Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
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Abdul-Rahim, Emmanuel [Juan Amalbert] (b. 1934)
Master percussionist and recording engineer; son of Annie Swinton Johnson and Juan Amalbert, his mother was part of the Mt. Pleasant (SC), east of the Cooper River families of Swintons and Ascues - his father was Puerto Rican; born Emmanuel Amalbert, Abdul-Rahim later began recording under his father’s name, Juan Amalbert, in reverence to him; grew up and lived in New York and Copenhagen, and has recently reconnected with his “ancestral” home (Charleston); played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and recorded “Jaywalker” with the group highlighting his exquisite African rhythmic playing on conga drums; also played with Sarah Vaughan (his role model), Josephine Baker, Aretha Franklin, Ahmad Jamal, Nancy Wilson, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, the Thad Jones Orchestra, and bands led by James Moody and John Coltrane; percussionist for Katherine Dunham; he has produced or engineered recordings for James Moody, Clark Terry, Eric Dolphy and Jimmy Cliff; he left the U.S. in 1956 and toured Europe, Africa and Asia; his Copenhagen-based Latin Jazz Quintet swings with Yambu and Yoruba clave rhythms.

Aiken [Aitken and Aikin], “Buddy” or “Bud” Eugene or Gene (1900-1927)
Trombonist; played in the Jenkins Orphanage Band from 1912; toured with Fletcher Henderson (1921) and worked with Willie Gant, Wilbur Sweatman, Elmer Snowden, Charlie Johnson; he played and recorded with Perry Bradford’s Jazz Phools along with Herb Flemming, Garvin Bushell, Bubber Miley and brother, Gus Aiken, and on recordings with Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong.

Aiken [Aitken and Aikin], “Gus” or “Rice” Augustine (1901 or 1902 -1973)
Born in Charleston and resident of the Jenkins Orphanage; known as “Spec” at the orphanage and played in its bands from 1912, then left to work in traveling shows; brother Eugene “Buddy,” also a resident of the orphanage, played trombone and trumpet; an early jazz trumpeter, Aiken taught orphanage musicians how to growl and flutter-tongue on the trumpet; his earliest associations were with songwriter and pianist, Perry Bradford and classic blues singer, Mamie Smith; on the Okeh label, Aiken played with Bradford on many hits, and with Smith, recorded “Got to Cool My Doggies Now,” and “It’s Right Here for You (If You Don’t Get It Ain’t No Fault o’ Mine)”; throughout the 1920s, Aiken recorded with many singers including Mary Jackson, Eliza Christmas Lee, Daisy Martin, Lavinia Turner, Louis Vant, Essie Whitman, Lena Wilson, Ethel Waters, Clara Smith and Cindy Smith; in 1925 with Perry Bradford’s Jazz Phools, Aiken played alongside Louis Armstrong; toured with Fletcher Henderson in 1921 and in the late 1920s, he joined Louis Armstrong and Luis Russell when the latter two joined – the outfit employed some of the best New Orleans musicians – this association with Armstrong gained great notoriety for Aiken; later, he played and recorded with Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Johnson at Small’s Paradise in Harlem (1920s-1930s), Lucky Millinder, Buddy Johnson, Henry “Red” Allen, and Elmer Snowden and the Washingtonians (1931-33) alongside drummer, Big Sid Catlett, trumpeter, Roy Eldridge, trombonist, Dicky Wells and pianist, Duke Ellington; he led his own band during the 1940s-1960s but made no records under his name; remained in New York City during the first few years of the 1970s until his death in 1973.

Anderson, “Cat” William Alonzo (1916-1981)
Began musical studies on brass instruments, notably the trombone then later the trumpet; born in Moscow, Indiana states a CJI supporter who knew/played with Anderson (though some say Greenville, South Carolina) and later, a resident at Jenkins Orphanage; his brother, “Kitty” played trombone in the Jenkins bands; an all-around great musician, he was noted for his unique high-note work and was arguably the greatest high-note trumpeter of all time along with being a master with mutes and having a strong tone in the lower registers; his high-note playing was unmatched – no one could challenge him though Maynard Ferguson, Jon Faddis and Arturo Sandoval have come close; Cat joined the Duke Ellington band in 1944 and was with the band until 1947, 1950-59, and periodically during 1961-1971; Anderson hit notes so high on his solo on Ellington’s “Satin Doll” that it is doubtful that any trumpeter in all of jazz history could hit one or two (Duke Ellington enjoyed writing impossible notes for Cat to play); a founding member of the Carolina Cotton Pickers (1932-36), a touring band of former Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians where he made his recording debut; played with the Sunset Royal Orchestra (1936-41) and did some arranging and worked with Lucky Millinder, Erskine Hawkins (it is reported that Hawkins fired Cat out of jealousy), Claude Hopkins, and Lionel Hampton (1942); an early recorded composition was with a band led by trombonist, Doc Wheeler called “How About that Mess”; he also wrote tunes for the Ellington Orchestra – one is “A Gathering in a Clearing”; he settled on the West Coast and played with local big bands including one led by Bill Berry and died in Norwalk, California.

Baxter, Quentin (b. 1970)
Charlestonian and jazz percussionist; Adjunct Professor of Jazz Percussion, College of Charleston; CJI Resident Musical Director; toured Europe, Japan, Korea, Guam, St. Croix, Hawaii and Jamaica; considered one of the most sought after musicians in the southeastern United States; performed with Bobby Watson, Eddie Henderson, Donald Byrd, Charlie Byrd, Gregory Hines, Sonny Fortune, Doug Carn, Wycliff Gordon, Marcus Printup, Buddy DeFranco, Malachi Thompson, Obie Jessie, Ronald Westray, Teddy Adams, Marcus Roberts, the Savannah Jazz Orchestra, and currently tours with Rene Marie; recorded with Monty Alexander/Ernest Ranglin (Rocksteady, 2004) and Rene Marie (Serene Renegade, 2004); regularly performs in Charleston.

Benford, “Bill” William (b. 1902)
Born in Charleston, West Virginia with younger brother Tommy; entered the Jenkins Orphanage as a child and toured with the band’s musical traveling show in 1915; led his own band and played regularly with Jelly Roll Morton and recorded with him as well; he also recorded with Ethel Waters, Jimmy Dunn, and Willie “The Lion” Smith; Benford was an active combo player at a time when jazz instrumentation evolved from the tuba to the bass – he played/recorded on both instruments; he played bass with South Carolinian, Bubber Miley & His Mileage Makers, the Gulf Coast Seven, the Plantation Orchestra and Thomas Morris & His Seven Hot Babies but became inactive after 1930.

Benford, “Tommy” Thomas (1905-1994)
Ace drummer who studied drums with Herbert and Stephen Wright, Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians; born in Charleston, West Virginia (passed away in Mt. Vernon, West Virginia); enrolled in the Jenkins Orphanage in 1913 and toured with the Jenkins Orphanage Band when they performed at the Anglo-American Exposition in London in 1914; worked with the Green River Minstrel Show and in New York with Elmer Snowden, Noble Sissle, Duke Ellington, Will Marion Cook; Willie “The Lion” Smith, Fats Waller, Snub Mosley, Rex Stewart, Muggsy Spanier, Charlie Skeet, Eddie Durham, Doc Cheatham and the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band; joined the Marie Lucas Orchestra in Washington, DC; he recorded many classics with Jelly Roll Morton and Coleman Hawkins; on late 1920s recordings with Jelly Roll Morton, students of drumming often listen in wonder to Benford’s accents on the 2nd and 4th beats of a measure – a Gullah rhythm that was natural to him and one he maintained throughout his career; in Europe (1930s), he played Le Hot Club of France and recorded with Eddie South, Freddy Taylor, Garland Wilson, Willie Lewis, Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, Coleman Hawkins, and Sidney Bechet; in the 1950s, he worked with Freddy Johnson and toured U.S. Army camps with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle; toured Europe with Clyde Bernhardt’s Band and the “Jazz Train Revue” in the 1970s; often played at Central Plaza, Jimmy Ryan’s, the Savoy in Boston and did regular summer seasons on Cape Cod with Leroy Parkins and Bob Pillsbury.

