Seen at the Comedy Club Musical Bar on Pennsylvania Avenue, and at the Surf Club Sunday jams with Jimmy Cavallo & Al Baitch.
As the Comedy Club house band, a 1957 lineup featured Joe Allen (piano), Ellwood Adams aka ‘Ace the Bass’ (bass), Tommy Williams (drums ex-Mello Jacks), Wilbert Stewart (tenor sax), Edward Tobias (baritone sax), and Carlos Johnson (alto sax).
A mid-60s lineup at the Comedy Club included Adams, Johnson, Williams, with Joe Allen (piano), Stewart (sax), and Ed Walto (sax).
Photo courtesy of Ellwood Adams.
Joe remembers that “Ace worked at the Officer’s Club in the 5th Regiment Armory. A couple of times my dad took us young kids to work with him and left us in the care of Ace. I remembered as Ace as a very nice man. I didn’t know that he played in bands. When the Baltimore Sounds 1st edition came out Ace gave dad a photo of The Tune Makers and an invitation for me to meet with him. By that time Ace was in his 90’s. He talked about the old days when he had no transportation and had to lug around his double bass on street cars and buses. He was a free agent that played with many groups. He couldn’t remember groups as a whole, but he remembered all the clubs and could name individuals that played at each of them, going up Pennsylvania Avenue club by club he named the sax players, then he started over recalling the organists, drummers and so forth. We talked for hours and he enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Sadly he passed away shortly afterward. RIP Ace.”
