Earle R. Spencer was an American trombonist and leader of a progressive swing big band bearing his name — Earle Spencer and His Orchestra. He formed the band in 1946 and disbanded in 1949. The band recorded for Black & White Records — a label so named by its founder, Les Schreiber, to reflect the races of its recording artists.
History of the Earle Spencer Orchestra
Spencer was a trombonist who, after playing in the band that he led from 1946 to 1949, gave up playing entirely, due partly to a heart murmur, due partly to the hard economics of big bands in that began in the late 1940s, and due partly to the band's record label, Black & White Records, which went out of business in October 1949. Towards the end of World War II, a conscious movement towards the creation of a new style of big band jazz became apparent on America's west coast. The longest established of these self-styled "progressives" was Stan Kenton; then came Boyd Raeburn, and finally Earle Spencer. In 1946, Spencer formed his band in Los Angeles after being discharged from the U.S. Navy. Its compositions were progressively styled in the spirit of Stan Kenton, Johnny Richards, and Boyd Raeburn. High-note trumpeter Al Killian, trombonist Tommy Pederson, tenorman Lucky Thompson, trumpeter Buddy Childers and altoist Art Pepper, were among the notable members. Spencer apparently dropped out of music altogether by the end of 1949 – when he was still just 23 – and nothing much has been heard from him since. When Kenton was in his Artistry in Rhythm phase, Earle Spencer was running a roadshow version of the same thing. The evidence is on Concert in Jazz, Tops 1532, dimmed by relatively inadequate recording. The March 5, 1949 Billboard magazine listed the Earle Spencer Orchestra as a "B" Band — one that grossed less than $200,000, but more than $100,000 during 1948. Its booking agent firm was General Artist Corporation. Big bands were finding it difficult to survive in the late 1940s and were faced with limited bookings; so Spencer disbanded after a gig in Dallas. Edward Franklin Gabel left Kenton as Kenton's bandboy to work for Earle Spencer as manager in 1947.
Toni Aubin and Jerry Hegeman joined the band while it was performing in Fort Worth. The band was booked first at the Lake Worth Casino, then 3 nights at the Bagdad Club.
Toni Aubin had married Howard Ansley Phillips who, from 1947 to 1949, played saxophone in the band. Aubin recorded "Sunday Afternoon" and other songs with the Spencer orchestra, but also recorded with the Louis Ohls Orchestra out of Arkadelphia, and the Phil CarreónBig Band out of Los Angeles, California.
