Babe Russin is Alive!

[mmilovan]

From www.alljazz.us

"Babe Russin is Alive!

One of our clients called to complain that we had not awarded him a

record he had bid on as we had entered the wrong catalog number in the

computer. He said he wanted the record because Babe Russin was playing

on it and he wanted to give it to him.

We said Russin died years ago. No, we were told, he is 96 alive and

living in Florida. The news of his death was actually reporting his

brother's death, but Babe "never bothered" to get it corrected. He is

reported to have lots of stories about the bands and singers he played

with."

Maybe someone is enthusiastic to find this player, who played, just to remind you with so many greats. He also played in very first Goodman band and surely he was there at the official beginning of The Swing Era

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks for making this public!

Nice to see one of the players of the Swing era still being around, especially since he outlived sooo many of subsequent generations of jazz musicians.

Maybe someone really ought to seek him out and record his memoirs and reminiscences for posterity before it is too late and another link to the past is severed.

BTW, among all the RIP threads of last year, the passing of another notable Swing-era jazzmen seemed to have gone largely unnoticed: Franz Jackson passed away the past year at 94. If I look at who else got an obit here, it certainly was NOT a matter of obscurity that this passing went largely unnoticed but really only a matter of awareness on the part of those who go for those obits. (As for my last statement, I stand corrected: Franz Jackson DID get an obit thread of his own - well deservedly)

Edited January 9, 2009 by Big Beat Steve

[chitownjazz]

For what it's worth, the Social Security Death Index includes a record that seems to match Russin. I feel that a little skepticism is warranted here.

BABE RUSSIN 18 Jun 1911 Aug 1984 91606 (North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA)

Edited January 9, 2009 by chitownjazz

[Swinging Swede]

If this is true, then wow!

Russin recorded in the 20s with Red Nichols, Eddie Lang and Jack Purvis! He was in Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert orchestra; he also played in the orchestras of Artie Shaw, Harry James, Glenn Miller and both Dorseys; he was on a Lionel Hampton Victor session with Herschel Evans, and on JATP with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young; he recorded with Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Frank Sinatra. This guy has seen it all!

I kind of agree that it sounds too good to be true that he would still be alive.

[Swinging Swede]

Babe had an older piano-playing brother, Jack Russin, who recorded with several of the same names: Red Nichols, Eddie Lang, Glenn Miller, the Dorseys etc. Could the confusion about who died stem from there?

[mmilovan]

From the very same list:

"A Google search for "Irving Russin Florida", without the quotation marks, pulls up an address and telephone listing in Coconut Creek, FL."

[Swinging Swede]

Babe Russin with Louis Armstrong!

[chitownjazz]

Could be he's alive, but I don't think you get into the SSDI without providing some sort of documentation. Odd too, that he'd be "Irving Russin" in the phone book but "Babe Russin" in the SSDI (I realize Irving is his given name but then why isn't it Irving in the SSDI). I guess somebody needs to call Irving in Florida and see what he has to say.

A couple of years ago I was looking for info on an old "Conavay-McCoy" sax mouthpiece that was made in Springfield, Illinois. I wound up tracking down a phone listing and talking to the then 99 year old Melvin McCoy. Definitely an increasing number of old-timers out there these days.

Edited January 9, 2009 by chitownjazz