Herbie Fields is a musician I’ve long wanted to play a set of. Now the time has come.

Hi, I’m Greg Poppleton, 1920s-30s singer and your Phantom Dancer.

The Phantom Dancer is your non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV.

On air every Tuesday, live from 107.3 2SER Sydney from 12:04-2pm, the Phantom Dancer is recorded for re-broadcast over 23 radio stations of the Community Radio Network and online at 2ser.com.

THIS WEEK’S PHANTOM DANCER MIX
– opens with a set of dance bands live on the 1940s ‘One Night Stand’ radio series,
– hear a set of Sarah Vaughan from live 1950s radio,
– a set of early radio dance bands from rare 1920s-30s radio,
– a set of the daddies of boogie woogie pianists from live 1930s radio,
– a set of today’s feature artist, Herbie Fields, including Miles Davis’s recording debut. See the full play list below for more…

HERBIE FIELDS
Herbie Fields was a child prodigy clarinet and sax player whose meteoric career in the mid-1940s faltered in the 1950s, making him increasing disgruntled until he couldn’t take it any more.

A student at the famous Juilliard School of Music, he began recording and broadcasting in 1944 after a two year stint in the U.S Army.

On this week’s Phantom Dancer we’ll hear his first orchestra live from 1944 radio on its own national network band remote. It was coveted radio exposure mostly given to more seasoned bands. We’ll also hear a song from his first recording session made for the prestigious Savoy record label.

The 1945 Savoy record we’ll hear on today’s show features singer Rubberlegs Williams. Rubberlegs, sounding very Fats Waller, calls out Herbie Fields by name on the record – more evidence of the meteoric rise of Herbie Field as a swing name.

This was also the first recording by teenage Miles Davis on trumpet. Miles sounds like Miles even then, though some players on the session complained that the teenager wasn’t good enough – another story for another Phantom Dancer.

Herbie Fields and his 3 year old daughter, Sandra

UP-AND-COMING
His star rising in just twelve short months, Fields also won Esquire magazine’s New Star Award on alto sax in 1945.

In 1946, RCA Victor signed Fields as leader of his own big band. Despite including musicians of the calibre of Neal Hefti, Bill Evans, Marty Napoleon and Serge Chaloff, the band was a commercial failure. Big bands were out of fashion.

He went from big band to septet in 1949. We’ll hear that septet on this week’s Phantom Dancer in a 1951 radio broadcast.

In the septet was Frank Rosolino trombone, Jimmy Nottingham trumpet, Jim Aton double bass, Bill Evans piano and Tiny Kahn drums. The group backed Billie Holiday on a successful U.S east coat tour. You’ll hear in this septet broadcast how Fields could play in swing, bop and r’n’b styles all on the one song (‘How High The Moon’).

R’N’B
In the 1950s, Fields moved into rhythm and blues. He became a sax ‘honker’.

You’ll hear him mix honk with bop and swing on ‘How High the Moon’ with his septet on what the 1951 announcer calls a ‘rock’n’roll’ number.

But his decreasing popularity after such a promising career start in 1944 made him increasing disgruntled.

Bill Evans said of Field’s r’n’b style, “In some ways he had been a forerunner of rock ‘n’ roll. He was wiggling, jerking. Rock ‘n’ roll came, brought millions of dollars, but nothing for Herbie Fields.”

Field’s recorded sporadically as an r’n’b artist, bop player and big band leader.

He was leading a trio in his own Miami restaurant in 1958 when is suddenly had enough at age 39.

PHANTOM DANCER VIDEO OF THE WEEK
It’s Herbie Fields on clarinet with the Lionel Hampton sextet on a Decca recording of ‘Ribs and Hot Sauce’.

29 MAY PLAY LIST