So easy to remember and so hard to forget. Lyrics that might conjure up memories of Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan or maybe Billie Holiday. Memories perhaps of them in particular or more precisely of them singing the introductory lyrics to this piece. No, in particular, this is a memory of the bass player that worked with all three of these remarkable vocalists when he wasnt working with Duke Ellington or Count Basie or Lionel Hampton, etc: Vernon Alley.
Born in Winnemucca, Nevada in 1915, Vernons parents, along with siblings Eddie and Winifred, matriculated to San Francisco the same year. While spending most of his adolescent years in the heavily Italian neighborhood of North Beach, people began recognizing his growing athletic prowess (Vernon was elected into the San Francisco Prep Athletic Hall of Fame for track and football). One of his classmates at Francisco Jr. High School was Joe DiMaggio. Vernon was actually offered a scholarship to play football at Ohio State University, but had to turn it down because he couldnt afford the train fare. While distinguishing himself on the gridiron at Sacramento City College, he formed a friendship with a budding journalist by the name of Herb Caen (Herb became the voice of San Francisco with his daily column for over 50 years culminating with a Pulitzer Prize at the time of his 80th birthday). Vernon started studying bass while a student at Commerce High School. However, most of his training was informal, comprised of visits to all of the radio stations that had orchestras. Vernon related that every bass player in every radio station in San Francisco at one time or another helped him; Between shows Id visit them and they would help me and teach me. He would also go see all the road bands when they would come to town checking out the styles of the various bass players such as Israel Crosby with the Fletcher Henderson Band.
Vernons first gig was in 1933 at a club on Powell near Bay Street called the Plantation. The band, dressed in white tuxedo coats, produced a sound that was more flash and noise than music. But he was paid and he was only 18 and about to enter college. By the time 1939 rolled around, Vernon had become much in demand at the local clubs in San Francisco. While playing with the five-piece group led by Saunders King (later to become Carlos Santanas father-in-law) at a club on Sutter Street called Jacks, Benny Goodmans bass player heard Vernon and recommended him to Lionel Hampton who was in the process of leaving the Benny Goodman band and forming is own group. Well, Vernon got the gig with Hampton and stayed with the band for two years. The next stop was the Count Basie Band. His first gig with Basie was in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Theater (…it made a big hero out of me in this town).
An event known as World War II interrupted Vernons musical career, but not by much. He was assigned to the Navy Pre-Flight Training School at Saint Marys College in Moraga, California, that had a forty-five piece military band and an eighteen-piece dance orchestra. So, while serving his country, Vernon was also able to keep his chops keen. By the wars end, Vernon was now recognized as a first call bass player for the big acts that would come to San Francisco. Facks, followed by New Facks (George Andros was the same owner for both locations) booked most of the big acts (Billie, Sarah and Carmen). It was there that while playing with Duke Ellington, Vernon was offered to tour with Dukes band but turned the offer down. Norman Granz, the originator of Jazz at the Philharmonic touring show that featured all the great jazz stars, got Vernon the job as Ella Fitzgeralds bass player in her trio that played at many of the major hotels in Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and of course, San Francisco. In what he considered one of his biggest mistakes, Vernon left Ellas trio when he refused to fly to Europe (Vernon did not like to fly). By refusing to tour with the likes of the aforementioned, due to his distrust of someone Flyin Home other than Lionel Hampton, Vernons artist in residence status not only lent credulity to an otherwise lack of jazz tradition city (Gerry Mulligan in an interview with the San Francisco Examiner), but also was a one man outreach program to each and every jazz musician regardless of level of expertise.
Most of the San Francisco jazz clubs from the 1940s through the 1950s were located in both the Fillmore and Tenderloin areas. One such club was the Blackhawk (Turk and Hyde Streets), where Miles Davis recorded his first live recording (Friday and Saturday at the Blackhawk); where Dave Brubeck with Joe Morello (drums), Eugene Wright (bass) and Paul Desmond (alto saxophone) expanded with his particular form of jazz; where a former drummer of Brubecks from San Mateo, Cal Tjader (a high school classmate of Merv Griffin) brought latin jazz to the forefront. Vernons group was the house band on certain nights which also gave the sidemen for the musicians from out of town (as well as those local young aspiring musicians) an opportunity to stretch with local cats. Vernon was also a regular on San Franciscos first live television show Nippers Song Shop, on a CBS affiliate, KPIX, Channel 5, broadcasted from the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
In addition to having his own radio shows at a few stations (KROW to name one) throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he also had his own television show called Down Vernons Alley (the title of a song written for him by Gerry Mulligan). During Vernon Alleys reign (Vernon Alley is probably the best-liked man in San Francisco… Herb Caen), San Francisco was undulating with interesting characters from every walk (however impeded by one more for the road) of life and from all over the world, which fed the feeling that if one chose to stay in on a particular evening one would probably miss a happening never to be recaptured. Vernon and his court of characters were usually the reason for this trend of thought and complete lack of reasoning. Talk about a feeding frenzy!
Well, Ive been thinking about my adopted father lately, but rather than abuse this forum by sharing with you my particular times with Vernon, musically and personally, I thought you might enjoy all of the above, because it really doesnt mean a damn thing if it aint got that swing. And swing he did.
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