Art Hodes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Art Hodes
Art Hodes on the piano at left
Background information
Birth name	Arthur W. Hodes
Born	(1904-11-14)November 14, 1904 Nikolayev, Russian Empire
Died	March 4, 1993(1993-03-04) (aged 88) Harvey, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Piano
Associated acts	Sidney Bechet, Joe Marsala, Mezz Mezzrow

Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), known professionally as Art Hodes, was an American jazz pianist.

Biography

Hodes was born in Ukraine. His family settled in Chicago, Illinois when he was a few months old. His career began in Chicago clubs, but he did not gain wider attention until moving to New York City in 1938. In that city he played with Sidney Bechet, Joe Marsala, and Mezz Mezzrow.

Later, Hodes founded his own band in the 1940s and it would be associated with his hometown of Chicago. He and his band played mostly in that area for the next forty years. In the late 1960s, Hodes starred in a series of TV shows on Chicago style jazz called Jazz Alley. Here he appeared with musicians such as Pee Wee Russell and Jimmy McPartland. Episodes of the show have been released on DVD.

Hodes was editor of the magazine, The Jazz Record, for five years in the 1940s.

He remained an educator and writer in jazz. During this period of his life and into the 1970s, Hodes resided in south suburban Park Forest, Illinois.

He toured the UK in 1987, recording with drummer John Petters. In 1988, he visited Ireland to appear at the Cork jazz Festival with Petters and Wild Bill Davison. A tour, the Legends of American Dixieland, followed in May 1989 with the same line-up.

Other musicians he played and recorded with included Louis Armstrong, Wingy Manone, Gene Krupa, Muggsy Spanier, Joe Marsala, Mezz Mezzrow, Sidney Bechet, Albert Nicholas, Wild Bill Davison, Barney Bigard, and Vic Dickenson.

In 1998, he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Ethan Iverson has written an article on Hodes, "Selections from the Gutter," which includes a transcription of Hodes's first 78, "Ross Tavern Boogie."

Quotation

Bebop? Avant-garde? Yeah, I heard of them. I also heard of these kids called the Bright Brothers – Wright Brothers? – who claim they can make you fly. It'll never catch on, none of it.

—Art Hodes (1981)

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Compilations

• Vintage Art Hodes (Jazzology, 1930–50)
• Sessions at Blue Note (1944)
• The Jazz Record Story (Jazzology, 1943–46)
• The Duets (Solo Art, 1969–77)
• The Parkwood Creative Concept Sessions, Volume I (Parkwood, 1987–89)

See also

In Spanish: Art Hodes para niños