SLIM JENKINS
Part Two
In March-April 1953, along with Que Martyn and his band, visitors to the club could see singer Cordella Thornton, Pierce & Pierce, Lord Essex Scott and Jimmy Slydo.
Pierce & Pierce were still there in June along with Rita Grenae who continued until September when she was joined by Lil Greenwood and Que Martyn, along with headliner Redd Foxx.
By September song and dance man Freddie McWilliams had been added as M.C., along with a skating act called The Blue Streaks.
Information on 1954 is sketchy but Leomine Gray had replaced Rita Grenae at the beginning of the year. At the end of October Cordella DeMillo (sic) was the headliner, Que Martyn led the house band , and exotic dancer Ann Noel and singing MC Al Harrison also appeared.
November found the Tip Top Three at the club and in December Cordella Di Millio (sic) was back along with song and dance stylists Sims & Keller, Jimmy Peterson and Chuck Walker's 4 Knights of Rhythm. In March 1955 Miss Charles - "Lady Blues" with some "sizzling vocals" was featured. Lil Greenwood had a long run from June to August, along with the Bill Washington Quartet (June - July), the Hucklebuck Revue (June) and Roy Felts band (August). Slappy White was back in December on his own (without Dinah Washington). The beginning of 1956 saw the Kit Kats, a "smasheroo song and dance comedy team", featuring along with a band led by Jimmy Lanier, while in February vocalist Emily Foster, "cutest bombshell this side of Harlem," was featured along with Hucklebuck and the Rhythmaires. And the year ended with appearances by Hernandez Strane at the organ and Pee Wee Parham and his All Stars.
In May 1957 The Oakland Tribune reported that "Billed as the sensation of the jazz era - “Mr. Drumsticks” Jimmie Rainey and his “Rhythm Ears” opened at Slim Jenkins Thurs. Here’s a group that should have their blended beat waxed because this is the sound that is selling in this the Golden Age of Rock n’ Roll. Singing MC is Don Ellis. And two kids that could be the next Mickey and Sylvia’s - Wally and Tessa give forth with the up-to-the-minute latest in R & B ballads." Rainey's was to be the house band for the remainder of the year. In September we are told that "Slim Jenkins’ floor shows are always fast paced and loaded with talented acts. And, the man behind the fast pace is band leader Jimmy Rainey. He’s the drummer and keeps the swingingest tempo humanly possible to maintain. Held over - Don Ellis, the singing MC and dancer Hiawatha. New names - singers Vance Walters and Billy Lee." In December "Ann Fisher’s causing all the excitement at Slim Jenkins these nights. She’s starring the rapid-fire floor show and sings pops and blues."
In March 1958, according to the Oakland Tribune, "The Hucklebuck is the big dance rage at Slim Jenkin’s zooty swingin’ supper club at 7th and Wood. The Great Hucklebuck leads the band here - reviving the fascinating ‘40s?" I have no idea who the Great Hucklebuck might have been! In April club goers could see Joe La Costa’s “Blue Flames, ” a chorus Line of exotic dancers plus L. C. Robertson’s Rock ‘N Roll Band. In July vocalists Al Harrison and Bonnie Graham were supported by the Balladines, a dance troupe and the Four Esquires. At the end of October Ann Fisher replaced Bonnie Graham and the Four Masters took over from the Four Esquires. With the addition of Lou Herman this line-up continued almost to the end of the year, with Bonnie Graham returning in place of Fisher on December 31. The early months of 1959 saw Bobbie Graham, Al Harrison, the Ballardians (sic) and the Four Masters (variously described as "of Rhythm" or "of Rock "N Roll) holding their places, with temporary additions such as Mary Stallings (January- February), Ford and Jazzbo Williams (January-March) and Chuckemo Perry (March). In June "Over 20 Bay Area Rock and Roll groups will compete at Slim Jenkins’ Saturday night. Scouts from record companies in New York and Los Angeles are flying in to sign up new sounds for the thirsty teen disc market." In July Bobbie Brooks (organ) and Tippy Alexander (drums) became a regular feature, with (in November) the addition of ex-Ink Spot Tommy Mosley. Also In August the Al Tanner Octet had an early session on Sundays.
