Cab Kaye - The 1950s and Hot Sauce

The 1950s and Hot Sauce

Between December 1950 and May 1951, Cab Kaye's Latin American Band, booked by Lou van Rees, toured France, Germany and The Netherlands (where Kaye met Charlie Parker, among other notables). In the Netherlands, Cab played in the newly opened "Avifauna" in Alphen aan den Rijn, the world's first bird park. In a turn of fate, he first met his later wife Jeannette at Avifauna when she was a little girl. The reprise came 30 years later when Cab and Jeannette married.

In 1951, Kaye played a small role in the movie Sensation in San Remo, directed by Georg Jacoby. Although the New Musical Express on 20 March 1953 announced "Cab Kaye gets Big Film Break", the movie was not a success and soon disappeared from cinemas. But it was not to be his last time in front of a camera. Further exposure came with his shows in the Montpellier Buttery Club where, according to a flyer, he performed his "Afro-Cuban music" and organised dance contests (cha-cha, mambo and jive). Prizes were presented by jazz stars such as Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott. In 1952 he recorded with the Gerry Moore Trio on 1 March and the Norman Burns Quintet on 17 May. From late 1952 to mid-1953 Cab played with drummer Tommy Jones from Liverpool and bassist/guitarist Brylo Ford from Trinidad. In 1953, Brylo Ford and Deacon Jones (drums) played in a trio of Cab’s that was featured in the movie Blood Orange, directed by Terence Fisher.

Meanwhile, Kaye led various multi-ethnic bands, usually consisting of musicians from British, African and West Indian origin. Later that year, he was in the revue entitled "Memories of Jolson", a musical based on the life of Al Jolson, featuring sixteen-year-old Shirley Bassey. The show toured Scotland but Kaye pulled out after the first performance on the grounds of its racism. Kaye decided to focus increasingly on variety shows (Melody Maker, 1953) and he founded the theater booking agency Black and White Productions Ltd, to book small theater and film roles for himself and other musicians. His career as a businessman did not last long and he soon concentrated again on making music.

A 5 July 1953 flyer from Jephson Gardens Pavilion announced Cab Kaye and his orchestra with a special attraction: "America's Queen of the Ivories”, Mary Lou Williams. In this band he accompanied the jitterbug and tap dancer Josephine (Josie) Woods, Dizzy Reece (trumpet), Pat Burke (tenor sax), Dennis Rose (piano), Denny Coffey (bass) and Dave Smallman (bongo & conga) in "Cab Kaye's jazz septet" among others at the London Palladium in 1953. Several different types of appearances followed, including performances with "Old Black Magic" singer Billy Daniels and pianist Benny Payne (New Wimbledon Theatre, 26 July 1953).

In the Netherlands, Kaye performed in the Kurhaus in Scheveningen. In the same year (1953), Melody Maker reported that a very hot sauce with a secret recipe, "Cab's secret" was sold in a number of shops on Archer Street (East Finchley) in London. Although popular among Cab’s friends for many years, the sauce never became a commercial success. At the end of 1953, Cab formed a cabaret act with Josie Woods "the Two Brown Birds of Rhythm". Again in Paris’s "Ring Side" club, this time announced as "Kab Kay”, he accompanied Eartha Kitt on piano. In April 1954 he played the role of “Kenneth - the coloured singer” in the film The Man Who Loved Redheads, written by Terence Rattigan, directed by Harold French and produced by British Lion. The film is about an innocent boy who meets a red-haired girl (Moira Shearer), and can’t forget her. Kaye received a salary of £35 per day.

During one of his tours in England (20 September 1954), he sang with a band led by pianist Ken Moule and including Dave Usden (trumpet), Keith Barr, Roy Sidwell (tenor saxophone), Don Cooper (bass), Arthur Watts (bass) and Lennie Breslaw (drums). Again contracted by impresario Lou van Rees, he toured the Netherlands in 1955-1956 and performed in the Flying Dutchman club in Scheveningen. Lou van Rees had the idea to form a big band with 12 band leaders who were not often heard on the Dutch radio, including Wil Hensbergen (Wil Hensbergen Orchestra), Max Woiski Sr. (La Cubana Orchestra), vibraphonist Eddy Sanchez (Swiss Air Trio), Johnny Kraaykamp (leader of the One Man Band), Wessel Ilcken and Cab Kaye. Also in 1956 "showman" Kaye played in Amsterdam’s Sheherazade jazz club with his "All Star Quintet", consisting of Rob Pronk (piano), Toon van Vliet (tenor sax), Dub Dubois (bass) and drummer Wally Bishop. The club, nicknamed "Zade" by friends, was located until 1962 in the Wagenstraat and was a popular meeting place for jazz musicians. Later in 1956 Kaye toured Germany and played in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Köln, followed in 1957 by touring England with the Eric Delaney Band Show with Marion Williams.

On 31 August 1957, Kaye performed in "Cab's Quintet" in the British television program Six-Five Special (Season 1, episode 29) with Laurence “Laurie” Deniz (1st guitar) and his brother Joe Deniz (2nd guitar), Pete Blannin (bass) and Harry South (piano). Around this time Kaye also performed in Oh Boy!, the first British teenage all-music show. Oh Boy was an ABC/ITV show produced by Jack Good, who had earlier produced Six-Five Special and knew Kaye from that. In the same year, 1957, Kaye was voted eleventh in Melody Maker’s Jazz Music Magazine Poll. In 1959 he joined the ensemble of Humphrey Lyttelton in London which led to the recording of the album Humph Meets Cab (March 1960), with his characteristic witty vocals on pieces such as "Let Love Lie Sleeping".

Kaye's popularity kept growing. The Manchester Evening News announced on 25 August 1960 the next day's BBC TV Jazz Session featuring the Dill Quintet, the Bob Wallis Storyville Jazzmen and singer Cab Kaye. In the same year Kaye came ninth in Melody Maker’s Jazz Poll.