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Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (February 1, 1904 – July 20, 1946) was an American trombonist with the
Duke Ellington Orchestra Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...
. A pioneer of the plunger mute, Nanton is notable for his use of the distinctive wah-wah effect.


Early life

He was born Joseph Irish Nanton in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, United States. His parents were John Barzly Nanton and Emily Irish, both immigrants from the British West Indies. Nanton began playing professionally in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, with bands led by Cliff Jackson and banjoist
Elmer Snowden Elmer Chester Snowden (October 9, 1900 – May 14, 1973) was an American banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as bo ...
. From 1923 to 1924, Nanton worked with Frazier's Harmony Five. A year later, he performed with Snowden. At the age of 22, Nanton found his niche in Duke Ellington's Orchestra, when he reluctantly took the place of his friend Charlie Irvis in 1926, and remained with Ellington until his early death in 1946. Nanton, along with Lawrence Brown, anchored the trombone section.


The wah-wah sound

Nanton was one of the great pioneers of the plunger mute. In 1921, he heard
Johnny Dunn Johnny Dunn (February 19, 1897 – August 20, 1937) was an American traditional jazz trumpeter and vaudeville performer, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He is probably best known for his work during the 1920s with musicians such as Perry ...
playing the trumpet with a plunger, which Nanton realized could be used to similar effect on the trombone.Joe 'Tricky Sam' Nanton
on ''
All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
''.
Together with Ellington's trumpeter
Bubber Miley Bubber is a nickname and surname which may refer to: People: * Bubber or Bubba Brooks (1922-2002), American jazz tenor saxophonist * James Bubber Epps (born 1943), American politician * Clarence James Bubber Jonnard (1897-1977), American Major Leag ...
, Nanton is largely responsible for creating the characteristic wah-wah, or wa-wa, effect. Their highly expressive growl and plunger sounds were the main ingredient in the band's early "jungle" sound, that evolved during the band's late 1920s engagement at
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
's
Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a 20th-century nightclub in New York City. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1936, then briefly in the midtown Theater District until 1940. The club operated during the United States' era of P ...
. According to
Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creoles of color, Cr ...
, Nanton "grabbed his plunger. He could use that thing, too. It talked to you. I was sitting there, looking up at him, and every time he'd say 'wa-wa,' I was saying 'wa-wa' with my mouth, following him all the way through." Sensing Nanton's impressive manual dexterity, the jovial alto saxophonist Otto Hardwick, ever inclined to tag friends with fitting nicknames, dubbed Nanton "Tricky Sam": "anything to save himself trouble—he was tricky that way." From his early days with the Ellington band, Nanton was featured regularly. But he and Miley worked especially well in combination, often playing in harmony or "playing off each other" (embellishing and developing the musical theme of the preceding soloist into one's own new musical idea). Nanton and Miley successfully incorporated plunger skills into their playing to evoke moods, people, or images. The celebrated brass growl effect was vividly described by Duke Ellington's son,
Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Elli ...
: Nanton and Miley gave the Ellington Orchestra the reputation of being one of the "dirtiest" jazz groups. Many listeners were excited by the raunchy, earthy sounds of their growls and mutes. Among the best examples of their style are "East St. Louis Toodle-oo", "The Blues I Love to Sing", "
Black and Tan Fantasy "Black and Tan Fantasy" is a 1927 jazz composition by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley. The song was recorded several times by Ellington and his Cotton Club band in 1927 for the Brunswick, Victor, and Okeh record labels. The Victor recording w ...
", "Goin' to Town", and "Doin' the Voom-Voom". After Miley's premature departure in 1929, Nanton taught
Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...
, Miley's successor, some of the
growl Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals; producing ''growls''. Growling or growl may also refer to: Sounds * Death growl, the dominant singing style in death metal music * Stomach rumble, Stomach growl, or borborygm ...
and plunger techniques that Miley had used. Williams became a plunger virtuoso in his own right and helped the band retain its distinctive sound. The sounds they created were copied by many brass soloists in the swing era. While other brass players became adept at growl and plunger techniques, Nanton's sound was all his own. He developed, in addition to other tricks in his bag, a "ya-ya" effect with a plunger, in combination with a Magosy & Buscher nonpareil trumpet straight mute. He kept the details of his technique a secret, even from his band mates, until his premature death. Some ingredients in Nanton's unique "ya-ya" sound, however, are known: inserting a trumpet straight mute into the bell, using a large plumber's plunger outside the bell, and "speaking" into the instrument while playing. This sort of speaking involved changing the cavity of the mouth while silently reproducing different vowel sounds without actually vibrating the vocal cords. His palette of near-vocal sounds was radical for its time and helped produce the unique voicings in Ellington compositions, such as " The Mooche" "Black and Tan Fantasy", and "
Mood Indigo "Mood Indigo" is a jazz song with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard and lyrics by Irving Mills. Composition Although Irving Mills—Jack Mills's brother and publishing partner—took credit for the lyrics, Mitchell Parish claimed in a ...
".


Death

Nanton died from a strokeHenry Martin, Keith Waters (2006)
''Jazz: the first 100 years''
Thompson/Schirmer, 3rd edition, p. 160.
in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, on July 20, 1946, while on tour with the Ellington Orchestra. His death was an enormous loss for the Ellington Orchestra. While later trombonists, including
Tyree Glenn Tyree Glenn, born William Tyree Glenn (November 23, 1912, Corsicana, Texas, United States, – May 18, 1974, Englewood, New Jersey), was an American trombone and vibraphone player. Biography Tyree played trombone and vibraphone with local Texa ...
and
Quentin Jackson Quentin "Butter" JacksonFe ...
, tried to duplicate Tricky Sam's plunger techniques, no one was able to completely replicate his sound. Nanton had a wide variety of expressions, and his intricate techniques were not well documented.


References


External links


Vintage Mutes
VintageMutes.com - Virtual museum of historical Wind Mutes
Tricky Sam Nanton recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanton, Joe Tricky Sam 1904 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American trombonists American jazz trombonists American male jazz musicians Duke Ellington Orchestra members American male trombonists Jazz musicians from New York City