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MOE KOFFMAN QUARTETTE

“The Swinging Srteppard Blues”

(MOE KOFFMAN)

Jubilee 5311

No. 23    February 24, 1958

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Moe was born January 28, 1928 in Toronto, Canada.   In the early ’50s Moe moved to New York City where

for years he played flute and alto and tenor sax with mainline bandleaders, such as Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie

Barnet, Buddy Morrow, Tex Beneke, Ralph Flanagan and Tito Rodriquez.    With the feeling of success in

his pocket and an urge to return to his home turf to create his own sounds, Moe in 1955 moved back to

Toronto. With Ed  Bickett (guitar), Hugh Carrie (bass) and Ron Rully (drums) in accompaniment Moe had

just the right combination of pop-tlnged jazz  musicians to conjure up a potentially popular style.

Nineteen-fifty eight was the year and pop America finally caught a whiff of Moe.

The Quartette scored big with what appears to current ears to be something a Maynard G. Krebes character

would dig.   “Swinging Sheppard Blues” contains no bongo and no hip poetry lines but, like dad, it is about

the only beatnik influenced ode to ever chart.   Man. Ooh, scoobledly boobledly bump…

Unfortunately, Moe found himself like near nowheresville.   Even with the rockin’ “Koko-Mamey,” a flute-

filled “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and Sheppard-this and Sheppard-that, “Sheppard’s Cha Cha” and

“Swinging Sheppard Twist” he and the boys were unable to ever take hold of a mass mainstream audience.

Jazz fans also seemed like leery of Moe’s mighty pop leanings.   Despite it all, Moe and his unit of varying

sizes carried on.   Recorded efforts continued well into the late ’70s.