A native of Charleston, Livingston was a songwriter and professional musician who played accordion and piano in his early years, and later worked as a reed man (saxophone and clarinet); in Charleston, he attended The Citadel briefly and followed his brother Walter…
Trumpeter; born in McCormick, SC; studied trumpet and mellophone in Chicago; played with the Nat Cole combo(1938), Horace Henderson and Red Saunders (1941-42)…
Born in Union, SC; bassist; played/recorded with Count Basie…
Born in Florence, SC but moved to Norfolk, VA and later to Philadelphia during his youth; trumpeter and vocalist; began playing on the baritone horn and later trumpet; he was known in his early career to be a Louis Armstrong sound-alike on trumpet and vocals…
Born in Charleston; though not a resident, he studied and played with the Jenkins Orphanage Bands; a multi-instrumentalist, he began playing trumpet…
Born in Aiken, SC but never lived there – grew up in New York; a singer who started her professional debut at age 16 on the road with Buddy Johnson’s band in 1948…
Born in Darlington, SC; sister of Buddy Johnson; singer with her brother’s band and responsible for many of the bands hits; made her first record – “Please Mr. Johnson” in 1940 with her brother’s band…
Born in Darlington, SC; pianist, arranger, and bandleader for a large blues band that had tremendous success performing to sold-out crowds in the 1940s-1950s featuring balladeers, Arthur Prysock, Etta Jones (1943-44), Nolan Lewis and Floyd Ryland; began piano lessons at age 4 and remained interested in classical music…
Trumpeter; resident at the Jenkins Orphanage and claimed to be related to Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins; Freddie was considered a “hot” soloist and crowd pleaser with Duke Ellington’s Orchestra (1928-1934 and 1937-38)) starting a tradition that would later be filled by Rex Stewart, Taft Jordon, Willie Cook, Clark Terry and others [...]
Seventh son of Reverend Daniel Joseph Jenkins, Avery and Morehouse College graduate; clarinetist and composer of ensemble and orchestral works including Charlestonia, a folk rhapsody which was first performed in London, 1919…
