FATE MARABLE

'Fate Marable' (2 December 1890 – 16 January 1947) was a jazz pianist and bandleader.
Marable was born in Paducah, Kentucky and learned piano from his mother. At age 17, he began playing on the steam boats plying the Mississippi River. He soon became bandleader for boats on the Streckfus Line which ran several paddlewheelers which held dances and excursions along the river from New Orleans, Louisiana to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Marable appreciated the new "jazz" sound being played by the New Orleans musicians, and the bulk of his band members were recruited from that city.
Members of Marable's bands were expected to be able to play a wide variety of music, from hot numbers to light classics, both play by head and from sheet music, and above all keep the dancers happy. Marable was a strict bandleader, demanding musical proficiency and rigid discipline from all his bandmembers, yet allowed them to develop their individual strong points. Per instance, Louis Armstrong's gift for improvisation was recognised as such by Marable, and he allowed him to improvise his breaks rather than play them note for note. Marable's ensemble had the role of musically educating many players who would later become prominent in Jazz, as well as additionaly disseminating early Jazz along the Mississippi. Noted musicians who spent time in Marable's bands included Red Allen, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Pops Foster, Narvin Kimball, Al Morgan and Zutty Singleton, among others.
In addition to piano and bandleading, Marable played the boats' steam calliope, a contraption that could be heard for miles up and down the river and poured down so much water from condensing steam that Marable performed wearing a raincoat and hood.
Fate Marable died of pneumonia in St. Louis, Missouri. He was 56 years old.