Vance Dixon

Vance Dixon (12 September 1901-unknown) was an American musician (alto saxophone, clarinet, vocals) and band leader of Chicago jazz, who was considered a novelty musician.[1]

Vance Dixon
Dixon in 1923 with the Lois Deppe Serenaders (third from right, standing)
Dixon in 1923 with the Lois Deppe Serenaders (third from right, standing)
Background information
Birth nameVance Rayman Dixon
Born12 September 1901
Parkersburg, West Virginia. United States
Diedafter 27 April 1950
GenresChicago jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader
Instrument(s)Vocals, alto saxophone, clarinet
LabelsColumbia Records, Okeh Records

Early life

Vance Rayman Dixon was born on 6 August 1901 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Harrison and Belle Dixon.[2] He was African-American.

Career

Dixon first directed the Symphonium Serenaders in the beginning of the 1920s, who were featured on radio broadcasts in as early as 1922.[3] Later he played in the renamed Lois B. Deppe Serenaders (including Earl Hines[4][5]), Sammy Stewart, Clarence M. Jones (1928), Erskine Tate (1930) and Kline Tyndall's Paramount Serenaders. In this period, Don Redman, when he was a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, tried to recruit Vance for the band but he told Redman that he didn't want to leave Virginia.[6]

Under his own name, first in a duo with Tyndall or Alex Channey, then with his trio Jazz Maniacs (Kline Tyndall, Lawrence Dixon) – he recorded several titles for Paramount in 1926. In 1929 he followed it up by recording with Hattie McDaniels and Frankie Jaxon as Vance Dixon and His Pencils.

In 1931 he recorded several titles for Columbia/Okeh in New York, including the humorous numbers "Laughing Stomp"[7] and "Meat Man Pete (Pete, The Dealer In Meat)"). Dixon was involved in twelve recording sessions from 1923 to 1932.[8] As of 1933, he played with the house band of the Brooklyn Club Casa Mia, who also included the banjoist Ikey Robinson as a member. Before Dixon disappeared from the music scene, he worked for June Clark in 1936 and as a cabaret musician in 1940 in New York according to the census for that year, when he lived in Brookhaven on Long Island.[9]

Personal life

Dixon first married Catherine Cuddy from Rome, Italy on 25 Apr 1925 in Columbus, Ohio. She was the daughter of James Cuddy and Rachel Odis.[10] They divorced in Chicago, Illinois before 13 May 1930.[11]

Dixon later married to Virginia Smith of Sewickley, Pennsylvania on 6 October 1930 in Chicago, Illinois.[12] She deserted him a month later.[13]

In April of 1950, Dixon was out of work, living in Manhattan in New York City.[14]

References
  1. Mark Berresford, That's Got 'Em!: The Life and Music of Wilbur C. Sweatman. 2010
  2. "Birth Record Detail: Vance R. Dixon", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, retrieved June 14, 2020
  3. "Westinghouse Radio Program For Today". The Evening News, North Tonawanda. 5 August 1922.
  4. Earl Hines remembered that Vance Dixon was the first to play two clarinets at the same time. See Stanley Dance, Earl Hines: The World of Earl Hines. Da Capo Press, 1983
  5. Max Jones: Jazz Talking: Profiles, Interviews, and Other Riffs. 2000, page 180.
  6. Nat Hentoff and Martin Williams, eds. The Jazz Review, vol. 2, no. 10, November 1959, p. 3.
  7. Web Archived Vance Dixon at Red Hot Jazz
  8. Lord, Tom. "The JAZZ Discography Musician List". Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  9. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MB-SJR2?cc=2000219&wc=QZXR-NXT%3A790105101%2C800831001%2C806038901%2C806039301 : accessed 31 January 2023), New York > Suffolk > Brookhaven Town, Patchogue > 52-32 Brookhaven Town, Patchogue Village bounded by (N) W Main; (E) S Ocean Av; (S) Mulford; (W) Patchogue River > image 27 of 33; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
  10. "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789–2016," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-S5SY-ZQ?cc=1614804&wc=ZYKB-RM9%3A121350601%2C123590601 : 15 July 2014), Franklin > Marriage index and records 1924–1925 vol 90 > image 415 of 433; county courthouses, Ohio.
  11. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R48-QW?cc=1810731&wc=QZF9-V2T%3A648807601%2C648807602%2C649525001%2C1589291244 : 9 December 2015), Illinois > Cook > Chicago (Districts 2377–2626) > ED 2427 > image 13 of 24; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).
  12. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871–1920 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871–1920." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Illinois Department of Public Health records. "Marriage Records, 1871–present." Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois.
  13. "Local Girl Deserts Mate, Say". The Pittsburgh Courier. 22 November 1930.
  14. "United States Census, 1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-9QHW-9RSX?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6XYS-6NKY&action=view&groupId=TH-7771-115381-22477-13 : accessed 31 January 2023), New York > New York County > New York City > Manhattan > ED 31-1132 > image 20 of 41; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1950, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
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