FRANKIE "HALF-PINT" JAXON

                         

Biography

by Scott Yanow

Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon was an eccentric singer and a mysterious figure who disappeared after the mid-'40s. Called "Half Pint" due to being 5'2", Jaxon (who was an orphan) grew up in Kansas City. At 15 he began singing in variety shows and at clubs. He toured with a theatrical troupe in Texas and Oklahoma, forming a song and dance team with Miss Gallie De Gaston that did well in vaudeville during 1912-1924. When he was 21, Jaxon began working regularly in Atlantic City (usually the Paradise Café) in the summer and the Sunset Café in Chicago in the winter. An expert at staging shows, Half Pint helped Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters (among others) put on their productions. Jaxon, who also worked as a female impersonator, a pianist-singer, and a saxophonist, was mostly in Chicago during 1927-1941, a period when he made many recordings. In 1930 he formed the Quarts of Joy and he often appeared on the radio in the '30s. Jaxon used his best-known composition "Fan It" (which would later be recorded by Woody Herman) as a trademark song. Although still popular, Jaxon dropped out of music altogether in 1941, working for the government in Washington D.C. In 1944 he moved to Los Angeles and largely disappeared, never to be heard from again by the musical world. Half Pint Jaxon's recordings as a leader (which date from 1926-1940) include such sidemen as washboardist Jasper Taylor, pianist Georgia Tom Dorsey, banjoist Ikey Robinson, cornetist Punch Miller, the Harlem Hamfats (1937-1938), clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Lil Armstrong, and trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen.

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Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon era un cantant excèntric i una misteriosa figura que va desaparèixer després dels anys 40 mitjans de. Anomenat "Half Pint" pel fet que 5'2 ", Jaxon (que era un orfe) es va criar a Kansas City. Als 15 anys va començar a cantar en espectacles de varietats i en els clubs. Va estar de gira amb una companyia teatral a Texas i Oklahoma, formant una cançó i grup de ball amb la senyoreta Callie de Gaston que li va anar bé al vodevil durant 1912-1924. Quan tenia 21 anys, va començar a treballar regularment Jaxon a Atlantic City (generalment el Cafè Paradís) en l'estiu i el Sunset Cafè a Chicago a l'hivern . Un expert en la posada en escena espectacles, Half Pint va ajudar a Bessie Smith i Ethel Waters (entre d'altres) es posen les seves produccions Jaxon, que també va treballar com un imitador femení, un cantant pianista i saxofonista d'una, era en la seva majoria a Chicago el 1927. - 1941, un període en el qual va fer molts enregistraments. el 1930 es van formar els Quarts de Alegria i ell va aparèixer sovint a la ràdio en els anys 30. Jaxon utilitzar la seva més famosa composició "la Fan" (que més tard seria gravada per Woody Herman ) com una cançó de marca. Encara que segueix sent popular, Jaxon abandonar la música per complet l'any 1941, treballant per al govern a Washington DC el 1944 es va mudar a Los Angeles i va desaparèixer en gran part, mai es va saber d'ell pel món musical. Half Pint Jaxon enregistraments com a líder (que daten 1926-1940) inclouen acompanyants com washboardist Jasper Taylor, pianista Geòrgia Tom Dorsey, banjo iKey Robinson, cornetista Ponx Miller, el Hamfats Harlem (1937-1938), el clarinetista Barney Bigard, el pianista Lil Armstrong , i el trompetista Henry "Xarxa" Allen.

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