Author Topic: Snoozer Quinn--anybody heard him? (Read 5704 times)

Johnm · « **on:** June 20, 2004, 10:44:52 AM »

Hi all,
I ws wondering if anybody out there had heard or had recordings of the New Orleans guitarist Snoozer Quinn? I was introduced to his music about fifteen years ago by an excellent guitarist named David Sebring , who has since returned to Nashville and has worked a lot for George Gruhn over the years.
Anyway, David had some Snoozer Quinn cuts on tape that were tremendous. I don't believe he ever recorded very much, and I think his few titles are from the late '20s or '30. He was operating in the kind of cross-over area between Blues and Jazz (a bit more toward Jazz) that Mark has mentioned he has been mining lately. Snoozer had a big chordal vocabulary and swung very hard, which a lot of guitarists of that era did not do. I remember on one tune that he played, I figured out that he was playing in dropped D tuning to play in the key of F, and had set up his chord voicings and phrasing so that he was fingering the melody of the tune almost exclusively with the little finger of his left hand, doing a lot of really cool (and difficult) slides and bends. And all of this was being done while maintaining a very full and fluid chordal sound and swinging like crazy.
I believe Snoozer had some kind of birth defect, which may have led to his nickname, and he apparently was a shadowy figure who also died pretty young. Have any of you heard him, or does anybody know of places where you can currently obtain recordings of his music? He seems to me to be ripe for a "Complete Recordings Of" tribute CD. Maybe if you ask around in New Orleans you can find somebody who remembers him, Lindy. I only ever heard him once, but his music really made an impression on me. He could REALLY play, and he didn't sound like anyone else I've ever heard.
All best,
Johnm

frankie · « **Reply #1 on:** June 20, 2004, 11:05:52 AM »

I ran across his name in a book about jazz guitarists probably 10 years ago or so. The description sounded really juicy (more or less exactly the way you described him), but I never could find any actual recordings of him. About 4 years ago I ran across a site that had eight tunes played by SQ in RealAudio format. I thought they were great & saved them, but later swore off RealAudio & haven't been able to listen to them since. I'm just downloading the latest version of RealPlayer now (only for Snoozer!) so I can refresh my memory & maybe convert the files, one way or another, to mp3.

Slack · « **Reply #2 on:** June 20, 2004, 07:34:38 PM »

Here is the site with the 8 Real Player songs of Snoozer (great name, good listening, very jazzy to my ear).

http://www.booze-bros.com/snoozer.html

Rivers · « **Reply #3 on:** June 20, 2004, 11:58:04 PM »

Wow. What's with the pickups on Snoozer's guitar, sounds like the mid / bass pole pieces are pumping out a lot more voltage than the treble side, wonder if it's recorded direct. Through my pc speakers it sounds like a guitar jamming with a megalomaniac kazoo player... Great player though, thanks for that, I had never heard of him.

Johnm · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:16:23 AM »

Hi all,
I agree with Mark, Snoozer sounds pretty great--just as I remembered him. Thanks for tracking this down, John D.!
All best,
Johnm

lindy · « **Reply #5 on:** June 29, 2004, 06:27:41 PM »

Y'all:

If you haven't seen this page yet, it looks as though a Japanese company has gotten hold of those Snoozer Quinn tapes (and maybe some other cuts?) and put them on a CD. No idea about whether or not they digitalized the recordings and cleaned them up, but I wouldn't be surprised. Unfortunately, the web page is in Japanese:

http://www.craftone.co.jp/solo_flight/guitarist/quinn,s/

But the site has another page in English that has a Quinn discography:

http://www.craftone.co.jp/solo_flight/guitarist/quinn,s/discography.html

Not much to go on, but I did get the impression that Quinn backed up Bing Crosby in some small-group sessions, so you may have a clean chance to hear his work a little bit, a brief solo here and there. I'm planning a trip to the Tulane University Jazz Collection as soon as I get out from under a pile of work, maybe they'll have something on him.

Lindy

lindy · « **Reply #6 on:** June 30, 2004, 05:41:39 AM »

I asked a Japanese friend to take a look at that link I described, and it turns out that the CD was issued on the Fat Cat label, a label that was started by an American hobbyist/fanatic that was sold to the Jazzology label a few years back. I looked at the Jazzology site and didn't see Snoozer anywhere. Will send them an email.

But I took another look at the discography, and wow, how did he stay so far beneath the radar? He was part of a pretty classy circle of players that included Trumbauer, Beiderbecke, Hazlett and Crosby. And according to the discography, he cut several solo sides that were "rejected" for distribution. A major bummer of a decision.

