The story of The Pinstripe Players is a story fraught with heartache, sorrow, and an interminable amount of unfortunate occurrences. Would you believe that Mythology’s respective grandfathers also had a band together? Would you also believe that they each played their future grandson’s instruments? To make matters even more coincidental, they each looked exactly like Mythology! Right down to the precise facial expressions when they played. Strange, no? It’s true! I couldn’t believe it either!



The year was 1944, and the city was of course Manhattan. A city where many great stories begin, and go to die. The American public needed something positive at that time since World War II had been dragging on for what seemed like forever. Cuban immigrant Andres Sosa came to the United States in search of what many hoped for in those days: A place to get a good sandwich. He stumbled upon Morrissey’s Delicatessen on Houston Street, and the rest, as they say, was history. Jimmie Morrissey, local butcher and delicatessen owner, had made a living for over a decade serving the good people of Manhattan the finest meats and freshly made foods. His reputation eventually preceded him and he acquired national acclaim for his storefront. Sosa upon walking into the deli noticed an old dilapidated drum kit sitting in the corner. He ordered a pastrami sandwich, and asked Morrissey, “Do you play those drums over there?”. Morrissey responded, “Oh… not in years. I’ve been too busy running this place. I used to play in nightclubs and bars. I miss it sometimes…”. Sosa, having only brought a bag full of clothes and a guitar to America, thought for a moment. “What time do you get out of this place? Maybe we can play music together? I have a lot of songs that I wrote back in my old country. I’d like you to hear them.”. Morrissey’s eyes lit up, “I’d love to! Hey, I know a guy that plays bass! Ya gotta have a bass player these days!”. Cole Carmichael, a local plumber, lived in the Upper East Side on E. 75th Street. His phone rang in his apartment that afternoon, it Jimmie Morrissey: “COLE! Ya gotta come downtown tonight around 10! I just met this Cuban guy, he wants to start a band! Meet me at the deli!”. Sosa, excited beyond belief to have luckily found other musicians almost immediately in the new country, ran to a local music shop and with his last bit of money, bought an electric guitar and amplifier.

At 10 pm that evening, the 3 of them convened at Morrissey’s Delicatessen, for their very first rehearsal, right after Jimmie locked up for the night. Sosa plugged in his newly obtained electric guitar and showed the other two his song “When We Get Married”. The two were flabbergasted. “Wow, that song is the bee’s knees!” Carmichael opined. “Oh… Well why don’t I show you one of my other songs, ‘The Bee’s Knees’?”, Sosa said, and proceeded to play through that piece as well. “Hey, that song sounds wonderful. We need some dancing tunes, though. You got one for that?” Morrissey said. Sosa of course having a song for all occasions, busted out “An Evening At The Ballroom”. Cole lamented, “Well, ya know guys, I’ve never really been in love before. Could you possibly have a song for that type of person?”. Sosa, almost rolling his eyes at how easy this was, starts to play “Never Been In Love Before”. And with each passing song, the band picked them up right away, and the magic was beginning. By the end of the night, they had at least 25 songs under their belt.



The next morning, Sosa called every nightclub in town in hopes to book his new jazz combo for an upcoming night. And while most of them told him to buzz off, there was one that was more accepting: The Casa-Cabana. The owner, Frank Rogers, felt sorry for Sosa being new to the country and not having a cent to his name, so he decided to book them for a night at his club. “As long as you bwing me some business, you can pweform anytime.”. Rogers, a portly man of ill repute in the neighborhood with a permanent lisp from another bandleader punching him severely one night, was not the most well-liked man in the area. However, he did have some former accolades. He had helped make both The 4 Thieves and The Horsemen local legends in New York City. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? Yeah me neither, I had to look them up too…



Sosa, Carmichael, and Morrissey did everything in their power to promote their September 22nd, 1944 show at Casa-Cabana. They had a month to spread the word, so they hit the pavement. Morrissey, of course, used his delicatessen to inform people. Carmichael would stand on the corner for days on end with flyers that he drew up himself for the gig, handing them out to passerby. Sosa, unfortunately would hang out in the local nightclubs and get inebriated to the point of blackout, whilst forgetting to promote the show. His reckless behavior garnered him an in with the fast crowd in New York. Staying in flophouses while busking on corners and in subways in daylight to maintain residence, Sosa had a penchant for the lowlife. He tended to gravitate towards vagrants and addicts of variety, eventually leading him to his own addiction with various substances.



