Andy Kirk, Ray Abrams and Shirley Greene Take Off
Although unknown to most audiences today, band leader Andy Kirk had his time in the limelight. Kirk was elected to lead Terrence Holder’s band Dark Clouds of Joy after their founder left the group in the late 1920’s. They renamed the group to the Clouds of Joy and Later, the Twelve Clouds of Joy, and relocated to the jazz music hub of Kansas City, Missouri. The popularity of the group grew quickly and is said to have rivaled that of the Count Basie Band.
Alums of the Clouds of joy include Fats Navarro, Mary Lou Williams and her then husband John Williams, Hank, Jones, Joe Williams and briefly, Charlie Parker. In this clip, from the 1948 film, Killer Diller features tenor saxophonists Ray Abrams and Shirley Green. By this time, Swing was receding on the music scene and Be-Bop had become a strong influence in jazz. This clip is a great example of the confluence of those two musical genres.