Vance Dixon

Vance Dixon (12 September 1901-unknown) was an American musician (alto saxophone, clarinet, vocals) and band leader of Chicago jazz, who was considered a novelty musician.[1]

Vance Dixon
Dixon in 1923 with the Lois Deppe Serenaders (third from right, standing)
Background information
GenresChicago jazz

Early life

Vance Rayman Dixon was born on 6 August 1901 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Harrison and Belle Dixon.[2] He was African-American.

Career

Dixon first directed the Symphonium Serenaders in the beginning of the 1920s, who were featured on radio broadcasts in as early as 1922.[3] Later he played in the renamed Lois B. Deppe Serenaders (including Earl Hines[4][5]), Sammy Stewart, Clarence M. Jones (1928), Erskine Tate (1930) and Kline Tyndall's Paramount Serenaders.

Under his own name, first in a duo with Tyndall or Alex Channey, then with his trio Jazz Maniacs (Kline Tyndall, Lawrence Dixon) - he recorded several titles for Paramount in 1926. In 1929 he followed it up by recording with Hattie McDaniels and Frankie Jaxon as Vance Dixon and His Pencils.

In 1931 he recorded several titles for Columbia/Okeh in New York, including the humorous numbers "Laughing Stomp"[6] and "Meat Man Pete (Pete, The Dealer In Meat)"). Dixon was involved in twelve recording sessions from 1923 to 1932.[7] As of 1933, he played with the house band of the Brooklyn Club Casa Mia, who also included the banjoist Ikey Robinson as a member. Before Dixon disappeared from the music scene, he worked for June Clark in 1936.

Personal life

Dixon was married to Virginia Smith of Sewickley, Pennsylvania on 6 October 1930 in Chicago, Illinois.[8] She deserted him a month later.[9]

References
  1. Mark Berresford, That's Got 'Em!: The Life and Music of Wilbur C. Sweatman. 2010
  2. "Birth Record Detail: Vance R. Dixon", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, retrieved June 14, 2020
  3. "Westinghouse Radio Program For Today". The Evening News, North Tonawanda. 5 August 1922.
  4. Earl Hines remembered that Vance Dixon was the first to play two clarinets at the same time. See Stanley Dance, Earl Hines: The World of Earl Hines. Da Capo Press, 1983
  5. Max Jones: Jazz Talking: Profiles, Interviews, and Other Riffs. 2000, page 180.
  6. Web Archived Vance Dixon at Red Hot Jazz
  7. Lord, Tom. "The JAZZ Discography Musician List". Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871–1920 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871–1920." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Illinois Department of Public Health records. "Marriage Records, 1871–present." Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois.
  9. "Local Girl Deserts Mate, Say". The Pittsburgh Courier. 22 November 1930.
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