Alabama born Ruth Lee Jones (1924-1963) began her vocal career singing in a baptist church choir where her mother, with whom she had moved to Chicago, played the piano.

Ruth soon expanding to blues songs and eventually the 15-year-old girl won an amateur contest at the Regal Theater on the South side of Chicago in 1939. The following years she toured as a pianist and singer.

If you ever wondered who is the oldest big band musician alive, you probably wouldn't have guessed that professional musican would have turned 105 years old yesterday.

She is Viola Smith, one of the first female drummers, and she was born on November 29, 1912.

On February 18, 1930 New York's Ziegfeld Theater saw the premiere of "Simple Simon," a musical comedy.

The book of the show was written by the leading actor playing Simon, Ed Wynn, and Anglo-American playwright Guy Bolton.

The music was written by the American composer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and the words to the songs by Lorenz Hart (1895-1943), a son of Jewish immigrants from Germany.

Last week I mentioned Bobby Troup's closest connection to jazz came in 1956, when he began a 2 1/2-year run hosting a tv-series titled "Stars of Jazz." One of the guest during the shows first year was jazz vocalist Billie Holiday (1915-1959).

Last October, Steve Attias​, in reaction to a Classic Jazz Lovers Facebook group post, wondered if there is such a thing as a Great Canadian Songbook.

If there ever was one, "When You And I Were Young Maggie" should certainly be included as one of the earliest Canadian songs.

When 20th Century Fox released its musical movie "Stormy Weather" in 1943, the posters carried the name of Lena Horne and several other musicians and dancers.

One of the names not mentioned on that poster was that of Ada Brown, who sings "That Ain't Right" in the film.

Ada Brown (1890-1950) was a blues singer from Kansas City.

"Minor Swing" is a gypsy jazz composition by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.

Eight decades ago, this tune was first recorded by the Quintette de Hot Club de France in Paris.

Soundies, were originally played on a Panoram -- a wooden jukebox that played music while the synchronised film was projected onto its glass screen. For those people not able to attend a live performance, this was the first time they could see what the big bands actually looked like. Nowadays, YouTube offers us all the chance to watch Soundies. Such as this one from 1942: Gene Krupa and his Orchestra with "Let Me Off Uptown" featuring Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge.

"Let Me Off Uptown" was composed by alto saxophonist Earl Bostic (1913-1965), with lyrics by Redd Evans (1912-1972). This song was first recorded by Gene Krupa in August 1941 and it became a big hit.

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.

Edgar Sampson's 1935 composition "Blue Lou" was the first record of a group of Metronome poll winners.

When the 1938 poll musicians of Metronome were chosen, the magazine's editor George T. Simon thought how nice it would be to assemble a band of the top favorites and make a record.

Have a nice Sunday with Sarah Vaughan singing "You're Not The Kind."

This song was written in 1936 by two immigrants: Canadian-born composer Will Hudson (1908-1981) and Ukranian-born lyricist Irving Mills = Isadore Minsky, 1894-1985.

Angel Eyes -- Everything Happens To Me -- Will You Still Be Mine -- Let's Get Away From It All -- Violets For Your Furs.

Outstanding songs which have been recorded time and again by the greatest jazz performers.

What these exceptional tunes have in common is the name of the composer: Matt Dennis (1914-2002).

This week a double feature which lay at the basis for "In The Mood." It started a decade before Glenn Miller made this tune worldfamous.

On August 28, 1930 "Barbecue Joe and his Hot Dogs" went into a Richmond, Indiana, studio to record "Tar Paper Stomp."

This Joe was a one-armed New Orleans trumpet player and composer by the name of Joseph Manone (1900-1982), who is better known by his nickname "Wingy."

"King Porter Stomp" is one of the oldest jazz standards. It was composed in 1905 by New Orleans born Jelly Roll Morton, a pianist in a Storyville brothel.

The composer named it after fellow pianist Porter King.

There are many classic songs of which I never get bored and one of these is "Don't Cha Go 'Way Mad."

It was composed in 1950 by tenor saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and Jimmy Mundy. The latter is also know as a superb big band arranger. The lyrics are by Al Stillman, a New York Radio City Hall writer.