Jimmie Lunceford

James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford ( Fulton , June 6 1902 - Seaside , Oregon , July 12 1947 ) was an American jazz - saxophonist and big band -leider in swingtjdperk .His orchestra played songs with original arrangements and often funny lyrics and was one of the top bands of the thirties. Lunceford was incorporated into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame .

Contents

 * 1 The beginning
 * 2 Cotton Club
 * 3 Plate Recordings
 * 4 In recent years,
 * 5 'New' Lunceford band and festival
 * 6 Discography (selection)
 * 7 Literature
 * 8 External link

The beginning
Lunceford was in Denver to high school and studied with the father of the later famous orchestra leader Paul Whiteman and at Fisk University . In 1922 he played in a band, where Andy Kirk was active, and in the following years he played with Elmer Snowden and Wilbur Sweatman . In 1927 he taught at a school in Memphis and founded a band with students on Chickasaw Syncopators, a few years later was renamed Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.

Cotton Club [ edit ]
The orchestra toured (including in Cleveland and Buffalo ) and made ​​several recordings (first in 1927). In 1934 the band was made ​​by the famous Cotton Club in Harlem , New York City, replacing the orchestra ofCab Calloway . The new house band grew in the following years into a successful act. The orchestra formed a cohesive unit, had good musicians, the music and the lyrics were often humorous and the show was colorful with costumes and funny lash out at the 'white' orchestras. The orchestra was known more for his play than to his solo work, the solos were always short. The "Lunceford style '(including the use of a two-beat-ritme) was partly due to the inventive and original arrangements written by trumpeter Sy Oliver . Also determine the noise was the deployment of trumpeters who played high notes, like Tommy Stevenson -Lunceford was the first band leader who did that. Musicians playing at Lunceford included Willie Smith (the leader of the saxophone section) Trummy Young , Joe Thomas, singer Dan Grissom and (later) Gerald Wilson and Snooky Young . Lunceford played usually do not, but limited himself to lead the band with a baton . On some recordings he played on the flute . The band also played for years in Apollo Theater and was one of the most popular groups of the ' blacks '. In the heyday of the band, the orchestra was mentioned in the same breath as those of Duke Ellington , Count Basie and Earl Hines .

[Plate Recordings edit ]
The orchestra made ​​numerous records for Victor and then made ​​records for Decca, where they scored a string of hits such as "Mood Indigo," "Black and Tan Fantasy" (both Ellington numbers) and "Rhythm Is Our Business", the signature tune of the band. In 1938 went Lunceford plates make for a sub-label of Columbia , Vocalion . Because of disappointing earnings Vocalion dropped the group and returned Lunceford back toDecca .

In recent years [ edit ]
In 1937 the group toured extensively in Europe, but a second tour was due to the outbreak of the Second World War to be canceled. In the same year moved on to Sy Oliver's band Tommy Dorsey, probably because he became better paid than at Lunceford. He was replaced by Gerald Wilson. Also, other musicians for that reason leaving Lunceford's orchestra, like Tommy Stevenson (1936) and Willie Smith (1942). In 1947, when he was still popular, Jimmie Lunceford died during an autograph session to a cardiac arrest . Possibly he was poisoned at a seafood restaurant by the owner who was angry that he had to serve a 'nigger', other band members became ill after dinner. After his death kept Ed Wilcox and Joe Thomas, the orchestra for a time up and made ​​this even more recordings.

'New' Lunceford band and festival [ edit ]
In 1999, bandleader undertook Robert Veen initiative to get permission from the original charts and arrangements to use the orchestra. In 2005 debuted the The Jimmy Lunceford Legacy Orchestra at the North Sea Jazz Festival.

In 2007, Jimmy Lunceford Jamboree Festival was started, which will be held in Memphis .

Discography (selection) [ edit ]

 * The Uncollected Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express (live recordings 1944) Hindsight 1985
 * 1930-1934, Chronological Classics, 1990
 * 1934-1935, Classics, 1990
 * 1935-1937, Classics, 1990
 * 1937-1939, Classics, 1990
 * 1939 Classics, 1990
 * 1939-1940, Classics, 1991
 * Rhythm is Our Business, ASV / Living Era, 1992
 * 1940-1941, Classics, 1992
 * Stomp It Off (best Decca recordings), GRP, 1992 (album pick "Allmusic)
 * For Dancers Only (Decca recordings from 1935 to 1937), GRP, 1994
 * Volume 1 (1927-1934), Masters of Jazz 1995
 * Volume 2 (1934), Masters of Jazz 1995
 * 1941-1945, Classics, 1996
 * Masterpieces, Vol. 9, EPM, 1996
 * Swingsation: Jimmie Lunceford, GRP, 1998
 * 1945-1947, Classics, 2000
 * Lunceford Special: 1939-1940, Columbia, 2001
 * 1948-1949 (recordings Lunceford band after death), Classics
 * 1943-1945 Broadcasts, Soundcraft 2001
 * Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra, Vol. 1, Black & Blue, 2002
 * Anthology 1934-1942, Cabu, 2007

[References edit ]

 * Eddie Determeyer Rhythm is Our Business:. Jimmie Lunceford and the Harlem Express. The University of Michigan Press, 2006.