Born in Columbia, SC; jazz saxophonist; early in his career (before age 21), he played with Erskine Hawkins’ Alabama State Collegians, and played tenor saxophone with Billy Eckstine (including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey) and Count Basie…
Born in Charleston; Avery Graduate, 1921; his mother, Maude Smith was the head of music at Avery; oral accounts are that he gigged with the Jenkins Orphanage Band in the mid-1920s; met Jimmie Lunceford at Fisk University, where he graduated with a chemistry degree..
Trumpeter, songwriter; born in Pembroke, Georgia and died in New York City; entered the Jenkins Orphanage in 1915, studied music, and played with the bands from 1918 until 1925; trumpeter with Sidney Bechet, James P. Johnson, Cecil Scott, Erskine Hawkins, Fats Waller and Earl “Fatha” Hines…
Born in Charleston; traveled with a medicine show before settling down in New York; teamed up with his boyhood friend, Elmer Bowman (1879-1916) and began a successful two-man vaudeville team; he wrote songs for successful black entertainers and vaudeville…
Pianist, trombonist, composer and conductor for six decades; born in Charleston, attended Burke High School, and lived in a neighborhood of Charlston known as “Back the Green”; his father, Edward Smalls, a Charleston carpenter and musician, taught Smalls classical music at a young age…
A native of Charleston; began playing at age 10 as a member of the Jenkins Orphanage Band; as early as age 15, Simmons was gigging in Charleston with the Night Hawks – later, he left Charleston for New York City and landed a job with Fats Waller’s combo…
Swing guitarist and one of the early electric guitarists; born in Union, SC and raised in Cleveland where he was taught guitar by his father; he joined J. Frank Terry and Hal Draper in Cincinnati (1934-36), formed his own quartet and trio…
Born in Charleston; entered Jenkins Orphanage in 1932 and played trumpet with the bands in the late 1930s through early 1940s…
Bandleader, arranger and pianist; born in Columbia, SC, Russell first studied drums and later the bass, and played with a local band at age 7; he toured the country with the Hartley Toots Band (1933-1939) then formed his own band (1939-50) with Fats Navarro…
Native of Charleston, SC; trombonist; graduated with honors from the Charleston County School of the Arts in 2006…
