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Tommy Newsom

Tommy Newsom a jazz saxophonist and arranger who gained national visibility as a key member of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" band for three decades, and whom Carson nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" for his stone-faced demeanor and somber outfits. One night Carson turned to Newsom during his monologue and asked why he always had his hands clasped together behind his back. Newsom replied "Vapor lock!", bringing down the house with laughter. Carson quipped, "I'm out here busting my buns to get a laugh, with one joke after another, and you just say 'vapor lock' and crack us all up!" Newsom, normally known for wearing bland suits, in contrast to Severinsen's colorful attire, once appeared in a loud sport coat. Carson, impressed by Newsom's bold change of appearance, asked him where he got the coat. Newsom responded simply, "I found it in my closet, Johnny," breaking up Carson and the audience. As a personality, Mr. Newsom pretended to have none. Carson gently taunted him for his deadpan expression and bland tastes -- his suits ran the gamut from brown to navy. Despite the gags, Mr. Newsom was a graceful musician and veteran of bands led by guitarist Charlie Byrd, clarinetist Benny Goodman and society bandleader Vincent Lopez. Mr. Newsom became an NBC studio musician, worked for Merv Griffin and soon after was assigned to the "Tonight" program in early 1962, several months before Carson took over. Mr. Newsom spent the next 30 years on the show, most of the time directly under the bandleader and trumpeter Doc Severinsen, who was known for his loud outfits. Mr. Newsom became assistant music director in the late 1960s and took over the baton in Severinsen's absence. "I think the first night I took over for Doc, Carson recoiled," Mr. Newsom told the Los Angeles Times. "He was so used to having foils on either side, Ed [McMahon] over here and Doc over there, and he needed somebody to bounce something off of, so the gags began. "I guess my cardboard-cutout style makes a good contrast to Doc's flamboyant image," he said. "Carson has really laid some heavy ones on me. One night, he said I was the only person who was going to reach puberty and senility at the same time." Thomas Penn Newsom was born in Portsmouth, where his father was a pharmacist and his mother taught kindergarten. As a child, he was exposed to opera and big band music over the radio.

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Big Band Report

RIP Tommy Newsom

Read "RIP Tommy Newsom" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Big bands lost a true and loyal friend when Tommy Newsom died April 28 of liver and bladder cancer at age seventy-eight. Newsom, who gained a measure of fame as the butt of host Johnny Carson's jokes on The Tonight Show about his presumably drab personality and outfits to match, was a superb saxophonist and arranger who was a member of Doc Severinsen's all-star band for thirty years, serving as assistant music director for much of that time.

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155
Album Review

Tommy Newsom: Friendly Fire

Read "Friendly Fire" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Tommy Newsom, the butt of many a Johnny Carson joke when he played in the Tonight Show band, isn’t nearly as colorless as Johnny would have had us believe. Beneath that bland exterior lies the soul of an impassioned swinger, as Newsom proves on Friendly Fire, his long–overdue debut for Florida–based Arbors Records. Tommy has chosen an able sparring partner in veteran valve trombonist Bob Enevoldsen who has been one of the West Coast’s most respected musicians for nearly half ...

206
Album Review

Tommy Newsom Sextet: Friendly Fire

Read "Friendly Fire" reviewed by Mike Neely


You may know Tommy Newsom as the congenial big band sidekick on the Johnny Carson Show. But you may not know that he plays a bluesy, big-assed saxophone with intelligence, and style. On Friendly Fire he’s put together a quintet of pros who swing with something to say. Included is trombonist Bob Enevoldsen. Anyone who’s listened to West Coast jazz seriously will recognize Enevoldsen as a first choice big band trombonist who recorded on classic sessions with Bill Holman, Gerry ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Tommy Newsom and His...

Arbors Records
2005

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Friendly Fire

Arbors Records
2002

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Friendly Fire

Arbors Records
2001

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