Bubber Miley and "Tricky Sam" Nanton
Duke Ellington was remarkably prolific and composed in a variety of styles and genres. He did not like to be limited by the term "jazz composer," and the breadth of his creativity supports him on this point. Nevertheless, Duke Ellington is best known for the many swing tunes that he wrote and performed with his orchestra, not a few of which were the products of collaborations with his sidemen.
The distinctive playing styles of Ellington's sidemen distinguished his orchestra from all others. Bubber Miley (1903-1932) was the band's first-star trumpeter. He developed a growling style of playing that lent the trumpet a more vocal quality. The gutbucket cornet style of King Oliver strongly influenced Miley, but he was able to advance that style by combining both the plunger mute and straight mute to create a "Wawa" sound and a more controlled growl. Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (1904-1946) cultivated a similar growl style on the trombone.
Example of a "Wawa" sound in the video "Black And Tan Fantasy - Tricky Sam Nanton (Transcription):"
Black And Tan Fantasy - Tricky Sam Nanton (Transcription) [ 00:00-00:00 ]
Ellington liked this growling brass concept so much that he wrote it into many of his compositions. It became one of the distinctive features that contributed to the Ellington Effect. Ellington wrote one of his early pieces, "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo," in collaboration with Bubber Miley and recorded it in December 1927. Bubber Miley is the featured soloist, (00:12-01:00) but we also hear solos from a few others, including Tricky Sam Nanton on trombone (01:01-01:27) (as well as Harry Carney on a most alluring clarinet) (01:27-01:48). The growl style in this piece does more than contribute to the Ellington Effect. In this case, it represents more specifically the jungle style prevalent in many of Ellington's compositions during his tenure at the famous Cotton Club. The club's owners-reputedly gangsters-wanted Ellington's orchestra to evoke an exotic, "primitive" sound for their whites-only audiences, and the growl style of Miley and Nanton fit the bill.
I Must Have That Man
I'm like an oven
That's cryin' for heat
He treats me awful
Each time that we meet
It's just unlawful
How that boy can cheat
But I must have that man
A-Tisket A-Tasket
A-tisket a-tasket
A green-and-yellow basket
I bought a basket for my mommie
On the way I dropped it