Apart from an appearance by Lil Greenwood in June I have no information on 1960 and 1961 is a complete blank - perhaps not too much of a surprise as that was the year of the closure of the Seventh Street club. The Jackson Square club opened in July 1962 with Randy (sic, but I assume this was really Bobby) Brooks and Tippy Alexander continuing where they left off, joined by Jimmy Wilson on sax in August. 1963 saw Bobby Brooks continue with Jimmy Logan on drums and Wilson still on sax. At the weekends vocal group The Intervals held sway along with comedian Billy Allen. In March Eddie Foster replaced Allen as M.C., and a singer called James Allen appearde on Thursdays. After a visit by Earl Hines in May-June Brooks and Wilson along with Arthur Walker on trumpet and Earl Watkins on drums took over as house band and in July The Interval's long run came to an end. They were replaced by vocalist Kay King, "direct from Germany," and in August she was joined by vocal duo Vernon and Jewel. The end of August saw the return of Bonnie Graham and from September to November Faye Ross was the featured singer. In December the headliner was singer Nikki Avery backed by the Joe Alcon Quartet.
1964 began with the Leo Valentine Trio who stayed in place for the whole of January with vocals by "Mikki" and later by Gracie Hill; Jimmy McCracklin was also on the bill. In February Dell Matthews and her Trio (herself on keyboard, Larry Graham, organ and Rubin Kerr, drums) along with comedian M.C. Finny Mo. Tony Mosley was added to the roster at the end of the month. Cordella De Milo replaced Mosley at the beginning of April and the Sonny Ison Trio took Dell Matthews' place in May. At the end of the month the club featured the "Hello Dolly" revue, which consisted of the Zeniths, a quartet (two males, two females) along with De Milo and Finny Mo. The end of June saw the arrival of organist Ricky Morrison and his trio, along with singer Yvonne Le Cleric and Finney Mo. In early August Joanne Adams replaced Le Cleric and not long after the Leroy Felts Trio took over from Morrison. October saw the addition of sax player Elcy Smith and in November female impersonator Adrian Ames (with "a $25,000 wardrobe of movieland creations") had a few weeks' run.
Bobby Brooks and Tippy Alexander continued their long run in 1965 until the end of July with Lucky Brown added in April. Vernon and Jewel headlined in February, while Dell Matthews played in the lounge in May, joining the Brooks trio in the main room at weekends. The Imperials, a sextet led by Tony Bartlett, did four nights in July/August, and in late August organist Ralph Smith with drummer Leon Bryant played in the lounge during the week, joining Singer Cecilia Roberts and guitarist Reggie Taylor in the main room at weekends. In October a singer called Contessa was the headliner and in November Edie and Scotty, a duo who combined vocals and comedy, were the highlight. The year ended with old favourites back on the stage in the form of Del Matthews and Finney Mo.
1966, the club's final year, opened as 1965 had ended with Dell Matthews and Finny Mo as the featured artists. In February Bobby Brooks and Tippy Alexander returned and The LBJ [= Latin, Blues and Jazz] Quartet] did a single night. In April and May Gladys Palmer provided vocals with piano and organ backing, and in July a show to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the new venue presented Tommy Mosley, Melba Milton, and Bill Soul and his Soul Agents. Mosley continued for most of July and at the end of the month Victor Green and his band played a weekend set. And in August Jimmy McCracklin appeared, but by year's end the party was over and Slim Jenkins' was history.
The above list is based largely on ads in The Oakland Tribune and other newspapers; inevitably it is incomplete. I have included in the previous section notes on artists who appeared at the club in the period before 1953 when detailed ads begin to appear and I shall add here notes on artists who appeared at Slim Jenkins' in the post-1953 period but are not included above..
Little Frances "made her public debut on Seventh Street standing on a soap-box at Slim Jenkins' Supper Club, backed by Larry Graham, guitar, Del Hart, bass Ruben Kerr, drums, Ivy, piano and Dan Marshall, tenor sax. "I also had two gals back me up," says Little Francis. "They were Tippy and Bobbie who played organ and drums. I played Slim Jenkins' quite awhile with the Cordell Band before moving down to the Lincoln Theatre."" Opal Louis Nations, Big City Blues Vol. 14 No. 6 (Dec. 2008/Jan. 2009) 21. This was probably in 1958.