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Groovin' Boogie

134.3K streams

134,260

Top 75 Classics - The Very Best of Jac...

128.7K streams

128,725

Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Rema...

88.3K streams

88,274

Jump Jack

76.9K streams

76,903

Sax Honkin' Essentials 1944-1947

67K streams

67,003

Mcvoutie's Central Avenue Blues

62.5K streams

62,454

Saxophone Rhythm & Blues Greats 1945-1...

18.6K streams

18,636

Fortissimo! The Combo Recordings 1954-...

13.2K streams

13,203

Open the Door Richard!

2.4K streams

2,355

New Deal

Biography

Jack McVea will always be most famous for his big hit "Open the Door, Richard." Although associated with the R&B world due to that 1946 bestseller, McVea was actually a swing stylist whose fairly mellow sound was a major contrast to the honking tenors of the time. He started out playing banjo as a youth (1925-27) before switching to alto. McVea began playing professionally with his father (banjoist Satchel McVea), Dootise Williams' Harlem Dukes (1932), Charlie Echols (1934-35), Claude Kennedy, Edyth Turnham, Cee Pee Johnson and Eddie Barefield (1936). McVea mostly gigged in the Los Angeles area until joining Lionel Hampton in 1940 as a baritonist. He was with Hamp for three years and played with Snub Mosley, but McVea made a much stronger impression when he played on the first Jazz at the Philharmonic Concert. From 1944 on, McVea led his own group most of the time. He appeared on a Slim Gaillard record date in 1945 that included Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and was quite popular from 1946-48 after "Open the Door, Richard" became a novelty hit. In the 1950s McVea had a lower profile, continuing to lead his own combo in the Los Angeles area and gigging with Benny Carter in 1956. McVea recorded as a leader for Rhythm, Melodisc, Apollo, Black & White and Exclusive from 1945-47 and for Combo and Ace from 1953-55. He also recorded a jazz album for 77 in 1962. From 1966 until the mid-1980s, McVea led a Dixieland-oriented trio at Disneyland, playing clarinet exclusively. When the Disneyland job ended, he retired from music. Jack McVea died in Los Angeles on December 27, 2000. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi