930s, Toni Harper in the 1940s and Frankie Lymon in the 1950s. On the whole, although precociously talented, child entertainers were usually saddled with inferior, childish material that, while perhaps cute at the time, were usually novelty acts that grew tiresome pretty quickly. Some couldn't handle the swift drop in popularity and turned to drink or drugs, while others retired gracefully and concentrated their energies in other directions. One such was that tiny bundle of Detroit dynamite, "Sugar Chile" Robinson. Born Frankie Robinson, the youngest of six children, in Detroit in 1940, "Sugar Chile" began pounding on the family piano as a toddler - he reputedly banged out a recognisable version of Erskine Hawkins' Tuxedo Junction at the age of two - and by 1945 he had been "discovered" by pianist and bandleader Frankie Carle. Within a year he was asked to play at a Whitehouse party for President Harry Truman, had guested with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra and even appeared performing the title song in the 1946 MGM romantic comedy film "No Leave, No Love". It was not until July 1949, however, that he made his first records for the Capitol label, when, in the consummate company of jazz veterans Leonard Bibbs on bass and drummer Zutty Singleton, Robinson took his first two releases into the Billboard R&B chart in late 1949; Numbers Boogie made it to number four, while Caldonia (What Makes Your Big Head So Hard) only reached number 14. His subsequent national tour broke box-office records eve rywhere and it is claimed that his appearance at Chicago's Regal Theatre remains the biggest one-week attraction of the theatre's entire history, easily beating the jazz royalty of the day like Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Robinson toured with Basie in 1950 and made a celebrated musical short with the Basie Sextet and Billie Holiday in Hollywood in August to showcase his hits. The Christmas season of 1950 witnessed Sugar Chile's first European release and Christmas Boogie c/w Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer sold well enough to spark a European tour in 1951, including rave reviews for his spot at the London Palladium. He was a big hit on US radio and TV all through 1951 and then, while still in his pre-teens, Robinson's career was suddenly over; his last single release was issued in August 1952, shortly followed by a 10" compilation LP of boogie woogie that featured many of his 1952 recordings. Apart from a few radio transcriptions and film soundtracks, "Sugar Chile" Robinson's complete recording career - a period of just under three years - has been reissued in its entirety on one 2003 CD compilation, "Chronological Classics 1949-52". If he really was only nine years old at the time, the performances from his first session such as Vooey, Vooey Vay, Caldonia and Numbers Boogie were quite astonishing. As with other child stars, like Toni Harper, Robinson was frequently burdened with immature material, but even nursery rhyme knock-offs such as Sticks And Stones, Christmas Boogie and (Rock-A-Bye) Baby Blues were transformed into entertaining performances with hip and clever touches. The youngster acquitted himself as a pianist exceptionally well on the few instrumentals, particularly Lazy Boy's Boogie, and for variety he occasionally switched to organ or celeste on later sessions. Once the hits had dried up and he was released from his Capitol Records contract, there were one or two more reports in the trade papers of the day - he was reported in August 1954 as playing The Blue Note in Chicago with modern jazzer Gerry Mulligan (!) - and then nothing! What happened? Did his voice break? Did the novelty of an infant boogie virtuoso suddenly lose its appeal when he hit 12? Was he really found out to be an adolescent midget in disguise? Last year it was announced that a 62 year-old "Sugar Chile" Robinson had been rediscovered living in Detroit, where he has worked mainly outside music for almost 50 years (although he is rumoured to be the same Frank Robinson who co-owned the obscure Detroit-based soul label, Lando Records, in the 1960s) , and was brought out of retirement to pound the ivories once again at a music festival which celebrated pre-Motown music from the Motor City. The internet has been strangely silent since, so I am unsure whether the festiva l even took place. Does anybody know? CD: The Chronological Sugar Chile Robinson, 1949-1952 (Classics 5052, released in 2003). 24 tracks.

ould come to define many of the 1930s Big Bands. His first recordings were made in 1923, and were rather stiff interpretations of the New Orleans style of King Oliver and others. They also showed the influence of the Ragtime that was still popular in the area. They next recorded in 1926 for Victor In the more sophisticate style of Fletcher Henderson. By 1928 Moten's piano was showing some Boogie Woogie influences, but the real revolution came in the early 1930s when he recruited Count Basie, Walter Page and Oran 'Hot Lips' Page. Walter Page's walking bass lines gave the music an entirely new feel compared to the 2/4 tuba of his predecessor Vernon Page, coloured by Basie's understated, syncopated piano fills. In this time Ben Webster (tenor sax) and Jimmy Rushing (vocal) had also joined. Tragically Bennie Moten died in 1935 from a botched tonsillectomy operation. Buster Moten briefly took over the band, but many of its top members eventually gravitated towards Count Basie. Recording: Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - Rumba Negro, Victor 1929

Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this treasure trove of musical gems, one very special highlight is the reunion tour of the original Oscar Peterson Trio- Oscar, bassist Ray Brown and Guitarist Herb Ellis- regrouping to prove that they still have the magic. And almost as memorable as the music is the voice of the man himself, passionately and articulately guiding us through his unfolding creative and personal evolution. Wall-to-wall music, rare footage and in-depth interviews with a who's who of Jazz icons, including Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and others, create a film that is destined to become a classic: The history of one man's music and his ambition to honor his father's credo to "Be the best." Some of this film's musical highlights include a performance with Count Basie, Caravan, Gentle Waltz, Boogie Woogie, Tiny's Exercise (Art Tatum), Tenderly, Sweet Loraine (Nat "King" Cole), Hymn to Freedom, Bag's Groove, Place St. Henri, Perdido (Cleo Lane & John Dankworth), March Past, Nightmare, Hallelujah Time, Nigerian Marketplace, Lonesome One...and more. Other topics covered include the Anatomy of the Trio, Montreal's Golden Era, Measuring Up to Art Tatum, the Johnny Holmes Big Band, The Color Barrier and Race Relations, Norman Granz, Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP), Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown's Perspective, Touring Europe, Substance Abuse Casualties, Social Change in America, Civil Rights Movement - The Dream, The Permanence of Jazz, The Competitive side of Oscar, Award Presentations, the Royal Albert Hall Performance, and much more. For more information, to view our entire catalog, or to purchase the DVD, please go to www.view.com

Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this treasure trove of musical gems, one very special highlight is the reunion tour of the original Oscar Peterson Trio- Oscar, bassist Ray Brown and Guitarist Herb Ellis- regrouping to prove that they still have the magic. And almost as memorable as the music is the voice of the man himself, passionately and articulately guiding us through his unfolding creative and personal evolution. Wall-to-wall music, rare footage and in-depth interviews with a who's who of Jazz icons, including Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and others, create a film that is destined to become a classic: The history of one man's music and his ambition to honor his father's credo to "Be the best." Some of this film's musical highlights include a performance with Count Basie, Caravan, Gentle Waltz, Boogie Woogie, Tiny's Exercise (Art Tatum), Tenderly, Sweet Loraine (Nat "King" Cole), Hymn to Freedom, Bag's Groove, Place St. Henri, Perdido (Cleo Lane & John Dankworth), March Past, Nightmare, Hallelujah Time, Nigerian Marketplace, Lonesome One...and more. Other topics covered include the Anatomy of the Trio, Montreal's Golden Era, Measuring Up to Art Tatum, the Johnny Holmes Big Band, The Color Barrier and Race Relations, Norman Granz, Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP), Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown's Perspective, Touring Europe, Substance Abuse Casualties, Social Change in America, Civil Rights Movement - The Dream, The Permanence of Jazz, The Competitive side of Oscar, Award Presentations, the Royal Albert Hall Performance, and much more. For more information, to view our entire catalog, or to purchase the DVD, please go to www.view.com

of Jazz's all-time great pianists; from his early days as Montreal's Teenage Boogie-Woogie sensation through his meteoric rise to international celebrity with Norman Granz ground-breaking Jazz at the Philharmonic and beyond. In this treasure trove of musical gems, one very special highlight is the reunion tour of the original Oscar Peterson Trio- Oscar, bassist Ray Brown and Guitarist Herb Ellis- regrouping to prove that they still have the magic. And almost as memorable as the music is the voice of the man himself, passionately and articulately guiding us through his unfolding creative and personal evolution. Wall-to-wall music, rare footage and in-depth interviews with a who's who of Jazz icons, including Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and others, create a film that is destined to become a classic: The history of one man's music and his ambition to honor his father's credo to "Be the best." Some of this film's musical highlights include a performance with Count Basie, Caravan, Gentle Waltz, Boogie Woogie, Tiny's Exercise (Art Tatum), Tenderly, Sweet Loraine (Nat "King" Cole), Hymn to Freedom, Bag's Groove, Place St. Henri, Perdido (Cleo Lane & John Dankworth), March Past, Nightmare, Hallelujah Time, Nigerian Marketplace, Lonesome One...and more. Other topics covered include the Anatomy of the Trio, Montreal's Golden Era, Measuring Up to Art Tatum, the Johnny Holmes Big Band, The Color Barrier and Race Relations, Norman Granz, Jazz At The Philharmonic (JATP), Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown's Perspective, Touring Europe, Substance Abuse Casualties, Social Change in America, Civil Rights Movement - The Dream, The Permanence of Jazz, The Competitive side of Oscar, Award Presentations, the Royal Albert Hall Performance, and much more. For more information, to view our entire catalog, or to purchase the DVD, please go to www.view.com