Morrissey, feeling sorry for Sosa, gave him a job at the deli doing odds and ends. And one fateful morning, a young lady walked in and would forever change Sosa’s life: The enchanting Miss Sherry Shanoose. Shanoose was a local nurse on her normal hustle-and-bustle trying to get to work one morning when she bumped into Sosa and his bucket and mop while he was cleaning the floor. They both fell down to the floor, and their gaze had locked into one another’s upon regaining balance. Smitten with one another, Sosa and Shanoose awkwardly said “Hello!” for about 3 minutes in a volley that had the entire deli sighing with annoyance. One customer went up to Sosa and asked him, “Aren’t you gonna ask the young lady out on a date? I know I would…”. He eventually mustered up the courage to ask the divine Sherry on a date that evening. She obliged, to everyone’s delight! “A round of brisket on the house!” Morrissey exclaimed. That evening, Sosa waited at the deli storefront waiting for Shanoose. She did not show up, however. Heartbroken and lovesick, he slept on the sidewalk that night with a bottle of scotch.

Cole Carmichael had went to a local recording studio called The Cat’s Meow over in Greenwich Village and booked a few days of studio time, hoping to lay down all of the new material the new band had rehearsed. Several days later, The Pinstripe Players went to The Cat’s Meow and laid down what would be the entirety of the body of work. Nailing most songs in 1 or 2 takes a piece, they were sent home with a dozen reel-to-reel tapes of the week long sessions. They were quite excited about the idea of making an album to accompany their September gig which was only a few short weeks away. Sosa even received a telephone call days before the show from Rogers imploring, “Youse guys gonna bwing me some customews? I weallllly need the business, ya know!”. Sosa assured Frank Rogers that all was well, and that they were rehearsing non stop, and they had at least a couple hundred people interested. “Alwight, Andres… I twust you. See you Satuwday night!”



The evening of September 22nd, 1944 was to be a humongous evening for The Pinstripe Players. As promised, the Casa-Cabana was filled to capacity with friends, neighbors, and deli customers alike. They drew approximately 320 patrons in the club, a stellar night for Rogers, who was beaming at the band’s gravitas. Downbeat was supposed to be at 10pm. About a half hour before the show, Sosa gets a knock on his dressing room door, it was none other than Sherry. “Andres! I’m so sorry about the date night a few weeks ago! I didn’t mean to hurt you, it’s just I got caught up in the hospital after-hours.”. Sosa forgave her immediately once he saw her giant pouty eyes that he loved so much. They embraced for several minutes, when Carmichael poked his head in, “Andres! It’s time!”. “Will you be in the audience? Promise me you’ll be in the audience!” Sosa pleaded. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything!” Shanoose shouted. They shared their first kiss (You know, the good kind.), and Sosa walked out of the dressing room and onto the stage with his electric guitar. Rogers, the MC of the club, in his shrill voice cupped the microphone and shrieked, “Ladies and gentlemen! It is a gweat honow and pwiviledge fow me to intwoduce New Yowk’s finest new jazz band: THE PINSTWIPE PLAYEWS!!!”



The band nervously looked at each other, and smiled, realizing how much of themselves they each put into this music. Sosa stepped up to the microphone and said in his low baritone, “Good evening… We’re The Pinstripe Players, and we’d like to share some of our music with you.” But before they could even play a note, some underaged ragamuffin had pulled the fire alarm in the club causing the sprinklers to go off. The whole club was soaked in water, and they all ran outside to avoid any more showering. The fire department was even called, as everyone thought the club was aflame, although it was all a false alarm. Sosa searched desperately for Shanoose in the crowd, but could not find her. Rogers, having kept all the cover charges from the patrons, slinked his way up to Sosa crooning, “Them’s the bweaks, kid.” and patted him on the chest obnoxiously hard before walking away into the night.



And so, The Pinstripe Players all went their separate ways after that fateful night. They each got married and bore children eventually (How else would Mythology come to be, silly?!). However, they each met their demise due to different circumstances. Cole Carmichael died of a coronary thrombosis in 1958 while installing a particularly difficult toilet in a luxury apartment in the Bronx. Jimmie Morrissey drove his car off the Brooklyn Bridge one night in 1947. You see, cars were relatively new at the time, and nobody was all that great at driving them quite yet. Andres Sosa died of an unfortunate drug overdose in 1946, most likely having never mended his broken heart over Sherry. Sosa’s remains and final resting plot are still left to be seen.


Fortunately, we still have these 1944 recordings from The Cat’s Meow. Otherwise, we would never even know about this wonderful band! The reel-to-reel tapes were uncovered from Sosa’s grandson, who controls his estate, from a storage vault located in a hotel in Chicago. A few of these songs, unfortunately did not make it onto this compilation due to problems with digital transfer from the original source material. Luckily, most of the material was salvaged. We’ve compiled the best of the best tracks for your listening pleasure. Although, it’s a shame certain songs such as “Downtown Strut”, “Opseywalafanakoe (Means I Love You)”, and “Hey Buddy, Got A Quarter?” could not appear on this set, we’re certain we’ve captured the essence of this bright and all too forgotten band. We hope you enjoy!



- Herbert Dinklehoffer, Jazz & Pop Magazine, 1998