Forties

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(Piano, vocals, 1927–80) Joseph Amos Milburn Jr. was born in Houston, Texas, and he began recording in 1946 for Aladdin records. Milburn was an exceptionally popular performer between the late 1940s and mid-1950s, with number-one R&B hits such as ‘Chicken Shack Boogie’, ‘Bewildered’ and ‘Roomin’ House Boogie’ (all 1948–49). Beginning in 1949, he toured and recorded with his own band, the Aladdin Chickenshackers, and continued his string of hits with ‘Bad, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
151 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, 1905–74) Arthur William Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi and did not learn to play the guitar until his 30s. He worked functions in the Clarksdale area before moving to Chicago in 1940, signing with Bluebird in 1941 and finding considerable popularity on record. He returned to Mississippi after the Second World War and worked locally with Rice Miller and Elmore James. Crudup is perhaps best remembered as an ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
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(Guitar, 1923–2004) Barney Kessel took inspiration from his fellow Oklahoman, guitarist Charlie Christian, and developed an electric-guitar style that straddled swing and bop in effective fashion. He was featured in the Oscar-nominated short film Jammin’ The Blues (1944), and recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947. A stint with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952–53 led to recordings as a leader from 1953 onwards. Kessel formed Great Guitars with Herb Ellis and ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
104 Words Read More

(Tenor saxophone, 1909–73) Ben Webster served an initial apprenticeship in ‘territory’ bands in the Southwest (including those led by Benny Moten and Andy Kirk) before moving to New York in 1934. He recorded with Billie Holiday and worked with a succession of notable bandleaders before joining Duke Ellington in 1940. He was a key member of Ellington’s legendary band of the time, often referred to as ‘the Blanton-Webster Band’ from the ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
172 Words Read More

(Tenor saxophone, b. 1927) Cecil James McNeely was born and raised in Los Angeles. Inspired by Illinois Jacquet, McNeely played in high school with future jazz stars Sonny Criss and Hampton Hawes. He was discovered by Johnny Otis and made his recording debut in 1948 with a number-one hit, ‘Deacon’s Hop’. He had another hit in 1959 with ‘There Is Something On Your Mind’. A stomping, screaming wildman, McNeely was the ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
96 Words Read More

Joseph Vernon Turner was born on 18 May 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. He dropped out of school after sixth grade and worked with blind singers on the streets. The blues was in the air in Kansas City and when Turner joined in with the street singers he would make up blues lyrics. Turner was functionally illiterate and never learned to read or write properly. He studied records in his late ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
846 Words Read More

(Drums, 1910–51) Catlett was one of the most well-respected and versatile jazz drummers of the 1930s and 1940s. He played in a variety of ensembles under such luminaries as Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, before going on to join Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars. Catlett’s remarkable adaptability enabled him to play in a wide range of styles and he also successfully bridged the gap into bebop, contributing to an ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
95 Words Read More

Billie Holiday was entirely untrained as a singer, but drew on the example of popular recording artists such as Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong in developing her musical approach. She was able to make much of poor songs as well as great ones. Her phrasing, intonation, attention to the weight and nuance of lyrics, and her lightly inflected, subtly off-the-beat rhythmic placement were all highly individual and became widely influential. Her ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
711 Words Read More

(Vocals, 1914–93) Billy Eckstine’s smooth baritone voice and suave manner brought his music to a wide audience. He joined pianist Earl Hines in Chicago in 1939 and then led a big band from 1944–47 that many see as the cradle of bebop, although few recordings survive. He was one of the few black singers to be featured on national radio, largely thanks to his beguiling romantic ballads. He remained a draw ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
97 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, 1915–96) Walter Brown McGhee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He learned to play guitar before his tenth birthday and dropped out of school to play throughout the state in the late 1920s. He met Sonny Terry in 1939 and they joined forces almost immediately. McGhee began recording for OKeh in 1940 and moved to New York. McGhee recorded on his own (without Terry) for several labels, notably Savoy. He was ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
163 Words Read More

(Clarinet, b. 1923) Buddy DeFranco (Boniface Ferdinand Leonardo) became the leading clarinet player of the post-swing era. His liquid sonority and flowing improvisations drew on elements from both swing and bebop, but without settling fully in either camp. He served a big-band apprenticeship with Gene Krupa, Charlie Barnet and Tommy Dorsey in the mid-1940s, but is best known for his work in smaller groups with vibist Terry Gibbs, bands led by ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
102 Words Read More

(Drums, 1917–87) Bernard ‘Buddy’ Rich was a powerhouse drummer with a phenomenal technique, but he was also capable of great delicacy when required. He grew up in the family vaudeville act before joining Joe Marsala’s band in 1937. It was the beginning of a series of associations with major swing era bandleaders such as Harry James, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Carter and – as a deputy for Jo Jones – ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
182 Words Read More

(Tenor saxophone, vocals, 1919–89) Benjamin Joseph Jackson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and replaced Wynonie Harris as male vocalist with the Lucky Millinder Orchestra in 1945. From 1947 until the late 1950s he toured with his own group, the Buffalo Bearcats. He recorded for Queen/King from 1945; among his biggest hits were ‘I Love You, Yes I Do’, ‘I Can’t Go On Without You’, ‘Little Girl, Don’t Cry’ and ‘Why Don’t ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
113 Words Read More

(Piano, vocals, 1910–92) William Thomas Dupree was born in New Orleans. He was raised in the Colored Waifs Home for Boys from infancy. He learned piano at an early age and in the 1920s worked barrelhouses as a soloist, as well as playing with traditional jazz bands. From the early 1930s, he worked as a prizefighter and took occasional music jobs. Dupree was discovered in Chicago and signed to OKeh records ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
171 Words Read More

(Drums, percussion, 1915–48) Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo was Dizzy Gillespie’s principal collaborator in melding Cuban music with jazz (a.k.a. ‘Cubop’). Their historic 1947 recordings ‘Manteca’ and ‘Cubana Be, Cubana Bop’ (co-written with George Russell) were the first to integrate real Afro-Cuban polyrhythms within a bop idiom. Their association proved brief; Pozo was shot dead in a bar in Harlem in mysterious circumstances shortly after the recordings were made, but the Afro-Cuban ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel
102 Words Read More
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