Lindy

Eldergreene · « **Reply #7 on:** July 02, 2004, 02:56:59 AM »

WOW - just heard a couple of the SQ tunes - he's GREAT! wish there was more (esp old) stuff; just when you think you've heard'em all ..

Scott Black · « **Reply #8 on:** December 04, 2007, 10:21:08 PM »

Greetings All,

I noticed on your list that there were quite a few people interested in Snoozer Quinn. And rightly so, Snoozer was one of the greatest player of all time! The reason for this post is that I started a small CD label about a year ago, just for collectors of the really rare stuff. I have about 70,000 old records going back to the 1890?s. But I?ve always looked for acetates and home recordings of any type, and I?ve been doing this for close to 40 years now. I?ve spent the past quarter century touring and playing the cornet with Leon Redbone, and I just quit last month. And I spent a good deal of time on the road scrounging around flea markets and antique shops digging up more goodies. I spent 10 years living in New Orleans and around 1990 I rescued a huge box of old home recordings recorded between 1942 to 1952. They were falling apart and just horrible shape. But I?ve managed to piece quite a few back together. And I was able to salvage pieces of a couple of song that has Snoozer soloing!
And it?s just amazing! The sound quality is so-so, but given the condition of the recording it?s as good as it can get without compromising the sound. I put up Snoozer?s chorus on ?After You?ve Gone? as a sample for those would like to give it a listen. I may have others with him on them, but this is what I have so far. The other New Orleans sides on these CD?s are great as well. I don?t do any re-issues at all. I just want to put out sides that have never been heard before. And I have a ton of them! So, if you?d like to check them out just go to Kazoolips.com and click on the label that says NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ACETATES ? VOLUME 2, and this will take you to the page with a ?new? solo from Snoozer Quinn. He was everything they said he was and more!

Scott Black
Kazoolips.com

Rivers · « **Reply #9 on:** December 05, 2007, 05:20:36 AM »

Hi Scott,

Welcome to Weenie Campbell. First off I'm a big fan of the stuff you and Leon have done over the years and look forward to seeing what you put out under your label.

Second, the post in Performance Corner was a duplicate and basically in the wrong place so I removed it.

Regards,

Rivers.

Johnm · « **Reply #10 on:** December 05, 2007, 05:09:46 PM »

Hi all,
I merged the new Snoozer Quinn thread in the Main Forum with the pre-existing one in Other Musical Interests and since Snoozer was not really a country blues musician, it seemed to make sense to keep the thread here.
all best,
Johnm

Rivers · « **Reply #11 on:** December 05, 2007, 05:36:05 PM »

Nice to revisit those eight tracks. The sound is still weird even though since first listening I've got a really good audio setup.

Tantalizing stuff, such a shame he didn't record much earlier on. Historians might be reappraising Charlie Christian's role in the history of modern jazz guitar.

Still, that audio is really strange. The bass / mid sounds closer to the mic than the treble. I'm still not convinced it's not a hoax, two guitars kinda thing.

Cambio · « **Reply #12 on:** December 06, 2007, 06:55:01 AM »

I recently heard a Jimmie Davis 78, Pea Pickin' Papa, that had Snoozer Quinn playing backup guitar. I sounded really great. Does anyone know if he played with Jimmie Davis a lot?
Todd

Parlor Picker · « **Reply #13 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:52:08 AM »

I don't have Godrich & Dixon to hand, Todd, but from memory I think he's the slide player on "Hum Dum Dinger From Dingersville" (isn't he?).

Bill Roggensack · « **Reply #14 on:** December 06, 2007, 12:26:49 PM »

Thanks JohnM for bringing Snoozer to my attention, and to Slack for finding a link that makes it easy to listen to a few tunes. I gotta say, I liked what I heard! Very jazzy, but down to earth at the same time.

dj · « **Reply #15 on:** December 06, 2007, 01:29:26 PM »

Quote

I don't have Godrich & Dixon to hand, Todd, but from memory I think he's the slide player on "Hum Dum Dinger From Dingersville"

Snoozer Quinn accompanied Jimmie Davis on:

"She's A Hum-Dum Dinger" - Part 2 (2 takes)
"Market House Blues"
"Get On Board, Aunt Susan"
"Midnight Blues"

Ed Schaffer (as "Dizzy Head") also played guitar on the above tracks.

lindy · « **Reply #16 on:** January 01, 2012, 05:33:56 PM »

Last spring when I was in New Orleans I spent some time in the Hogan Jazz Archive looking for as much info as I could about Snoozer Quinn. I?d done the same five years earlier, and at that time I couldn?t find anything except for a few typewritten transcripts of interviews with other musicians who were asked to describe their meetings with Snoozer.

