“Give Me Your Telephone Number”—J.C. Higginbotham

On February 5, 1930 seven musicians assembled in Columbia's New York City recording studio. All these men were part of Luis Russell's orchestra and they cut two sides as a small group called J.C. Higginbotham and his Six Hicks: "Higginbotham Blues" (Higginbotham-Russell) and the up-tempo "Give Me Your Telephone Number" (Higginbotham).

Georgia-born, Jack "Jay" C. Higginbotham (1906-1973) plays his trombone with a terrific drive. He was a master to express what goes on his in mind by transferring that emotion to the way he believed jazz should be played.

Therefore he is considered to be among the first musicians who made the trombone acceptable as part of a jazzband.

The other members of this group included three men from Louisiana:

Trumpet player Henry "Red" Allen Jr. (1908-1967); the nickname Red was often given to negroes with a light skin pigmentation.

Bassist George "Pops" Foster (1892-1969) was a Cherokee descendent who played jazz in Louisiana as early as 1906. He is the first bass player to develop the strong slapping sound. You can hear how it carries the band through "Give Me Your Telephone Number." In the blues, Pops Foster uses a bow on his string bass.

Drummer Paul Barbarin was the only one from New Orleans (born between 1899 and 1901) and he is considered one of the best jazz drummers from before the swing era. He died while playing in the 1969 Mardi Grass parade in New Orleans.

The three remaining musicians who found their way to New York were Bay State alto saxophonist Charlie Holmes (1910-1985) from Boston; Kentucky-born guitarist Will Johnson (1905-1955); and pianist Luis Russell (1902-1963) who moved from Panama to New Orleans, and is the co-author of "Higginbotham Blues."

With their playing style each of these six men set the tone for the post-war revival of smaller jazz groups.