by Per Oldaeus
Blanche Thomas came on to sing, opening with Dartktown Strutters Ball. Ms. Thomas, for some reason, hasn't achieved the acclaim of a few other local singers, which is a pity - she is exceptional. With her deep, resonant and throaty voice and great stage presence, she rightfully made a big hit with the audience. You Gotta See Mama Every Night was another crowd pleaser. It also featured pianist Jeanette Kimball, who has chops as strong as tempered steel. Just a Closer Walk was masterful; Blanche Thomas reaching the gospel roots of the blues. With [Jack] Willis providing trumpet fills which fit surprisingly well and were executed with a gorgeous tone, it left the audience clamoring for more, and Ms. Thomas roared into Bill Bailey, the band blowing soft riffs behind her... The write-up above by Paul Lentz was published in the Down Beat magazine; it was probably Blanche Thomas' greatest ever in the major music press. It was written after her appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 1972. She sang in front of Papa French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band with Jack Willis, Dave Bartholomew trumpets, Cornbread Thomas clarinet, Wendell Eugene trombone, Placide Adams bass, and probably Louis Barbarin drums. They played on a Mississippi River cruise aboard the S.S. President and shared the band duties with the World's Greatest Jazz Band.
Around five years later, she was fighting a gradually encroaching cancer and that's what killed her on April 21, 1977. When death arrived, she was dressed: "All in pink from head to her toes - she even had on her little pink Communion cap", said her daughter Betty Newton. Newton didn't allow a traditional jazz funeral because "my mama never discussed it at all." And the officiating minister emphatically rejected the consideration of one involving "his church". However, after the dismissal services Harold Dejan's Olympia Brass Band played a couple of gospel items softly, outside of the church. Just prior to Miss Thomas' death, plans were announced for a special musical tribute to be held May 15 in New Orleans. The benefit was to feature many New Orleans jazzmen, with the proceeds slated to pay for Miss Thomas' substantial medical expenses. It is not known if the benefit occurred.
Blanche Thomas (BT) was born October 15, 1922 in Orleans Parish in New Orleans and she grew up singing. Her father, Sam Thomas, was a musician. According to BT, in "the early days", he played bass and trumpet with Kid Howard and Jim Robinson. Although I did a search in an attempt to find the name Sam Thomas in the common literature concerning New Orleans Jazz, I have failed to find the name. Her mother was: Malvina Stripling.
On 235 South Rampart Street in New Orleans in the early thirties was the Tick Tock Roof Garden (or the Tick Tock), later to feature Lizzie Miles, Ella Fitzgerald and trumpeter Don Albert among its headliners. BT made her first public appearance at the Tick Tock, in the Kiddies Revue when she was 14 years old. The depression was an important factor in people's lives as BT grew up. While still in school B.T was a part-time waitress at the Pelican, listening to the music every night and waiting for her chance. The Pelican was just down the street from the Tick Tock. Her first big audience was when she sang at a USO engagement in a concentration camp in Texas, in front of 500 Japanese inmates. In the middle of the 40s she also toured with Dodison's World Circus working tent shows in the south. As the war went on and on BT came back to New Orleans and settled down, working the night clubs with groups including Alvin Alcorn, Louis Cottrell, Joe Robichaux, Sidney Desvinge, Dave Bartholomew etc.
While in the UK in February 1959, Robichaux mentioned BT when interviewed by Brian Harvey for the JAZZ NEWS magazine. It seems as they worked as a duo during the late 1940s. When BT finally left school she sang at the Club Bali at 426 Bourbon St. with the guitar player Adam Lambert's Six Brown Cats. The band probably included: Thomas Jefferson trumpet; Adam's brother: Phamous Lambert piano; Otis Ducker (or Stewart Davis) bass and drummer Stanley Williams. While on tour in 1944 Miles Davis replaced Jefferson, Davis was just 18 years old then and in his autobiography, he described the band as a "Modern swing style" band. But I don't think that BT was still in the band when Davis joined. Club Bali burned to the ground during her engagement there and all the musicians lost all their instruments.
