Slim Gaillard - âCement Mixerâ
Some perfect feel good live jazz (with a few brilliant comedic touches), from the multi-talented and ever swinging Slim Gaillard.
Whilst being foremost a hugely enjoyable performer to watch and listen to, it is his arguably his remarkable journey to success that particularly sets him apart from other musicians of the era:
Gaillardâs childhood in Cuba was spent cutting sugar-cane and picking bananas, as well as occasionally going to sea with his father. At the age of twelve, he accompanied his father on a world voyage and was accidentally left behind on the island of Crete. After acquiring a few words of Greek, he worked on the island for a while, âmaking shoes and hatsâ. He then joined a ship working the eastern Mediterranean ports, mainly Beirut, where he picked up some knowledge of Arabic.
When he was about 15, he re-crossed the Atlantic, hoping the ship would take him home to Cuba, but it was bound for the USA and he ended up in Detroit. He never saw either of his parents again.
In Detroit, Gaillard first worked doing odd jobs in a general store owned by an Armenian family, with whom he lived for some time, later trying also to make some money at prize-fighting. During 1931 or 1932, when Prohibition was still in force, he drove a hearse bearing a coffin packed with whisky for the Purple Gang. Some sources state that he apparently also worked in an abattoir and trained as a mortician.
While working for the Purple Gang, he attended evening classes in music and taught himself to play guitar, piano and other instruments. When Duke Ellington came to Detroit, Gaillard managed to go backstage and meet his hero. âI like youâ, said Duke, âbecause youâre studying music properly.â Determined to become a musical entertainer, Gaillard moved to New York City and entered the world of show business as a âprofessional amateurâ.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Gaillard#Early_life]