[Article published in Down Beat, July 28, 1948, p. 1.  Note: Errors and misspellings

in the original article have been retained and are noted by “sic” in brackets. ]

 

Six Months With No Layoff Ain’t Hay

Hollywood—There’s a 12-piece band out here that hasn’t laid off a whole week in the last six months. That doesn’t seem like much to hoot about, but there isn’t a big band in the territory that wouldn’t like to boast of the same—especially the last six months. The crew is that of pianist Ike Carpenter. In 18 months that the band’s been organized, the drawling Carpenter has become an institutional favorite hereabouts.

            He has played and replayed (some as many as nine times) every major ballroom and college in the area—except, he says, the Palladium. Running down a few, he mentioned Balboa Rendezvous, Casino Gardens, Trianon (where he broke everything but the wartime record of Lionel Hampton), Avodon, Pasadena Civic and such colleges as USC, UCLA, City College (where he was picked as the fave band above Dizzy Gillespie and Elliot Lawrence), Riverside, and others.

 

Band Heads North

 

            Ike takes his band out of the territory for the second time when he opens at Jantzen Beach, Portland, August 12, the first step of a tour that may reach as far as Canada. Last summer the band played Portland, Seattle, Spokane, and intermittent stops, establishing a following that Ike intends to cement with his current trek. A tentative booking at the Million Dollar theater behind Frankie Lane may cut the tour short. He backed the singer at the theater last year.

            The band is signed by GAC, but has worked out of MCA, Mus-Art, and other agencies. Carpenter has no recording ties at present, but is ready to sign and record at the drop of Petrillo’s spat. He was romanced last September by Victor, but as the ban loomed the plattery nixed the nomination of Ike.

 

Eight Sides Cut

 

            Before the ban, he cut eight sides for Modern. The six released are Jeep [sic] Blues, Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, Take the A Train, Keep Both Hands on the Table, Daydreams [sic], and Ike’s Blues. Modern is still holding Yesterdays and Rhapsody in Blue and Ike feels the latter two are the most commercial of the lot. Jeep Blues has been his most popular, selling over, he claims, 100,000 copies. Both Hands went great on the Nevada juke boxes due to its lyrics and title.

 

Lots Of Doubling

 

            The group is tightly knit, getting a full-band sound and a five-part vocal group out of twelve people. Vocal quintet is made up of saxist Gordy Reeder; trumpeters Ray Blagof and Ralph Clark; trombonist Johnny April, and gal singer Janie Thompson, who doubles on piano when Ike sings. (Ed Note: No waste of material here.) Janie, who comes from Provo, Utah, where she studied voice and piano at Brigham Young university, teaches music at summer school during the day. Paul Villipique [sic] does most of the arranging.

            Personnel: saxes—Matt Utal, Dick Norris, Gordy Reeder, Bill Holman; trumpets—Ray Blagof, Ralph Clark; trombones—Dave Wells, Johnny April; rhythm—Bob Hummel, drums; Johnny Kitzmiller, bass; Carpenter, piano.