On the third of July 1954, BT made her debut as a recording artist, for the IMPERIAL label, having Dave Bartholomew's (R&B) band to back her. BT's recording of "You Ain't So Such A Much" was unusual, because there were no brass or saxophones involved, only BT plus the guitarist Ernest McLean and a rhythm section. McLean did an excellent solo and the item became a regional hit as well. McLean is the son of the late Richard McLean who used to play the bass in Paul Barbarin's band in the early 50s. The song was a cash-in on Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton's Billboard hit: [You Ain't Nothing But A] "Hound Dog". Being such a big hit it's no surprise there were many cash-ins, including this one. The other song on the 78 rpm was the Ed Frank song : "Not The Way That I Love You". Dave Bartholomew has confirmed that it's Frank on the piano chair as well. BT's vocal resembled female blues-shouters such as Thornton (1926 - 1984) and Big Maybelle Smith (1924 - 1972) etc. At the time, Thomas was the vocalist in Bartholomew's band at the Dew Drop Inn at 2840 La Salle Street. The uptown Dew Drop Inn was more than just an all black nightclub, it was also a Mecca for the younger musicians in the Crescent City during the 1940s, 50s up to the early 60s. It was venue to which Thornton also made many visits, so it's quite possible that they actually met. The Restaurant was known all along the circuit the black musicians traveled. Tenor sax player Robert "Catman" Caffrey, whose sidlines included MC'ing at the Dew Drop, recalls the atmosphere of the place:
There were two major clubs in New Orleans [during the early 1950s], and they were the Dew Drop and the Tijuana. The Dew Drop was the up-marked place - it had a night-club atmosphere. People would dress. In fact there was a time when Frank [Painia, the proprietor] didn't allow you to enter unless you were properly dressed. This was such a different era, in that era people dressed all the time, they were not wild, but they were a groovy crowd and they understood what was going on. Frank got the people automatically because they knew no matter who the stars were, they would be at the Dew Drop... The shows were terrific - it was all day and an' all night thing, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, after that they would rest, but that weekend was terrifying, it was around the clock, it was grind, there was no resting. You started at 12 midnight, and you were supposed to get off at 4.30 really, but that never happened because the average musician got off from Bourbon Street and got there at two or three. The night's entertainment always consisted of a show. The show would start off with an MC, and he would be capable of doing jokes or singing, guys like Harold Batey or Tec Stephen. Then a shake dancer would be second, or else you'd have a tap dancer like Streamline Harris. After that the feature would come on, and there was always a fight who was gonna close the show. Maybe Joe Tex, Joe Turner, the big acts would come on at the end, but we would stay after the show was over, then the guys would come on and jam until 10 o'clock in the morning. The Dew Drop had no clocks inside, it was always dark at the front, so you don't really realize that it was daylight outside.
A 1947 advertisement, courtesy Hogan Jazz Archive. The white dressed woman might be Blanche Thomas.
The Dew Drop Inn at 2836/2840 La Salle St., and as you can see, the building was in a pretty sad state in September 2008, when I took the photo (copyright). The place is now being refurbished and it will soon reopen.
During the 1950s, BT also performed at trumpet player Leon Prima's 500 Club, at Bourbon & St. Louis Streets. After her Bartholomew engagement at the Dew Drop Inn, she moved to the Mardi Gras Lounge at 333 Bourbon St. It was the white clarinet virtuoso Sid Davila who was the owner and he used to sit in with the bands as well. BT said that "this was THE place to work". Another great New Orleans female singer who performed there was Lizzie Miles. Freddie Kohlman heard BT at the Mardi Gras Lounge and Freddie subsequently became the drummer at "Jazz At, Ltd." in Chicago Ill. Kohlman recommended BT to the owners: Ruth and Bill Reinhard. BT sang in the Windy City for two years and she also worked at the Show Boat and the Pick Collier Club in that City. She worked with tenor and clarinet player Franz Jackson's Band at his 'Red Arrow Club', in Chicago in 1962 as well. And she returned to the Windy City in 1964 for an engagement with piano player Art Hodes at the 'Showboat Sari-S'. In 1958, BT appeared with Elvis Presley as an (unaccredited) woman in the film “King Creole”, and she is also said to have made a 1961 performance with Presley on Dave Garroway's TODAY show, NBC-TV. Incidentally, a short sequence of the King Creole film was shot in the backyard of the Preservation Hall. It's the part where Presley walks down an outdoor stair to the backyard. In his excellent book about Fats Domino, Rick Coleman reported that:
In 1958, trumpet player Wallace Davenport recorded with BT in New Orleans. The result was a 45" on Davenport's small "Ponchartrain" label. The band consisted of Davenport, Nat Perilliat tenor, Ed Frank organ (he was also responsible for the beautiful arrangement), Richard Payne bass and Ed Blackwell drums. Thomas sang the lovely ballad: "This Love Of Mine", a song from 1941 with words by Frank Sinatra. Drummer Blackwell, was soon to gain fame in alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman's brand of avant-garde Jazz.
