The Versatile Four, or sometimes The Versatile Three, was an American

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active count ...

active in the 1910s and 1920s. The band played music usually characterised as

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

, or early

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and was one of the first small groups of

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

musicians to perform in Britain and Europe. They were an offshoot of an earlier ensemble, the Versatile Entertainers Quintet.

Biography

The Versatile Entertainers Quintet are first mentioned in May 1910, performing at

James Reese Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1880 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African-American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called him ...

Clef Club The Clef Club was an entertainment venue, society, and labour union for African-American musicians in Harlem, achieving its largest success in the 1910s. Incorporated by James Reese Europe, it was a combination musicians' hangout, fraternity club, ...

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 ...

, New York City, on a bill that also included dancers Irene and Vernon Castle. In 1913, three members of the Quintet,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player and vocals Anthony (Tony) Tuck (born in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside (Virginia), Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River ( ...

, 1879– after 1936), pianist and vocals Charles Wenzel Mills (born in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

, 1884–1946), and drummer and cellist Charles Wesley Johnson (born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, 1885–?), Michael Brocken, Jeff Daniels, ''Gordon Stretton, Black British Transoceanic Jazz Pioneer: A New Jazz Chronicle'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2018, p.145
/ref> accompanied Irene and Vernon Castle on a tour of Europe. Biography by arwulf arwulf, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 20 September 2020 In Europe, the trio of Mills, Tuck and Johnson collaborated with multi-instrumentalist (especially banjoline and vocals) Gus Haston (Augustus Adolphus Haston, born in

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, 1881–1967) to form the Versatile Four. Haston had studied music in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, toured Europe in 1905 as a

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

player in

Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first Black American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show, '' The Oyster Man'' in 1907, (shows at the African Grove Theatre preceded it by generations) and h ...

's band, the Memphis Students, and settled in London. The Versatile Four toured in Britain, playing as

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

entertainers, and at some venues associated with entertainer Gordon Stretton, English-born but of mixed Jamaican and Irish heritage. They also toured in Europe, but returned to the United States after the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After finding little work in the U.S., they returned to London in 1915, and remained for some ten years, playing at the London Pavilion Theatre,

Murray's Cabaret Club Murray's Cabaret Club was a cabaret club in Beak Street in Soho, central London, England. History The club was first opened in 1913, on the site of the old Blanchards restaurant at 1-7 Beak Street, by an American, Jack Mays, and an Englishman, ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, and elsewhere. Their

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

music became popular, and they became a favorite of the Prince of Wales, later

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

. In February 1916, they made their first recordings, including a version of

Wilbur Sweatman Wilbur Coleman Sweatman (February 7, 1882 – March 9, 1961) was an American ragtime and dixieland jazz composer, bandleader and clarinetist. Sweatman was one of the first African-American musicians to have fans nationwide. He was also a trai ...

's "Down Home Rag" released on the "

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

" label. The band comprised Haston and Tuck on banjolins, Mills on piano, and Johnson on

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

and woodblock. Sweatman's biographer Mark Berresford wrote that, led by Haston, they "turn in an extremely lively, nay rowdy, performance... in a style that is a fascinating amalgam of country string band and Clef Club banjo orchestra, complete with shouted encouragements to both the imaginary dancers and to one another, and overzealous percussion from drummer Charlie Johnson. The wildness and abandon of the performance is capped by the shouted exclamation by Haston of 'Howww's that?' after the final cymbal crash". "Down Home Rag" has been said to have "a credible claim... as the first

record", pre-dating recordings by the

Original Dixieland Jazz Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the m ...

by several months. At the same session they also recorded "Circus Day in Dixie", described by music historian David Wondrich as "...with its minstrel themes transformed by pure musical testosterone.. one of the hottest records I've ever heard." By 1917, Haston started performing primarily on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, as well as vocals, and by the end of the year Johnson returned to the United States, leaving the Versatile Three to fulfil their British and European engagements, occasionally working with either Stretton or drummer George Archer. In 1919, the trio recorded for the Edison Bell Winner label, and on some recordings the following year added a second saxophone, possibly Edmund Jenkins. They recorded as the Diplomat Orchestra in 1921, and also accompanied Dewey Wineglass' Dancing Demons, a

tap-dancing Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own ...

troupe. They made their final recordings in England in 1923, and returned to the U.S. in 1926. Mills left the band, to be replaced by Julius Maceo Covington, but the group disbanded in early 1927. Covington died in Paris soon afterwards. Haston made some recordings as a vocalist for the Victor label in 1931. Tuck traveled to Argentina, where in 1936 he played in a band led by Gordon Stretton. Mills died in Chicago in 1946, and Haston died in New York in 1967.Social Security Death Index, Social Security Number: 098-03-8711 A compilation of the group's recordings in 1919 and 1920, ''The Versatile Three / Four – The Earliest Black String Bands Vol. 3'', compiled by Johnny Parth, was issued by

Document Records Document Records is an independent record label, founded in Austria and now based in Scotland, that specializes in reissuing vintage blues and jazz. The company has been recognised by The Blues Foundation, being honoured with a Keeping the Bl ...

in 1998. An entirely different group also called the Versatile Four, comprising white musicians, recorded for the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

label in the 1930s.

References

External links

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Sheet music cover
showing Haston, Mills and Tuck {{DEFAULTSORT:Versatile Four, The Jazz ensembles from New York City American ragtime musicians