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Eddie Condon

Eddie Condon was on of the young 'White' Chicagoans who, during the 1920s, were instrumental in creating a new, hard driving type of "Chicago Dixieland Jazz". His career started at just age 17 when he played Banjo (his original instrument) with the 'Hollis Peavey Jazz bandits', and he even played briefly with some members of the now fabled "Austin High School Gang". In 1927 he co-led the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans on a record that was popular in Chicago. In 1929, after organizing some other recording sessions, Condon switched cities and instruments. He moved to New York, and began playing the guitar. In New York, he worked with Red McKenzie's Mound City Blue Blowers and with Red Nichol's and His Five Pennies. He appeared on one record (1929) with Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom 5. In New York (ca. 1930), fellow Chicagoan Joe Marsala had a band that played at John Popkin's Hickory House on 52nd Street in New York for nearly ten years. Condon became Marsala's guitar player, and, between sets, spent a good deal of time at the bar. Between 1937 and 1944, he worked nightly at a famous New York Jazz club, Nick's, in New York 's Greenwich Village section. It may be said that Condon's "big break" came in 1938 when he led a group on some recording sessions for Milt Gabler's Commodore Label. These recording made Eddie a New York icon. From 1944 to 1945, Condon was involved in a series of weekly broadcasts (and recordings) from New York's Town Hall . In 1945, Condon and Pete Pesci - manager of Julius's Bar - came up with a plan to open a jointly owned Club and this became the first "Eddie Condon's" (on West 3rd Street - Greenwich Village area). Eddie had excellent qualifications for a nightclub operator, - he was a sociable man who could hold his liquor, and was a very fine musician with many musician friends who could come in and help out. Condon loved what he called "our particular brand of Jazz", by which he meant 'Dixieland Jazz' with a strong rhythmic beat. His groups never used tubas or banjos and this was curious because Eddie's very first instrument was the Banjo. Sidemen that were often heard with him included Pee Wee Russell on clarinet, Gene Schroeder on piano, Big Sid "Rim Shots" Catlett on drums, as well as Muggsy Spanier or Bobby Hackett or Wild Bill Davison on trumpets.

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Getting Into Jazz

Jam Session Coast To Coast/Jammin' at Condon's

Read "Jam Session Coast To Coast/Jammin' at Condon's" reviewed by Mark Barnett


Getting Started If you're new to jazz, go to our Getting Into Jazz primer for some hints on how to listen. CD Capsule 1950's straight-ahead jazz, spiced with ad lib commentary by impressario/guitarist Condon. The musicians are laid back and having fun. Kick off your shoes and join them. Background In the 1940's and '50s, Eddie Condon was a legendary presence in the world of jazz. A tireless promoter, proselytizer and spokesman, he presided over his ...

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Album Review

Eddie Condon: Jam Session Coast To Coast/Jammin

Read "Jam Session Coast To Coast/Jammin" reviewed by David Rickert


The biggest obstacle with the 78 format was its running time; what solos were allowed had to be brief and only crudely approximated the energy generated during a live performance. Thus Eddie Condon must have welcomed the LP era, which allowed him to indulge in the lengthy jam sessions allowed in clubs and concert halls. The two early '50s records featured on the this compilation, Jam Session Coast To Coast and Jammin’ at Condon’s, are filled with prime small group ...

204
Album Review

Eddie Condon: Midnight in Moscow/The Roaring Twenties

Read "Midnight in Moscow/The Roaring Twenties" reviewed by David Rickert


One luxury afforded Eddie Condon on the LP era was the concept album, which he explored on the two releases featured on this collection. Midnight in Moscow has the more unconvincing gimmick of the two (songs pertaining to specific countries), but is really quite good, due in large part to the double threat of Peanuts Hucko and Bobby Hackett, who work together like a couple of linebackers. They really tear the lid off of a swinging version of Tchaikovsky’s “Theme ...

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Recording

Eddie Condon in Color, 1962

Eddie Condon in Color, 1962

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In the early 1960's the American Goodyear Tire Co. commissioned a series of short jazz-performance films as part of a promotional campaign. Why Google and Facebook don't do the same today with classic jazz, rock and soul artists is beyond me. Goodyear's jazz movies were filmed in color by multiple cameras on 35mm and the sound was recorded on professional stereo. When presented, the shows were shown in 16mm and mono sound. In 1962, Goodyear filmed Louis Armstrong and his ...

