Red Mack - Chapter 7

Down Beat, August 15, 1942.

Los Angeles Band Briefs by Hal Holly.

Barney Bigard debuted his own quartet at the Trouville. With Barney is Red Mack on trumpet, a top man in anyone’s band.

Down Beat, September 1, 1942

Kid Ory Comes Back to Bizz; Los Angeles-Barney Bigard, whose new seven-piece  combo was scheduled to open August 20 at the Trouville, sharing the spot with Stuff Smith, will have on trombone none other than Kid Ory, who is coming  out  of retirement to take a last fling at jazz before putting his old horn away for good .

In addition to Ory, Barney has Red Mack, trumpet; Jack Kelso, alto and

clarinet; Henry Tucker, drums; Charlie Engels [sic], bass; and Garland Finney, piano.

Down Beat, September 15, 1942

Los Angeles-The small band spotlight is shared by the new combos launced  here last month by Barney Bigard and Murray McEachern. Barney has backed  his clarinet with Kid Ory’s trombone, Red Mack’s trumpet and an alto sax. Barney takes his band to the Capri this month.

Metronome, September 1942 

Kid Ory returns to active duty as a member of Barney Bigard’s new seven-piece band, currently at the Trouville. He is now fifty-two years old, and hasn´t been

heard as a regularly active musician in many years.

He’s killing the cats in these parts. So is Barney, of course, who left  Duke [Ellington] recently. Also in the band are trumpeter Red Mack, altoist Jack Kelso, drummer Tommie Tucker (actually Henry Tucker Greeni) bassist Charles Ingles 

[actually Mingus] and pianist Garland Finney.

Down Beat, November 15, 1942

Los Angeles Band Briefs by Hal Holly

Red Mack, trumpet player featured with Barney Bigard’s erstwhile band at the Trouville, has stepped out with his own combo of Local 767 cutters at Central Avenue’s Club Plantation. Sitting proudly and ably at the tubs [drums] in Red’s new band is Local 47’s Walt Sherman. Hat’s off to a boy who recognizes only One Big Union for musicians-the Musicians’ Union.

Later Red played with Cee Pee Johnson’s band again at the Trouville and took an outfit to Victorville with Dorothy Broil on piano. By then Red was playing vibes and drums as well as trumpet. Few of these short-lived come recorded, and it’s hard to pin down dates and durations for many of these engagements.

In 1945, he made a USO tour to Alaska with his old friend altoist Luke Jones in his band, plus dancers Earl and Francis and comedian Nick “Nicodemus” Stewart.