Jess Stacy
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Jess Stacy | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jesse Alexander Stacy[1] |
Born | Bird's Point, Missouri, U.S. | August 11, 1904
Origin | Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | January 1, 1995 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 90)
Genres | Swing, jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Piano |
Spouse(s) |
Jess Alexandria Stacy (born Jesse Alexander Stacy;[1] August 11, 1904[2] – January 1, 1995)[3] was an American jazz pianist who gained prominence during the swing era. He may be best remembered for his years with the Benny Goodman band during the late 1930s, particularly his performance at Goodman's 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall.
Early life
Jess Stacy was born in Bird's Point, Missouri,[2] a small town across the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to Frederick Lee Stacy, a railroad engineer, and Sara (Alexander) Stacy, a seamstress.[1] His first piano teacher was Mabel Irene Bailey, who played piano for silent movies. In 1918, Stacy moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He received his only formal music training with Clyde Brandt, a professor of piano and violin at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Southeast Missouri State University)[4] while sweeping at Clark's Music Store.[5]
By 1920, Stacy was playing piano in Peg Meyer's jazz ensemble at Cape Girardeau High School, the Bluebird Confectionary, and the Sweet Shop. Schoolmates called them the Agony Four.[6] By 1921, the band was known as Peg Meyer's Melody Kings and started touring the Mississippi River on the Majestic and other riverboats.[7]
Career
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In the early 1920s, Stacy moved to
In 1935,
In 1950, Stacy moved to Los Angeles.[9] His career declined to club work.[2] While playing at the piano bar in Leon's Steak House, he walked out after a drunken woman spilled beer in his lap. He announced he was quitting the music business and retired from public performances.[5] He worked as a salesman, warehouseman, postman, and for Max Factor cosmetics before being rediscovered. He played for Nelson Riddle on the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby (1974). The same year as the film's release, he was invited to play at the Newport Jazz Festival,[2] and was asked to record twice for Chiaroscuro Records, in 1974 and 1977 (Stacy Still Swings).
His final performance was broadcast on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on December 1, 1981.[10] After his brief and revival in the 1970s, he again retired from music and lived with his third wife, Patricia Peck Stacy.[5] In addition to the Goodman and Crosby orchestras, Stacy played with Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Condon, Bud Freeman, George Gershwin, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, and Horace Heidt.
Personal life
Stacy had a tumultuous love life as a young man. His first wife was Helen Robinson; both were young when they married in 1924. Stacy worked at night in clubs and slept during the day while Robinson worked. She needed more security than Stacy was willing to provide, and Stacy was unwilling to work at a radio station for steady employment. This did not change when the couple had a son, Frederick Jess. They divorced and Robinson married a friend of Stacy, saxophonist Phil Wing.[11]
His second wife was jazz singer Lee Wiley. The couple was described by their friend Deane Kincaide as "compatible as two cats, tails tied together, hanging over a clothesline."[12] They divorced in 1948, after several years of marriage.[12] His third wife was Patricia Peck. They dated for a decade before getting married on September 8, 1950. They lived in Los Angeles and were married for forty-five years. Stacy died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on January 1, 1995, aged 90.[3]
Awards and honors
Stacy was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996.[12]
Discography
As leader
- Piano Moods (Columbia, 1950)
- Jess Stacy (Brunswick, 1956)
- Tribute to Benny Goodman (Atlantic, 1956)
- Stacy Still Swings (Chiaroscuro, 1974)
- Stacy's Still Swinging (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
- Blue Notion (Jazzology, 1983)
- Stacy and Sutton (Affinity, 1986)[13][14]
As sideman
- Benny Goodman, The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings, (RCA Victor, 1997)
References
- ^ a b c Biography, encyclopedia.com. Accessed July 8, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ a b Peter Watrous (January 4, 1995). "Jess Stacy, 90, Big-Band Pianist For Goodman and Others, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Allen, Steve. "The Return of Jess Stacy", unknown newspaper, undated. Jess Stacy Collection, Box 1036, Folder 7, Item B, Special Collections and Archives, Kent Library, Southeast Missouri State University. but see 'Discussion' Archived 2009-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-23463-5.
- ISBN 9780226437330.
- ^ Special Collections and Archives, Southeast Missouri State University, Jess Stacy Collection Finding Aid, Descriptive Overview.
- ^ David Rickert (January 31, 2005). "Benny Goodman: "Sing, Sing, Sing"". Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "He's Come a Long Way from St. Louis", The San Francisco Chronicle, November 20, 1950. Jess Stacy Collection, Box 1036, Folder 7, Item G, Special Collections and Archives, Kent Library, Southeast Missouri State University Library.semo.edu Archived 2009-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Jazz Rambler": San Diego November/December 2004 No 6
- ISBN 978-87-88043-08-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9638890-4-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87930-600-7.
- ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
Further reading
- Meyer, Raymond F. "Peg". Backwoods Jazz in the Twenties. Edited with an introduction by Frank Nickell. Center for Regional History and Cultural Heritage, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 1989. ISBN 9780934426190
External links
- Jess Stacy Interview NAMM Oral History Library (1987)
- Jess Stacy recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.