This time there was a lot more information, mostly in the form of research done by Snoozer?s great-great-niece. She?s put together an informative website, surprisingly called http://www.snoozerquinn.com. It has film footage of Snoozer playing in 1932, unfortunately without sync sound, but still worth watching. She?s also put up a few sound files on her site.

A couple of times when I went to the Columns Hotel to listen to John Rankin I?d ask him to play a Snoozer tune or two, he's a big Snoozer Quinn fan. Another person who has tried to work out some of his music is Don Vappie, who has taught at Port Townsend a couple of times.

Do check out those web pages and links, he was a remarkable player.

Lindy

Johnm · « **Reply #17 on:** January 01, 2012, 06:04:53 PM »

Here is a recording of Snoozer made by a friend of his when he (Snoozer) was in the hospital. What a wonderful and unique guitarist he was!

All best,
Johnm

Pan · « **Reply #18 on:** January 01, 2012, 06:16:21 PM »

I was just looking for his possible YouTube videos myself! Thanks for introducing me to this great musician!

Here are some other YouTube findings:

Cheers

Pan

Rivers · « **Reply #19 on:** January 01, 2012, 11:53:55 PM »

Wiggs Inc. What a perfectly sexy name for a record label

Mike Billo · « **Reply #20 on:** January 02, 2012, 07:15:48 AM »

I have two Jimmie Davis, Bear family LP's, that have Snoozer Quinn on them.
Although often pictured holding a guitar, Jimmie Davis, apparently, didn't actually play and had guys like Snoozer Quinn and Oscar Woods as his back-up.
Later in life, Davis (composer of the ubiquitous, "You Are My Sunshine") was Governor of Louisiana and a Gospel Singer, but the early recordings are very cool, Jimmie Rodgers-influenced, Blues.
In my opinion, Davis was several notches above most of the other Rodgers imitators of the day and really had a good feel for the Blues.
I don't know if Bear Family has the Davis sides reissued on CD, but of they do, I highly recommend them. Great listening and the presence of guys like Quinn and Woods make them all that much better.

poymando · « **Reply #21 on:** January 03, 2012, 03:55:33 PM »

I seem to remember hearing Leo Kottke mention Quinn as a great guitar player and former Davis sideman during his in between song raps a number of years ago. He even has a tune named "Little Snoozer".

tonyrees · « **Reply #22 on:** March 01, 2023, 10:17:45 PM »

Picking up on this thread after a bit of a gap (what's 11 years between friends??)

- A fair bit more info on Snoozer now at https://snoozerquinn.com/ - including a book by the site curator, Kathryn Hobgood Ray ...

- The FatCat materials (Wiggs Hospital recordings) are now available on CD, per the discogs entry: https://www.discogs.com/release/15576437-Snoozer-Quinn-With-Johnny-Wiggs-Johnny-Wiggs-Big-Five-The-Magic-Of-Snoozer-Quinn - available for listening via Spotify if needed (some tracks also on youtube).

- Youtube user Nick Rossi put together this playlist in 2017 of 1920s (?-1930s) jazz tracks featuring Snoozer Quinn:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1vTNGM5zLFe1ibtYPP9DW8sF6sA7jeQf

The last 2 (3: 1 is duplicated) items are Snoozer + 2 others accompanying Bing Crosby's first solo recording session in 1929.

- A few other early dance band tracks are floating around as well, probably with Snoozer mostly inaudible

- I'm still intrigued by Scott Black's info above regarding "two just found solos by Snoozer Quinn!!" labelled as After you’ve gone (1:31) ; Blues (1:29) on his 2008 Kazoo Lips release “New Orleans jazz acetates. Volume 2” and wondering if they are different to the Fat Cat material - if so, would be fascinating to hear...

Stuart · « **Reply #23 on:** March 02, 2023, 10:13:27 AM »

In Tuesday's The Syncopated Times:

https://syncopatedtimes.com/restoring-edward-snoozer-quinn-to-the-jazz-guitar-pantheon/

An embedded link in the ST article:

http://www.jazzhotbigstep.com/70001.html

Slack · « **Reply #24 on:** March 02, 2023, 02:17:59 PM »

Welcome tonyrees!

MarkC · « **Reply #25 on:** March 02, 2023, 04:52:16 PM »

Here’s a Fretboard Journal podcast from June 2022:

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/podcasts/podcast-368-the-legend-of-snoozer-quinn/

tonyrees · « **Reply #26 on:** March 02, 2023, 05:30:11 PM »

This info from Scott Black in 2008 (https://web.archive.org/web/20080708184012/http://kazoolips.com/NEW_ORLEANS2.html):
"7. AFTER YOU'VE GONE - 1:31
8. BLUES - 1:29 SNOOZER QUINN
ONE DOWNLOAD! I wish I could have saved more from this record, but glad to get this!" ... "You can see the condition of the recording on the cover of this CD. The other side had almost no acetate coating left, just the aluminum base. But it did have, at one time, a couple fragments of the label that had Snoozer's name on it. All I could save was about two choruses from each song. As luck would have it, Snoozer's solos on each song were saved. Out of this collection there were a few like this one as well with Snoozer mentioned on the label. Over 60 years of sitting in a box in New Orleans caused most of the labels to fall off and did damage to the recordings that can't be believed. So I'm still doing my best to save what I can."

