Hall, Minor (Ram)

Hall, Minor (Ram), jazz drummer, brother of Tubby Hall; b. Sellers, La., March 2, 1897; d. Los Angeles, Calif., Oct. 16, 1959. Hall’s family is related to the New Orleans Humphrey family. He moved with his family to New Orleans during the early 1900s and studied at New Orleans Univ. until 1914. He did his first paid gigs for Henry Martin in Kid Ory’s Band. He later worked regularly with bassist Oke Gaspard and the Superior Band. He moved with his family in 1917 to Chicago, replacing his brother Tubby in Lawrence Du-he’s Band at the De Lure Cafe, and then served in U.S. Army (1918–19). He played drums with King Oliver from 1921-22 in Chicago and went with the band to San Francisco; however, he left after two months (replaced by Baby Dodds), returning to play in Chicago with Jimmie Noone’s Band. In 1927 Hall moved to Calif, permanently and played with Mutt Carey’s Jefferson-ians until 1932 (mainly in Culver City). Hall played regularly with the Winslow Allen Band during the 1930s. He spent six months in the U.S. Army from September 1942, and then was given honorable discharge and began working in the Douglas Aircraft factory. In 1945 he returned to regular playing in Kid Ory’s Band, working with Ory until being taken ill on a European tour in 1956. He suffered from cancer during the last years of his life, but played occasionally with the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band early in 1959 before entering the hospital for a final time.

—John Chilton Who’s Who of Jazz /Lewis Porter