The main reason that Wooding isn’t a household name among jazz fans is because he chose his career goals differently than other early American jazz bandleaders. Many critics feel that Sam Wooding would have had it very different if he hadn’t become an American expatriate jazz musician living in Europe. He would have been as well-known if he had stayed in America and joined the domestic big band scene. Wooding’s activities had a different kind of impact on jazz history and were arguably as important. Wooding’s focus on Europe made him one of the foremost purveyors for new big-band jazz sounds. He was also creating music that was unsurpassed by any of his competition in this market. His innovative jazz music was also embraced by a new audience. Wooding, who was the leader of the orchestra that was part the Chocolate Kiddies revue, was the first jazz artist to visit Russia in 1926. This tour was significant for the history and performance of jazz in communist Russia. After destroying Stalin and Lenin, Wooding traveled to Spain in the years that followed. His band cut some sides for Spain’s official Parlaphone label. However, they did not manage to upset the dictatorship. Wooding started playing the piano professionally in 1912. He was largely self-taught. Wooding’s assault on New York City’s clubs was stopped by World War I, which was a much more significant offensive. Wooding was able to experience European atmosphere for the first time at this event. He also met other American brass band members who would go on become big-band saxophonists. Elmer Chambers, a trumpeter from Elmer’s hometown, would later join Wooding’s first outfit in the United States and stay there for many years. Chambers traveled to Europe with his first band in 1925 to play the music for the Chocolate Kiddies Show. The vaudeville troupe of Rufus, Drayton and 30 chorus girls was the core of this show. There were also a few comedians and dancers. The band performed arrangements of some of Duke Ellington’s earliest songs, with Tommy Ladnier as the main soloist. This revue was so popular that they stayed in Berlin for a long time and toured throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. The Chocolate Kiddies made a brief stop in South America before returning to the UK. Only a few months later, he was back in Europe to begin a second tour in 1931. Many of his recordings were made during his European sojourns. He cut sides for labels like Vox, Polydor and Pathe, as well as the Spanish venture. His most well-known songs as a leader are “Krazy Kat”, “Alabamy Bound”, and “Bull Foot Stomp,” which were recorded while the Spanish secret service sniffed around in the studio. When the subject is brought up, record collectors are all a bit misty-eyed. These were his Paris club recordings made in late ’20s for Pathe. They include delicious vocals from June Cole and Willie Lewis. Wooding was either expressing an interest in vocal music or responding to a commercial request. The wonderful track “Breakaway” features a vocal trio that includes Gene Sedric, a clarinetist, making noises without any reeds in his mouth. Wooding continued to lead bands in foreign countries and the U.S., until the mid-’30s when he switched to music studies. The University of Pennsylvania awarded him a master’s in music education. He was active in teaching until the early 1940s. However, he also led a gospel choir and formed a small vocal group. He worked as both a solo artist and in partnership with Rae Harrison during the 1950s and 1960s. He continued to be a teacher, and performed even as an entertainer well into his old age. Wooding was invited to perform at many events commemorating the American Bicentennial, including his own ten-piece band. Wooding is respected and honored by people who know him well. However, his timing in establishing a greater name in jazz seems to be a little off. Wooding was ready to concentrate on the establishment of a major American band by the time the jazz genre’s popularity had declined and the economic situation made it almost impossible for him to tour. Wooding’s most significant impact was likely behind the scenes. His outfits provided great opportunities for many musicians. All of the swing jazz era musicians who played in Wooding’s bands, including Freddy Johnson and Doc Cheatham, Frankie Newton and Albert Nichols, are from overseas. He even had Sidney Bechet as a member of his band in 1935. His influence extends beyond his jazz style to include other players. His pupils included Clifford Brown, a heavy-duty bop trumpet player. Meanwhile, the projects he organized in the final years of his life provided experience opportunities for avantgarde players such as Malachi Thompson, a trumpeter who played in several Wooding outfits in New York City during the 1970s. A large-scale project that he kept for his religious beliefs has been ongoing for many years. It involves diaries that he kept throughout his career. This may make him an important figure in jazz literature and history. After his death, his wife started writing these lengthy journals. Rae Harrison took over the project and believes that the material could be an important piece of jazz history. Wooding wrote a lot of information about early jazz in America and abroad. However, his attention to detail is not perfect. Cheatham, the trumpeter, had to list the musicians who were involved in tracks recorded by European Wooding bands. These lists have been used in various historical compilations. Harrison and his collaborators were among many jazz fans vocally dissatisfied by the Ken Burns’ Jazz marathon. The superficial research involved in compiling this jazz history resulted once more in the exclusions of more complex artists like Wooding. Allmusic