It was the great drummer Paul Barbarin (1899 - 1969) who introduced BT in the traditional Jazz world. The occasion was the New Orleans Jazz Club's eleventh concert, at the Municipal Auditorium in October 26, 1959. Barbarin had added BT to his "All Stars" and it was the Barbarin Band that opened the show. The concert was a part of the "International Week" and the other acts were Chris Barber's band with Ottilie Patterson (first US tour) and the local Pete Fountain band. The concert was recorded, but so far BT's contribution remains unissued. The New Orleans Jazz Club member Helen Arlt stated that: "I'll never forget her. Blanche came on stage in her shiny lime green, tight fitting dress. Paul had boasted of Blanche as "crowd charmer". How right he was. Before she was half way through her opening number, there was fluttering through the audience, signifying its complete approval of the robust gal on the stage."
In the early 60's Thomas' made a couple of recordings with the Barbarin band for the "South-land" label, and she was with the band when they crossed the Pacific Ocean 1967 to entertain the US. troupes in South Vietnam and Cambodja. The notorious General Westmoreland, during this USO tour, presented BT and the Barbarin band, and a Green Beret was given to her as a souvenir.
Of BT's recordings with Barbarin I have a certain fondness for her 1961 rendition of: "Fine And Mellow" ("New Orleans Creole Jazz Band", GHB 143), a 12-bar blues supported by the ingenious piano playing of Lester Santiago. A 12-bar blues composed by Billie Holiday, but it seems as the perennial Alberta Hunter made the first recording of it in 1939.
Around 1965, Al Clarke's NOBILITY label ("AM I BLUE", BT with the Papa French Band, "NOBILITY" LP 705) did a session that was one of BT's best efforts. Although the repertoire may have been hackneyed, new life was put into the tunes, with the very effective arrangements by the wonderful trombonist Waldren Frog Joseph (1918 -'04). The band was led by Albert "Papa" French, and the personnel was: Alvin Alcorn, Joseph "Cornbread" Thomas, Jeanette Kimball, Frank Fields, and Louis Barbarin. The session was cut by the legendary Cosimo Matassa, at his 525 Governor Nichols Street studio.
In the fall of 1968, trombonist Santo Pecora organized an all-star group for the annual Dixieland at Disneyland concert, Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California. The band included BT, plus Thomas Jefferson, Harry Shields (cl), Pete Monteleone (p), Emanuel Sayles (bjo), Milton Stevens (b) and Freddie Kohlman (dr). From around 1970, there's a mysterious BT live version of Bill Bailey, produced and released by the "Louisiana Tourist Development Commission" on their 'BOURBON STREET' label. The liner notes states that the track is from: "Nobility N-703" (Louis Cottrell's band Nov. '64) but that's clearly not the case. The band behind BT on Bill Bailey is Louis Cottrell's and it sounds like: Teddy Riley trumpet, Frog Joseph trombone, probably Walter Lewis piano, an unknown bass player and drummer Freddie Kohlman. The track is unlisted in the main trad jazz discographies. It sounds as if it's a Dixieland Hall recording, possibly from an unknown Nobility session. In 1970, BT also sang with the Al Hirt Band, doing club dates in St. Louis.
During the 60's and 70s BT was a constant attraction at the Dixieland Hall and later at the Heritage Hall and some other venues in New Orleans. BT was featured when Louis Cottrell's band did a concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York on February 12, 1974. The show was recorded for the small VIKO label. From the early 1970s, there's an interesting 45" on the "Capricorn" label with: "Bald Headed Beulah" / "Why Don't You All Go To New Orleans", with a BT vocal on Bald Headed Beulah. Both items were penned by one Marge Baird, and behind BT was Papa French's band with: Jack Willis, Cornbread Thomas, Homer Eugene, Jeanette Kimball, Frank Fields and Louis Barbarin. "Bald Headed..." is a swinging shuffle tune, with a certain R&B touch.