Briggs, [James] Arthur (1899-1991)
Considered one of the best trumpeters in Europe; spent some of his childhood in Charleston and studied music at Jenkins Orphanage along with his cousin and tuba player, Pete Briggs; as a youth, he began playing trumpet with James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band; trumpeter with the Southern Syncopated Orchestra under Will Marion Cook in 1919 along with clarinetist, Sidney Bechet; gave a command performance at Buckingham Palace for King George and Queen Mary in England; founded Hot Club de France, a nightly Parisian hot spot and helped define jazz in Paris over six decades; organized the Savoy Syncopated Orchestra in 1922 with a multinational roster in Brussels – the orchestra recorded 64 dance band selections with several jazz solos in Berlin during 1927, alone; a student of Louis Armstrong, Briggs also performed in Germany and Austria and played in Noble Sissle’s Orchestra; along with Sidney Bechet, Briggs worked and recorded in Berlin extensively in the 1920s with a band of mixed European and American origin; performed with saxophonists Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins (who he recorded the classic, “Blue Moon” with in 1935), guitarist Django Reinhardt and the French violinist Stephane Grappelli; in the 1930s, he co-led a band with pianist, Freddy Johnson (a student of Jenkins Orphanage music instructor, Francis Eugene Mikell) and Jenkins Orphanage band member, Herb Flemming; interned during the German occupation of France in World War II for four years, after which he led his own bands and taught in French music schools beginning in 1964; Briggs is laid to rest at the Montmartre cemetery in Paris.

Briggs, “Pete” Peter (b. 1900? – death date unknown)
Thought to be a South Carolina native; cousin of [James] Arthur Briggs; played the tuba in the Jenkins Orphanage Band; in 1928, he recorded with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Seven and was closely associated with the New Orleans jazz scene where he often played the bass; played with the Jim Jam Jazzers, Lucky Boy Minstrels, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, as well as Carroll Dickerson, Earl Hines, Hattie McDaniels, Jimmie Noone and Louis Armstrong and His Stompers in Chicago during the 1920s; he played in New York with Louis Armstrong, Carroll Dickerson, and the Edgar Hayes Orchestra; he was associated with the Vernon Andrade Orchestra and Herman Autrey during the 1930s and 1940s; he recorded on Living With Jazz with the great writer and jazz aficionado/musician, Ralph Ellison; in the mid-1940s, he left jazz to become a farmer with little recognition by jazz historians to his legacy.

Carolina Cotton Pickers
The Carolina Cotton Pickers was the seminal touring band created in the 1920s from the roster of Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians. Some of the earliest musicians included Alonzo Mills, Walter Bash, John “Shadow” Wilson, Thaddeus Seabrook, Walter Hills, James “Buster” Anderson, William Blake, the Jenkins Orphanage Band music instructor and band director from 1920-1958, and Joseph Smalls. Later members included Clifton Smalls, Julian Dash, Julius Watson, and many others.The Carolina Cotton Pickers recorded Irving Berlin’s “Marie” and Bennie and Buster Moten’s “Western (Moten) Swing” on several albums -- The Territory Bands: 1935-37, (2001, Jazz Band), The Real Kansas City (1925, Columbia/Legacy), and Kansas City of the 20s, 30s, 40s (1996, Columbia).

Dash, St. Julian Bennett (1916-1974)
Tenor saxophonist, composer and stylist; graduate of Avery, 1934; oldest of seven sons of Ethel Capers and Charles St. Julian Dash of Charleston; at Avery, he played with the Night Hawk’s Orchestra, the Royal Crusaders, and the Carolina Cotton Pickers, a seminal Charleston band established by former Jenkins Orphanage Band musicians; he learned the saxophone by imitating the sounds of jazz bands at the family-owned Dash Hall on 148 Smith Street in Charleston – a popular dance emporium at the time; played tenor in The Revellers and The Alabama State Collegians at Alabama State Teachers College in 1934-36; joined Erskine Hawkins in 1938 as a tenor saxophonist with his orchestra and led a remarkable 20-year career with the orchestra; played with Erskine Hawkins Orchestra as the house band for the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem; composed “Tuxedo Junction” in 1939 with Erskine Hawkins and William Johnson; with Hawkins, he is featured on many recordings including "No Soap", "Dolomite", and "Swinging on Lenox Avenue"; his discography also includes original compositions such as "Zig Zag", and his own recordings including "Willow Weep for Me", "Julian’s Dash", and "A Portrait of Julian Dash" featuring Charlestonian and pianist, Clifton Smalls; he also recorded with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, and Jay McShann; he passed away in New York City and is laid to rest in the Humane Friendly Cemetery in Charleston.

