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32-659: As a leader, his major recordings included "You've Got Everything" (1933), "Savage Serenade" (1933) and "Got The Jitters" (1934) on Banner , Perfect , Melotone , Romeo , Oriole , "A Thousand Good Nights" (1934) on Vocalion , "Davenport Blues", "Nothing But Notes", "Tap Room Swing", "Jitters", "Riverboat Shuffle" (1934) on Decca , and "Small Fry" (1938) on Columbia . Rollini was born in New York City on June 28, 1903 of French and Swiss extraction to Ferdinand Rollini and Adele (née Augenti) Rollini. The original family name had been changed to "Rollini" by his grandfather, after

64-737: A "waterbug", and was proud of it. He owned a 21-foot Chris Craft speedboat and a Chris Craft cruiser, sleeping four. After an exhaustive career, he made his last recording with his trio in the early 1950s and then turned his attention fully to the hotel business. He later relocated to Florida and opened the Eden Roc Hotel in September 1955. He also ran the Driftwood Inn at Tavernier Key. Rollini loved sport-fishing, and his Driftwood offered deep-sea fishing charters. After Rollini's death, it appears his wife Dixie left Florida. The remains of

96-469: A move to Italy during one of Europe's many wars. (Some sources will date 1904, but his brother Arthur Rollini , as well as Social Security Administration records, cite the earlier year.) Arthur Rollini played tenor saxophone with Benny Goodman from 1934 to 1939 (and later with Will Bradley ). Growing up in Larchmont, New York , Adrian showed musical ability early on and began to take piano lessons at

128-674: A reedist but eventually settled on trumpet, playing with Jan Garber in 1925 and the California Ramblers in 1926-27. Between 1927 and 1929 he played in England, on recordings with Fred Elizalde and also in Bert Firman 's band. Upon his return to the U.S. he worked with Don Voorhees , Paul Whiteman , and Ben Pollack in the early 1930s, and later in the decade with Isham Jones (1935–36), Red McKenzie , Joe Marsala , Frankie Trumbauer (1937), and Bob Zurke (1939-40). In

160-593: The Ben Pollack orchestra, among others. Although some of the artists from the previous incarnation of Banner survived into this second period, particularly in 1929-1931, none of these artists appeared on the first label. Chelsea Quealey Chelsea Ellsworth Quealey (March 12, 1905 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut – May 6, 1950 in Las Vegas, Nevada ) was an American jazz trumpeter. Quealey began as

192-725: The Adrian Rollini Trio (primarily in the late 1930s), and Adrian and his Tap Room Gang, which was based in the Hotel President at 234 West 48th Street in New York City. During the early swing era, starting in 1935, he managed Adrian's Tap Room, which was located inside the hotel, as well as leading the small band of 6-8 players. He also owned Whitby Grill, which was situated on West 45th Street. Both establishments were indicative of his inseparability from his professional and social life. His clientele in each club

224-551: The Hebrew Banner label and the earlier products of Plaza Music or ARC/BRC; nor is there is a relationship to a dime-store label put out by Leeds and Caitlin in the early 1900s, though the label's design is similar. Banner debuted with two concurrent label series in January 1922: a popular 1000 series side by side with a "Standard" 2000 series of semi-classical music, comedy, and some Jewish material. Reaching Banner 1999 in

256-570: The Little Ramblers (starting in 1924) and the Goofus Five (most prominently 1926–27). It was during his work with these groups that he developed his distinctive style of saxophone playing. Rollini's swing and impetus are quite evident; "Clementine (From New Orleans)", "Vo-Do-Do-De-O Blues", and "And Then I Forget" are among some of the best recordings that not only typify the era but showcase the prominence and power that Rollini brought to

288-500: The United States, indicating their popularity as Plaza's flagship label. The audio fidelity of the records was average to slightly below average for the time, but as Banner was a cheap label they were pressed from cheaper materials that did not withstand repeated playing with the heavy phonograph players of the time. Most Banner discs found today exhibit considerable wear and surface noise , but they are still valued by virtue of

320-685: The age of two. Considered a child prodigy, he played a fifteen-minute recital at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at the age of four. Rollini continued with music and, by age 14, he was leading his group composed of neighborhood boys, in which he doubled on piano and xylophone . Rollini left high school in his third year. He cut piano rolls for the Aeolian company on their Mel-O-Dee label and the Republic brand in Philadelphia. When he

352-694: The artist playing the instrument knows more about it than the maker who is only concerned with the mechanics. The shop was a hot spot for autograph hounds who trolled the shop in search of famous band leaders. Rollini also frequented the Georgian Room and the Piccadilly Circus Bar, both located in the Piccadilly Hotel. He also began recording for Master and Muzak. During this time, a gradual shift occurred in Rollini's focus from

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384-428: The bass sax to the vibraphone . This was not so much that Rollini was giving up on the bass saxophone or his abilities, but popular tastes had rendered the instrument unmarketable after the hot jazz era of the 1920s. Rollini recorded on bass sax for the last time in 1938. He went on to play hotels, as well as arranging and writing songs behind the scenes, collaborating with such names as Vaughan Monroe . However, once

416-514: The beginning, Banner concentrated on popular dance hits, though it also recorded comedy, semi-classical music, and a small number of country and blues records. In its first years Banner also leased masters from Paramount Records and Emerson Records . In July 1929 Plaza merged with Cameo-Pathé and the Scranton Button Company to form the ( ARC ). ARC dropped Pathé and Scranton Button's label Emerson but kept active all of

448-559: The big band era got underway he didn't make any major recordings and this period in his life represents the last of his work with the exception of some minor appearance and jam sessions. He can be seen in the 1938 short entitled " Auld Lang Syne ", starring James Cagney , and " Melody Masters : Swing Style" (1939). He also did a brief tour in the late 1940s in which he came to the Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas , among other cities. In his spare time, Rollini considered himself

480-944: The depression of the 30s. However, the early 30s saw a shift in musical ideas—away from the "hot", two-beat feel and towards a more staid, conservative sound, and Rollini adapted. In 1932–33 he was part of a short-lived experiment with the Bert Lown band using two bass saxophones, Spencer Clark in the rhythm section and Rollini himself as the fourth sax in the reed team. In 1933, he formed the Adrian Rollini Orchestra (a studio group assembled for recording), which appeared on Perfect , Vocalion, Melotone , Banner , and Romeo labels. While Rollini did manage to assemble some great talent (for example Bunny Berigan , Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden ), these records were more commercial in comparison to his earlier work. Several examples have solo work and proto- swing elements, but on

512-495: The dime-store labels, it kept Banner until December 1938, when the CBS Broadcasting Network bought ARC-BRC and liquidated all of the dime-store labels. In December 1946, entrepreneur Sam Selsman formed a new Banner Records label, devoted to Jewish music and Yiddish-language comedy routines; although this later Banner Records no longer actively records, its catalogue continues. There is no relationship between

544-432: The hospital, he had developed a resistance to feeding. A glass tube weighted with mercury had been inserted into his stomach and broke, exposing Rollini to the toxic element. In an alternate account, clarinetist Kenny Davern , a friend of Rollini, stated in a video interview that Rollini was murdered in a mob-related hit as a result of his gambling debts. Jazz historian Al Rose , a friend and neighbor of Rollini, said that it

576-469: The job of heading up the talent roster for the opening of the Club New Yorker . It was a short-lived organization, a who's-who of 1920s jazz, including Bix Beiderbecke , Eddie Lang , Joe Venuti , Frank Signorelli and Frankie Trumbauer . Salary demands began to rise, and the club had its shortcomings, which proved a bad combination in the end, and the arrangement only lasted for some 3 weeks. It

608-461: The main series in mid-1927, Banner skipped ahead to 6000 and terminated the Standard series at the end of the year at Banner 2183. At this point, Banner also stopped the 6000 series at Banner 6167 and moved again to a 7000 series starting at Banner 7001. This ended in early 1929 at Banner 7265 and then reverted to the old series, starting at Banner 6200. The series survived the merger into ARC, but

640-580: The old Driftwood Inn were completely destroyed in a hurricane that rocked the Florida Keys in 1960. Rollini died on May 15, 1956 at the age of 52. The true cause of his death is debated. A brief article in the British magazine Melody Maker says that his brother, Arthur Rollini , was "trying to solve the mystery" regarding his death. Adrian was found lying in a blood-splattered car with one of his feet almost severed. Rollini claimed he had fallen, but

672-473: The other labels belonging to the combined company, including Banner. After ARC acquired the rights to Brunswick Records , Banner's product lines began to reflect the general ARC product, and this added more African-American and country music to its catalogue. As part of the ARC-BRC combination, it no longer enjoyed a flagship status accorded to Melotone among the budget labels. Although ARC-BRC dropped some of

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704-510: The police looked into the possibility of foul play. After being sent to the James Archer Smith Hospital of Homestead, Florida , he died 18 days later. His death was reported as being caused by pneumonia and complications to the liver. Coroner Frederick J. Spencer, author of Jazz and Death: Medical Profiles of Jazz Greats , later analyzed Rollini's death and argued Rollini died of mercury poisoning . During his stay in

736-511: The selections. In keeping with their low-price production, it is common for a current hit song on the A-side and a lesser-known song as the B side. Many of these B side songs are eccentric tunes not recorded elsewhere (but, of course, found on the other Plaza/ARC labels). Many of these odd songs have great hot solos, making them quite enjoyable. Also scattered around these B sides are hot tunes by Luis Russell , Duke Ellington , small groups from

768-576: The table. During this time, he managed to lay down hundreds of sessions with names like Annette Hanshaw , Cliff Edwards ( Ukulele Ike ), Joe Venuti , Miff Mole , and Red Nichols to name a few. Some of his best work appears on the sides he cut with Bix Beiderbecke (scattered throughout the 1920s, Rollini's great bass sax solos were on scores of records, and were usually outstanding). He also recorded and worked with Roger Wolfe Kahn , Frank Trumbauer , and Red Nichols . In 1927, not only did he participate in numerous recording sessions, but he also gained

800-484: The whole the records were meant to sell current pop tunes. (Several sides have Rollini on bass sax only to switch to vibraphone during the song.) At this time Rollini also appeared as a vibraphonist with Richard Himber 's radio orchestra, playing a strictly secondary role in the large, string-oriented ensemble. Adrian Rollini was part of several musical groups, including the Adrian Rollini Quintette,

832-422: Was 16, he joined Arthur Hand's California Ramblers . Rollini was equally skilled at piano, drums, xylophone, and bass saxophone, which gained him the respect of Hand, who transferred the band to Rollini when he later retired from the music field. According to his brother Arthur, Adrian mastered the bass saxophone in a matter of weeks. Rollini cut many sides under the California Ramblers and formed two subgroups –

864-496: Was an American record company and label in the 1920s and 1930s. It was created primarily for the S.S. Kresge Company , though it was employed as a budget label in other discount stores. Banner was formed in January 1922 as the flagship label of the Plaza Music Company of New York City. Plaza Music produced several cheap labels targeted at discount houses and hired bandleader Adrian Schubert as musical director. At

896-573: Was ended at the start of 1930 at Banner 6566 and restarted at 0500 until it reached 0872 later in the year. The number series was then started again at 32001 and the price changed from 25 cents to 35 cents in order to bring Banner in line with other dime-store labels being sold 3 for a dollar. This lasted until 1935, when the dime-store labels were all married to a central numbering system. But releases were not necessarily unified; for example, Robert Johnson , who did have some releases on Melotone, did not appear on Banner. Banner discs are found throughout

928-410: Was mostly composed of musicians who were on holiday. Rollini was also featured on the radio, working with artists such as Kate Smith. As if he didn't have enough going for him, he ventured into yet another phase of his musical career and opened a store for the sale and repair of musical instruments. The store, known as White Way Musical Products, was located at 1587 Broadway. Rollini strongly believed that

960-589: Was not long until other talents would be seeking his name. From across the Atlantic, Fred Elizalde , a young London-based band leader was leading a band at the Savoy Hotel , and he was looking for the best American jazzmen to spice up his already hot sound. He found Rollini, as well as Chelsea Quealey , Bobby Davis , Tommy Felline and Jack Russin . Rollini submitted his resignation to the Ramblers (where he

992-653: Was replaced by bass saxist Spencer Clark and later by bassist-tubist Ward Lay), and agreed to join Elizalde, along with fellow Ramblers Quealey, Felline, Russin, and (later) Davis, in 1927, and stayed until September 1928. Once he returned to America he also began to write, working with Robbins Music Corporation—some of his compositions would include "Preparation", "On Edge", "Nonchalance", "Lightly and Politely", "Gliding Ghost", and "Au Revoir". He continued to work, recording with such artists as Bert Lown , Lee Morse , The Dorsey Brothers , Ben Selvin and Jack Teagarden into

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1024-629: Was speculated that he may have been killed for robbing other people's lobster pots. After his death, jazz discographer Brian Rust presented a memorial program on the World of Jazz series hosted by BBC Light Programme on June 8 of that year. In 1998, Adrian Rollini was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame . He was survived by his wife, Dorothy "Dixie" Rollini who later died in 1977. [REDACTED] Media related to Adrian Rollini at Wikimedia Commons Banner Records Banner Records

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