J. Lawrence Cook
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

J. Lawrence Cook (July 14, 1899 – April 2, 1976) was an American pianist. His output has been estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000 different roll recordings. Cook was born in
Athens, Tennessee Athens is the county seat of McMinn County, Tennessee, United States and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 53,569. The city is located almost equidistantly between the major cities of Knoxville a ...
, the son of a preacher. He was orphaned before his fourth birthday, and raised by relatives who introduced him to music, in particular his grandmother who brought him to the church where she played
pump organ The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reed aerophone, free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ ...
.Dolan, Brian. Inventing entertainment : the player piano and the origins of an American musical industry. Ukraine: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009. p.88. He went on to become the most famous name in the history of the music roll industry. The young black pianist arrived in New York in March 1920 and recorded some rolls for the US Music Roll Company. In May 1923, he was engaged by the QRS Music Roll Company ( QRS Records), where he remained for nearly 50 years. As a result of his prolific output, he also used pseudonyms and some roles were released under names such as Sid Laney, "Pep" Doyle, and Walter Redding. He also produced some rolls that were marketed as being played by
Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...
. Cook was known to produce over two piano rolls each day, along with his other jobs, such as at the B.A.B Organ Company. J. Lawrence Cook's arranging piano is on display at the American Treasure Tour in
Oaks, Pennsylvania Oaks is an unincorporated community located in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is 18 miles (30 km) northwest of Philadelphia and its boundaries are defined in large part by the villag ...
.


Work at B.A.B Organ Company

Cook, along with his piano rolls, also produced band organ rolls for the B.A.B Organ Company. In an interview with Cook in the 1970s, he was the sole arranger for B.A.B, which had produced over 800 master rolls at the time of its closure. Some of Cook's arranging for B.A.B. was never released, and is in storage in
Virginia City, Montana Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. Virginia City was the territorial capital of Montana from 1865 to 1875. In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landm ...
. The organ scales that Cook arranged for included, but are not limited to: * 46 Key Scale * 61 Key Scale (for Artizan D band organs) * 66 Key Scale * 82 Key Scale * 87 Key Scale Cook's work is identifiable by its switching between the counter melody (trumpet) and melody sections to play the melody, and is also known for "borrowing" notes from other sections to create a more chromatic scale. His work has also been transcribed to the three standardized
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
band organ scales by the Play-Rite Music Co. with 46-key arrangements being transcribed to 125, 48-key to 150, and 66-key to 165, and along with being heard on Artizan and converted European organs, can also be commonly heard on Wurlitzer band organs, such as the Wurlitzer 165 at Glen Echo Park.


Recordings

In 1950 and 1951, Cook made phonograph records for the Abbey label, always billed as "Lawrence (Piano Roll) Cook" and sometimes accompanied by a small jazz combo. Most of his selections were ragtime and
Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...
standards (''
Tiger Rag "Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard that was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. In 2003, the 1918 recording of "Tiger Rag" was entered into the U.S. Library of Cong ...
'', ''Dizzy Fingers'', etc.) as well as novelty songs (''How Many G's in Peggy, Paw?''). In addition to his work as the featured artist, Cook was the pianist for vocalists Jerry Cooper and
Dorothy Loudon Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for T ...
, who also recorded for Abbey. Cook's Abbey records were issued in Canada under the Quality label.


References


External links


J. Lawrence Cook
Very extensive site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, J. Lawrence 1899 births 1976 deaths People from Athens, Tennessee Abbey Records artists