant tuning|down-tuned]] the A-string an [[octave]].<ref name="Lieberson1996Duet" />


Before switching to fifths tuning, Kress used other tunings on the banjo and [[tenor guitar]].<ref name="Lieberson1996Chordal" /> His fifths-tuning gave Kress's playing "fuller chords and basslines", according to {{harvtxt|Lieberson|1996|p=42}}. When Kress's duets with [[Dick McDonough]] were published, they were [[transposition (music)|transposed]] from his fifths tuning to [[guitar tuning|standard tuning]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Lieberson|1996|p=46}}</ref>
Before switching to fifths tuning, Kress used other tunings on the banjo and [[tenor guitar]].<ref name="Lieberson1996Chordal" /> His fifths-tuning gave Kress's playing "fuller chords and basslines", according to Richard Lieberson.{{harvtxt|Lieberson|1996|p=42}} When Kress's duets with [[Dick McDonough]] were published, they were [[transposition (music)|transposed]] from his fifths tuning to [[guitar tuning|standard tuning]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Lieberson|1996|p=46}}</ref>


All-fifths tuning is used by other instruments besides tenor banjos. For example, it is used by [[mandolin]]s, [[violin]]s, [[mandola]]s, [[viola]]s, [[mandocello]]s, and [[cello]]s.<ref name="Regular">{{cite book |chapter = Regular Tunings |title=Alternate Tuning Guide |first=Bill |last=Sethares |authorlink=William Sethares |year=2001 |pages=52–67 |url=http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/regulartunings.pdf |format=.pdf|publisher=University of Wisconsin Department of Electrical Engineering|location=Madison, Wisconsin|access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>
All-fifths tuning is used by other instruments besides tenor banjos. For example, it is used by [[mandolin]]s, [[violin]]s, [[mandola]]s, [[viola]]s, [[mandocello]]s, and [[cello]]s.<ref name="Regular">{{cite book |chapter = Regular Tunings |title=Alternate Tuning Guide |first=Bill |last=Sethares |authorlink=William Sethares |year=2001 |pages=52–67 |url=http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/regulartunings.pdf |format=.pdf|publisher=University of Wisconsin Department of Electrical Engineering|location=Madison, Wisconsin|access-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>
Line 40: Line 41:
==Discography==
==Discography==
===As leader===
===As leader===
* ''Original Guitar Solos'' ([[Decca Records|Decca]], 1940)
* ''Something Tender'' with [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]] ([[United Artists Records|United Artists]], 1962)
* ''Something Tender'' with [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]] ([[United Artists Records|United Artists]], 1962)
* ''Guitar Galaxies'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''Guitar Galaxies'' (Mercury, 1962)
⚫
* ''Town Hall Concert'' with George Barnes (United Artists, 1963)
* ''Guitars, Anyone? Why Not Start at the Top?'' with George Barnes (Carney, 1963)
* ''Guitars, Anyone? Why Not Start at the Top?'' with George Barnes (Carney, 1963)
⚫
* ''Town Hall Concert'' with George Barnes (United Artists, 1963)
* ''The Guitar Genius of Dick McDonough & Carl Kress in the Thirties'' (Jazz Archives, 1976)
* ''The Guitar Genius of Dick McDonough & Carl Kress in the Thirties'' (Jazz Archives, 1976)
* ''Two Guitars Volume 1'' with George Barnes ([[Stash Records|Stash]], 1983)
* ''Two Guitars Volume 1'' with George Barnes ([[Stash Records|Stash]], 1983)
Line 62: Line 64:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

Latest revision as of 04:05, 7 June 2024

This article is about the guitarist. For the film editor, see Carl Kress (film editor).
Carl Kress
Carl Kress, c. June 1947
Carl Kress, c. June 1947
Background information
Born(1907-10-20)October 20, 1907
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died(1965-06-10)June 10, 1965
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1926–1965
Formerly ofThe Paul Whiteman Orchestra

Carl Kress (October 20, 1907 – June 10, 1965)[1] was an American jazz guitarist.

Music career

[edit]

Kress started on piano before picking up the banjo. Beginning in 1926, he played guitar during his brief period in Paul Whiteman's orchestra. For most of his career, he was a studio musician and sideman buried in large orchestras, and his name was little known. His work in the 1920s and 1930s included sessions with The Boswell Sisters, The Dorsey Brothers, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Miff Mole, Red Nichols, Adrian Rollini, and Frankie Trumbauer.[2]

Outside of orchestras, Kress played in several guitar duets with Eddie Lang (1932), Dick McDonough (1934, 1937), Tony Mottola (1941), and George Barnes (1961–1965). In 1938 and 1939, he made some solo recordings, the songs "Peg Leg Shuffle", "Helena", "Love Song", "Sutton Mutton", and "Afterthoughts". During the 1940s, he played Dixieland jazz with Bobby Hackett, Pee Wee Russell, and Muggsy Spanier.[2]

Kress was married to Helen Carroll, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, who moved to New York City to become a singer. She was a member of the Satisfiers and sang with Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Jo Stafford. Carl and Helen Kress lived in Manhasset, New York.[3] Carl Kress died of a heart attack in 1965 while he was on tour with George Barnes (musician) in Reno, Nevada.[2]

Technique

[edit]

Like many early jazz guitarists, Kress played banjo before switching to guitar. The tenor banjo tunes its consecutive strings in intervals of fifths,

C-G-D-A,

and Kress adapted this all-fifths tuning for his guitar

B♭-F-C-G-D-A,[4][5][6]

although he down-tuned the A-string an octave.[5]

Before switching to fifths tuning, Kress used other tunings on the banjo and tenor guitar.[6] His fifths-tuning gave Kress's playing "fuller chords and basslines", according to Richard Lieberson.Lieberson (1996, p. 42) When Kress's duets with Dick McDonough were published, they were transposed from his fifths tuning to standard tuning.[7]

All-fifths tuning is used by other instruments besides tenor banjos. For example, it is used by mandolins, violins, mandolas, violas, mandocellos, and cellos.[8]

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]
  • Original Guitar Solos (Decca, 1940)
  • Something Tender with George Barnes (United Artists, 1962)
  • Guitar Galaxies (Mercury, 1962)
  • Guitars, Anyone? Why Not Start at the Top? with George Barnes (Carney, 1963)
  • Town Hall Concert with George Barnes (United Artists, 1963)
  • The Guitar Genius of Dick McDonough & Carl Kress in the Thirties (Jazz Archives, 1976)
  • Two Guitars Volume 1 with George Barnes (Stash, 1983)
  • Two Guitars and a Horn Volume II with George Barnes, Bud Freeman (Stash, 1983)
  • Pioneers of the Jazz Guitar (Yazoo, 1992)

As sideman

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1406. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ a b c Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
  3. ^ "Helen Kress". Seacoast Online. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. ^ Lucas & Obrecht (1996, p. 12): Lucas, Nick; Obrecht, Jas (1996). "Nick Lucas". In Sallis, James (ed.). The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 12–19. ISBN 978-0-8032-4250-0.
  5. ^ a b Lieberson (1996, p. 47): Lieberson, Richard (1996). "The jazz guitar duet: A fifty year history". In Sallis, James (ed.). The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 45–53. ISBN 978-0-8032-4250-0.
  6. ^ a b Lieberson (1996a, p. 92): Lieberson, Richard (1996a). "Swing Guitar: The Acoustic Chordal Style". In Sallis, James (ed.). The Guitar in Jazz: An Anthology. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 89–112. ISBN 978-0-8032-4250-0.
  7. ^ Lieberson (1996, p. 46)
  8. ^ Sethares, Bill (2001). "Regular Tunings". Alternate Tuning Guide (.pdf). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Department of Electrical Engineering. pp. 52–67. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Carl_Kress&oldid=1227666274"