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Recording

Condon & Freeman: 1938-1950

Condon & Freeman: 1938-1950

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

On the Arts in Review page of today's Wall Street Journal, I review Eddie Condon & Bud Freeman: Complete Commodore & Decca Sessions, a new 8-CD box from Mosaic Records (go here). I must say, I was floored by the recordings. As most readers know, I've long been a dogmatic, self-proclaimed fan of post-1945 jazz individualists who insisted on standing out with distinct artistic voices. Conversely, I had little interest in or patience for moanin' instrumentation or frantic sound or ...

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Radio

Eddie Condon: Renaissance Man Of Jazz This Week On Riverwalk Jazz

Eddie Condon: Renaissance Man Of Jazz This Week On Riverwalk Jazz

Source: Don Mopsick

This week on Riverwalk Jazz: photographer, author and record producer Hank O’Neal, who collaborated on Eddie Condon’s Scrapbook of Jazz talks about the Condon legacy. Eddie’s daughter Maggie Condon shares her wealth of memories. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International. You can also drop in on a continuous stream of shows at the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound. A fast-talking, wisecracking Midwesterner, Eddie Condon epitomized Chicago Jazz and his Greenwich Village nightclub was the heart ...

Music Industry

Eddie Condon: New York, 1964

Eddie Condon: New York, 1964

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Before the Swing Era, when jazz was shaped by jny Kansas City's big-band dance beats, jny: Chicago's frantic small-group sound was hot. Among the Chicago greats was guitarist Eddie Condon, king of the rhythm-keepers. In 1964, ABC in New York broadcast a Carnegie Hall tribute to Condon featuring the cream of the Chicago gang. Part 1...   Part 2...   Part 3...   Part 4...   Part 5...   Part 6...   Part 7...   Part 8...   Part 9... ...

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Radio

Eddie Condon This Week on Riverwalk Jazz

Eddie Condon This Week on Riverwalk Jazz

Source: Don Mopsick

This week on Riverwalk Jazz: photographer, author and record producer Hank O'Neal, who collaborated on Eddie Condon's Scrapbook of Jazz talks about the Condon legacy. Eddie's daughter Maggie Condon shares her wealth of memories. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. A fast-talking, wisecracking Midwesterner, Eddie Condon epitomized Chicago Jazz and his Greenwich Village nightclub was the heart of the New York ...

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Radio

"Eddie Condon: Renaissance Man of Jazz" This Week on Riverwalk Jazz

"Eddie Condon: Renaissance Man of Jazz" This Week on Riverwalk Jazz

Source: Don Mopsick

This week, Riverwalk Jazz presents Eddie Condon: Renaissance Man of Jazz. A fast-talking, wisecracking Midwesterner, Condon epitomized Chicago Jazz. The show is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM Sattelite Radio and streamed worldwide from the Riverwalk Jazz website. Joining us this week is photographer, author and record producer Hank O'Neal, who collaborated on Eddie Condon's Scrapbook of Jazz. Also, daughter Maggie Condon shares her wealth of memories. She paints this picture of her father at the ...

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Video / DVD

Eddie Condon All Stars - "Royal Garden Blues" (1964)

Eddie Condon All Stars - "Royal Garden Blues" (1964)

Source: Riffs on Jazz by John Anderson


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Recording

Ray Nance, Roy Ayers, Don Ellis, Pepper Adams, Harold Land, Eddie Condon, Edmond Hall Reissues on Mighty Quinn

Ray Nance, Roy Ayers, Don Ellis, Pepper Adams, Harold Land, Eddie Condon, Edmond Hall Reissues on Mighty Quinn

Source: All About Jazz

Mighty Quinn Productions was developed out of my respect for music and the people who make it. Our goal is to reissue recordings by quality artists that have not yet been released on CD, or have sadly fallen out of print. We want to make sure that worthy albums in all genres of music aren't lost or forgotten. We also plan to produce compelling new artists who we believe should be heard. Mighty Quinn is committed to providing the best ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Eddie Condon 1927-1964

Repertoire Records
2010

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Midnight in...

Collectables
2003

buy

Ballin' The Jack

Repertoire Records
2001

buy

We Dig Dixieland Jazz

Repertoire Records
1992

buy

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