Just wondering if the track/s are still around, or whether anyone paid $0.99 for the download back at that time (or purchased the CD "KL-6 New Orleans Jazz acetates & home recordings Volume 2")... or can point to where the tracks might be available today.

MarkC · « **Reply #27 on:** March 02, 2023, 08:44:47 PM »

https://archive.org/details/lp_the-legendary-snoozer-quinn_eddie-snoozer-quinn

I didn’t try to download them

MarkC · « **Reply #28 on:** March 02, 2023, 08:53:23 PM »

Whoops, it looks like you’re looking for other recordings.,

tonyrees · « **Reply #29 on:** March 02, 2023, 10:01:33 PM »

"The Legendary..." (Vinyl, Fat Cat) now re released with extra tracks (not featuring Snoozer) as "The Magic Of..." - can listen as a youtube playlist at

Other early tracks from the 1920s-30s featuring Snoozer (probably not always audible) have been put together as a playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1vTNGM5zLFe1ibtYPP9DW8sF6sA7jeQf

The 2 tracks rescued from acetates by Scott Black and made available in 2008 on his KazooLips label are still unheard by me, apparently different from any of the above

- Tony

Stuart · « **Reply #30 on:** March 03, 2023, 08:59:00 AM »

Hi Tony:

Last night it crossed my mind that given the nature of the CD there might be an outside chance it would have been acquired by--or Scott Black would have donated it to--one of the NOLA libraries. This morning I did a search and:

https://www.worldcat.org/title/282012262?oclcNum=282012262

Now all you or someone else has to do is bring a laptop with an optical drive and CD importing software to the Tulane University library and, as they say, "Bob's Your Uncle."

Slack · « **Reply #31 on:** March 03, 2023, 09:33:04 AM »

Stuart, you're a genius!

Stuart · « **Reply #32 on:** March 03, 2023, 09:57:53 AM »

Quote from: Slack on March 03, 2023, 09:33:04 AM

Stuart, you're a genius!

Hah! Hardly! Even though I earned a PhD from a top-tier university, as a former New Jersey cab driver I have the combined instincts of a rat and a cockroach that allow me to ferret out the good stuff.

lindy · « **Reply #33 on:** March 03, 2023, 10:24:43 AM »

I had the great experience of living in N'Awlins between 2003-2009, and spent some happy hours looking through the collection here:

https://library.tulane.edu/locations/tusc/hogan-archive-new-orleans-music-new-orleans-jazz

Absolutely nothing was digitized at that time, they had a very basic setup for burning a CD of the Snoozer Quinn 8-song LP for me. It looks like they've put a major effort into digitizing at least some their holdings and putting them online. Mostly jazz-oriented, of course, but I found some slim files on NO blues players like Richard "Rabbit" Brown when I was there, maybe they've added more since then.

Lindy

Stuart · « **Reply #34 on:** March 03, 2023, 11:04:10 AM »

Hi Tony: It's possible you might be able to get the two tracks you want through Inter-Library Loan (ILL). Since it's not the entire CD you're after (although that would be nice) it would fall under "Fair Use." Check with the library you use. There might be a fee--but still--it might be worth it to you, depending. The library just might be able to get them as audio files from Tulane.

tonyrees · « **Reply #35 on:** March 03, 2023, 11:09:52 AM »

Thanks Stuart. Actually I'm in Australia and do not really use ILL at this time - also we do not have confirmation that Tulane actually has this, do we? (WorldCat said "1 edition in 1 library" but then "Unable to find libraries on WorldCat with this item.") ... But someone else is welcome to try!

Stuart · « **Reply #36 on:** March 03, 2023, 11:29:25 AM »

Hi Tony: The catalog indicates they have it (along with Volume 1) in their holdings and it's available:

https://tinyurl.com/yc892zdb

https://library.tulane.edu/resources/audio-film

Yeah, being in Australia doesn't exactly make access convenient, but maybe one of our WC members who is closer can help out.

Like Lindy, I'm in the Seattle, Washington area, so NOLA ain't exactly within walking distance. But at least we know one copy of the CD appears to be available, along with where it's located, which is a start.

News:

Member Info

Quick Menu

Author Topic: Snoozer Quinn--anybody heard him? (Read 5704 times)

Scott Black