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Dotty SAULTERS: the petite singer larger than life (part 1)

She was the canary in Cab Calloway’s orchestra between 1943 and 1947 and her rather garish voice is heard on many live recordings… Nevertheless, she is actually a complete stranger in the eyes (especially the ears) of jazz connoisseurs.  Do not rely on reference books either: they do not even know she exists.  Yet Dotty SAULTERS was a helluva little woman, a singer and exceptional entertainer, not to mention a great tap dancer.  She was married to Honi Coles, the great tap dancer, and her life was always pulsed by the rhythm.  And what rhythm!  What a woman!  The Hi De Ho Blog reveals everything we know about Dotty Saulters. Here's the first of 3 part biography about Dotty: the first one is her life BEFORE working with Cab Calloway...   Read the full story →

Cab Calloway’s engagements at the Apollo Theater in Harlem (part 1)

  The Apollo Theater in Harlem is a milestone in the showbusiness’ landscape. Not only for jazz but also for soul, pop, rock, rap, comedy, dance and amateur performances. This venue who has revealed to the world artists like Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown thank to its famous Wednesday Amateurs’ Night, has welcomed thousands of performers, vaudeville acts, Black or white. And among them, Cab Calloway. Thanks to the considerable surviving archives, the many photos, press ads and testimonies (by other performers, reviewers, members of the audience), The Hi De Ho Blog proudly presents the very first history and survey of the 26 week-engagements (plus the many benefits evenings, and other events) when “Hi De Ho” resonated in the 125th Street’s temple of music. Part 1: The Thirties, when the Cotton Club star comes to real Harlem   Read the full story →

ONE NIGHT CLUB AT A TIME: THE STORY OF MAE DIGGS (part 1)

Mae Diggs was a singer, dancer, drummer, bandleader, composer and producer. She sang popular songs of the day, sultry blues numbers, and her own compositions.  She danced, usually solo on stage, with sexy, exotic moves dressed in a variety of costumes including a collection of evening gowns.  She played the drums.  She produced entire night club productions and occasionally conducted jazz bands and, for over twenty years, fronted a Rhythm & Blues combo. This is her story of resilience and reinvention. Read the full story →

THE SLAPPING CAREER OF BASSIST AL MORGAN 3

Now forgotten and eclipsed by Milt Hinton, his brilliant successor in Calloway’s orchestra, Albert ‘Al’ MORGAN (August 19, 1908, New Orleans – April 14, 1974, Los Angeles), however, benefits from the image of an exceptional double bass player, considered one of the pioneers of slapping, in the same ranks as Wellman Braud or Pops Foster. During his career, Al Morgan walked his bass from the Riverboats on the Mississippi to New York, Europe, Boston, and Hollywood. PART 3: in Boston with Sabby Lewis Read the full story →