In the summer of 1975 BT made her initial visit to Europe and the 'Grand Parade du Jazz' in Nice, France. BT was backed by the fine band of Louis Cottrell, with Teddy Riley, Waldren Frog Joseph, Walter Lewis, Placide Adams and once again Freddie Kohlman. In addition, the former Ellington and Armstrong clarinet man Barney Bigard, as an extra attraction. It's a joy to hear how drummer Kohlman (1918 - 1990) propelled that band on a private recording of the concert, released on a "RARITIES" LP, containing seven items, including two vocals by BT: “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Bill Bailey”. Thomas in her second chorus sang the line: "A Hard Man Is Good To Find" (sic)! There are at least two BT recordings of that song, but on the studio recording with the Last Straws from early 70s, she didn't sing the line: "A Hard Man..."! There are 26 unissued tracks in the can, from the Nice July '75 concert, including two with vocals by BT. "A Good Man Is ..." was written in 1918, by the black composer Eddie Green, and it became a vaudeville chestnut during the 20s. In 1927, it was immortalized by a Bessie Smith recording. The song was also cut by Lizzie Miles in 1952 , and possibly it was Miles who inspired BT to pick it up. In 1959, Big Maybelle's (Mabel Smith 1924 -'72) recorded a R&B interpretation of the item. Obviously, BT found a "good man" whom she married, but I only know his surname as Collins.
BT returned to the "Old World" in the fall of '75, and yours truly caught her at a November concert in Stockholm. She was then a part of Dick Hyman's New York Repertory Company's multimedia show: "The Musical Life Of Louis Armstrong". BT sang Cake Walking Babies, Saint Louis Blues and Nobody Wants You When Your Down And Out as a substitute for Carrie Smith. New Orleans trumpet player Joe Newman did the customary "call and response" to her vocals on Saint Louis Blues and Nobody Want's You... In Sweden the New York Repertory Company did at least two performances and they performed in many European countries as well. Her vocals at the show in Stockholm, weren't well received. One of the reviewers in the Orkester Journalen compared her to Bessie Smith, and that I find ridiculous. (What's the point of comparing Louis Armstrong to, say: Percy Humphrey?) Just as Bessie Smith had an incredible sense of time, BT was also blessed with ditto. Her vocals were more positively judged by reviewer Bo Sherman of the same magazine. In his review of the Jazz Festival in Umea and The New York ... appearance on October 25, 1975 he stated: "Although she is not among the top class vocalists," he appreciated her singing and "vaudeville manners," calling her a "stage personality" etc.
Besides the November 1975 Stockholm concert, I also heard her at the Dixieland Hall at 522 Bourbon Street in the fall of 1966 and '69. Of her recorded legacy (around 31 tracks) very little is reissued on CD. In fact in my collection I only have one tune, that is: "You Aint So Such A Much". The track is included in' Spirit of New Orleans - THE GENIUS OF DAVE BARTHOLOMEW (EMI): A double CD with IMPERIAL recordings.
Below is trumpet player Clive Wilson's view on Thomas: Blanche was a good all round singer, very much like Della Reese, though you didn't hear her sing many standards and ballads in Dixieland Hall. You had to hear her sing at a private job to know what she could do. She was a great performer on stage, very professional in the old tradition of Black clubs and shows. She reminds me a lot of Della Reese, or vice versa, both in her singing and stage presentation.
Blanche Thomas is buried in New Orleans' Holt Cemetery, besides her daughter. She also left a son, one brother, four sisters plus a couple of grandchildren.
When doing a search on the Internet I just got a handful of hits such as the one with her NOBILITY LP for sale, but no information whatsoever on her career etc.
Per Oldæus 2002. (revised: March, 2010)
Addenda 2008: Thomas' "AM I BLUE", Nobility (LP 705) album was reissued on CD in 2004.
SOURCES, AND GREATFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Liner notes: BLANCHE THOMAS meets the Last Straws in New Orleans "Shalom" records SH-16; "AM I BLUE", BT with the Papa French Band, "NOBILITY" LP 705; BRUYNINCKX Traditional Discography; the DOWN BEAT mag. Nov. 14, 1968; BACKBEAT - EARL PALMER'S STORY with Tony Sherman, Smithsonian; UP FROM THE CRADLE OF JAZZ by Berry, Foose and Jones; NEW ORLEANS JAZZ FAMILY ALBUM by Rose & Souchon; ORKESTER JOURNALEN No. 12, December 1975; The SECOND LINE, summer and fall 1977; Sheldon Harris " BLUES WHO'S WHO" Da Capo Press N.Y. 1979; MILES THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Miles Davis with Qunncy Troupe, Picador; Blue Monday - Fats Domino and the lost Dawn of Rock'n Roll, by Rick Coleman (2006).
Nils-Gunnar Anderby, Dave Bartholomew, John Broven, Lars Edegran, Fred Eatherton, Peter Haby, Håkan Håkansson, Ewing Nunn, Clive Wilson, and Brian Wood.
