Jazz Articles

Banjo Kings: Banjo Kings, Volume One

by AAJ Staff
September 1, 1999

Lester Koenig loved the sound of a banjo, and regretted its absence from the modern jazz stage. Fortunately, he was in a position to do something about it. The New Orleans Revival in the ‘Forties brought need for banjos; when groups formed on the West Coast (like Lu Watters, or the Firehouse Five) Koenig recorded them on his Good Time Jazz label. Opportunity knocked in 1951: when Harper Goff left the Five, the replacement was studio musician Dick Roberts – ...

Firehouse Five Plus Two: Twenty Years Later

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1998

One look at the cover will lead most people to say “You've got to be kidding. And you'd be right - sort of.

There are many reasons to think the Firehouse Five are not worthy of your attention. They were amateur musicians, most of whom worked for Walt Disney. (Two members, Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas, were part of Disney's famous “Nine Old Men", the key animators on Disney films for close to 40 years.) They wore ridiculous uniforms, including ...