Antonio Sparbaro, known professionally as Tony Sbarbaro or Tony Spargo (June 27, 1897 – October 30, 1969) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

drummer associated with New Orleans jazz. He was the drummer of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band for over 50 years.

Background

Sbarbaro was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, United States, to an

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

Sicilian family. Early in his career he played with the Frayle Brothers Band (possibly as early as 1911) and the Reliance Band of Papa Jack Laine. He did side work with

Merritt Brunies Merritt Brunies (December 25, 1895 - February 5, 1973), was an American jazz trombonist and cornetist. Brunies was born into a well-known musical family in New Orleans, Louisiana; among its members were George Brunies and Albert Brunies. Mer ...

and

Carl Randall Carl Randall (born 1975) is a British figurative painter, whose work is based on images of modern Japan and London. Education Randall is a graduate of The Slade School of Fine Art London (BA Fine Art), the Royal Drawing School London (The Dr ...

. He joined the Original Dixieland Jazz Band for their initial recordings in 1917; he became its leader in 1925 and remained a member of the ensemble until its dissolution in the 1960s, being the only founding member still in the group at that time. Sbarbaro also composed for the group, writing the tune "Mourning Blues" among others. He remained a fixture of

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

performance for most of his life, playing later in life in New Orleans with

Miff Mole Irving Milfred Mole, known professionally as Miff Mole (March 11, 1898 – April 29, 1961) was an American jazz trombonist and band leader. He is generally considered one of the greatest jazz trombonists and credited with creating "the first dist ...

, Big Chief Moore, Pee Wee Erwin, and

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

. He played at the New York World's Fair in 1941 and with Connee Boswell in the 1950s. He left music in the 1960s due to the popularity of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, and died in October 1969, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, at the age of 72.

Drumming techniques

Sbarbaro's drum set had a number of nonstandard qualities. He employed wood blocks, cowbells, and Chinese tom-toms, and used a custom arrangement for his bass and snare drum. He used the technique known as "double-drumming", hitting the bass drum with the butt end of the drum stick. Sbarbaro even put stuffed animals inside drums to change their sound. He also had a kazoo attached to his set, providing some of the band's sound effects.

Grammy Hall of Fame

Darktown Strutters' Ball "Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' ...

" (1917) by Original Dixieland Jass Band was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sbarbaro, Tony 1897 births 1969 deaths American jazz drummers American people of Italian descent Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz musicians Original Dixieland Jass Band members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians