TT 369: Cliff Jackson and Hank Duncan

piano names from the glory days of yesteryear

An evocative photo turned up on Facebook from Jean Labaye, “Cliff Jackson and Hank Duncan,” sourced from the jazz dictionary by Hugues Panassié and Madeleine Gauthier.

Jazz was always a community music. Historians are still filling the holes, teaching us the names of many masters who (despite being comparatively obscure) made an important contribution. Before the internet, Cliff Jackson and Hank Duncan were barely on my radar. Now, like many others, I’m bowled away by Jackson’s 1944 record of “Limehouse Blues.” It takes a minute to get going, but, then: Look out!

Duncan is perhaps even less-known than Jackson. A “Maple Leaf Rag” with clarinet and drums (also from 1944) has wonderful style in the piano interludes. I tell my students that the first step to playing stride piano is learning Scott Joplin ragtimes, a process certainly borne out by this track.