Born on Edisto Island, one of South Carolina’s barrier islands, and grew up in Charleston; by age 10, he taught himself to play piano and also studied trombone; began playing bass at age 16 in Detroit…
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Author Archives: jamerson
Holland, “Peanuts” Herbert LeRoy (1910-1979)
March 19, 2010 – 9:12 pm
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, he was a trumpeter (also a vocalist) with the Jenkins Orphanage bands in the 1920s; played and recorded with the legendary Alphonso Trent Band…
Hill, “Chippie” Bertha (1905-1950)
March 19, 2010 – 8:52 pm
Born in Charleston, one of 16 children; one of the classic blues singers of the 1920s – Hill’s style is less vaudeville-oriented compared to even many of her contemporaries; she began working, professionally, as a dancer in 1916…
Henson, Purvis (birth/death dates unknown)
March 19, 2010 – 8:43 pm
Tenor saxophonist; played and recorded with Buddy Johnson; played on 12 recording sessions during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s…
Harper, “Geechie” William Emerson (b. 1895)
March 19, 2010 – 8:34 pm
Entered the Jenkins Orphanage in 1902 and was a music instructor there from 1912-14; played clarinet, oboe and alto saxophone; worked with the LeRoy Smith Society Orchestra in New York from 1918-33 and with various big bands including Fletcher Henderson…
Hamilton, Jimmy (1917-1994)
March 19, 2010 – 8:18 pm
Born in Dillon, SC, Hamilton was a multi-instrumentalist who played the clarinet, trombone and later piano, trumpet and saxophones; his first professional gigs were in Teddy Wilson’s band…
Green, “Freddie” Frederick William (1911-1987)
March 19, 2010 – 7:58 pm
Born in Charleston and died in Las Vegas, Green attended Charleston’s Morris Brown A.M.E. Church as a boy; studied music at the Jenkins Orphanage though not a resident; toured with the Jenkins Orphanage Band as a vocalist in the late 1920s…
Gillespie, “Dizzy” John Birks (1917-1993)
March 19, 2010 – 7:48 pm
One of the greatest pioneers of modern jazz in the history of this American art form, one of the country’s greatest trumpeters and bandleaders, and South Carolina’s most celebrated jazz musician, composer and bandleader; born in Cheraw, South Carolina where his father was an amateur bandleader…
Frazier, “Jake” Jacob W. (birth/death dates unknown)
March 18, 2010 – 2:38 am
Trombonist with the Jenkins Orphanage Bands during the 1900s and 1910s; worked with Will Marion Cook, Gonzelle White, Fate Marable, and Drake & Walker in the 1920s…
Flemming, Herb [Fleming] (1900-1976)
March 18, 2010 – 2:27 am
Multi-instrumentalist, notably trombone and vocalist; his birthplace is questionable – some sources say Butte, Montana, Honolulu, North Africa, Savannah or Charleston…