Delaney, “Tom” Thomas Henry (1889-1963)
Born in Charleston; sang in the Jenkins Orphanage choir in the early 1900s; a popular and prolific blues composer/songwriter on Tin Pan Alley and in the 1920s whose songs were used by recording artists of the era; worked as a pianist on vaudeville circuits; he wrote “Jazz-Me Blues” and in 1924, his “Down Home Blues” was a huge success for Ethel Waters and “I Wanna Jazz Some More” became famous for his rhymes about “Miss Susan Green from New Orleans” recorded by Helen Gross; several of his songs were recorded by Bessie Smith; his “Sinful Blues” (1923) was one of many Delaney songs that was exploited by producer, publisher and record company manager, Joe Davis – other examples were Maggie Jones’ recording on the Columbia label of “If I Lose, Let Me Lose” and Clara Smith’s recording of “Troublesome Blues”; Delaney also recorded on his own – “I’m Leavin’ Just to Ease My Worried Mind” and “Bow-Legged Mama” (1925); he was pianist/manager for Ethel Waters; Delaney passed away in Baltimore.

Fields, “Geechie” Julius (b. 1904)
Trombonist who entered the Jenkins Orphanage in 1915 and learned to play the trombone by Eugene “Buddy” Aiken and Jacob “Jake” Frazier; gigged regularly at John O’Conner’s Club and worked with Earle Howard (1926), Charlie Skeete, Bill Benford during the 1920s in New York; recorded with Jelly Roll Morton (1928, 1930), Clarence Williams and James P. Johnson; he left music in the 1930s and became a trainer and boxing coach in New York City.

Flemming, Herb [Herb Fleming] [Niccolaiih El Michelle] (1900-1976)
Multi-instrumentalist, notably trombone and vocalist; his birthplace is questionable – some sources say Butte, Montana, Honolulu, North Africa, Savannah or Charleston; Garvin Bushell, his colleague in the Sam Wooding band in the 1920s claimed that Flemming was a Geechee; began playing with the Jenkins Orphanage Band at age ten; one of the most well-traveled musicians in early jazz; went to music school in New York City in 1910 and studied brass instruments, particularly trombone, cello and music theory at Frank Damrosch’s Conservatory; joined the 15th New York National Guard Band led by Jim Europe and Francis Eugene Mikell and later with Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band; began his professional career with Johnny Dunn (1921); played with many bands including Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds, Ethel Waters, Will Vodery, Sam Wooding with whom he toured Europe and South America, Sestto Carlin’s Society Orchestra where he toured in Italy, Freddy Johnson, [James] Arthur Briggs, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller (1940-42), Noble Sissle, Don Redman, Benny Carter, Lucky Millinder, Louis Armstrong, and Buck Clayton; started his own band, the International Rhythm Aces in 1930 and toured Europe, Buenos Aires, India, Shanghai, Ceylon, Spain and Berlin (where he made some of his last recordings); was co-leader of Josephine Baker’s revue orchestra in Paris; recorded with Johnny Dunn, Tommy Dorsey, Henry “Red” Allen (1953-58), Perry Bradford and several female blues singers; a prolific recording artist playing blues, swing and Dixieland jazz; had several stints in the Hollywood film industry and can be seen on screen in Pillow to Post and No Time for Romance; served as an interpreter for the American Olympic team and worked in California as a tax inspector; he died in New York City.

Frazier, “Jake” Jacob W. (birth/death dates unknown)
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; recorded on over 50 sessions including the only one under his name, “Jake’s Weary Blues” with Elmer Snowden in the mid-1920s; he provides horn obligatti on recordings with blues singers such as Viola McCoy, Mamie and Rosa Henderson; he is known more for his work as an accompanist than soloist (“Get Yourself a Monkey Man and Make Him Strut His Stuff” with the Kansas City Five).

Green, “Freddie” Frederick William (1911-1987)
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; his vocal version of “Them There Eyes” was recorded in 1938 with the Kansas City Seven including Lester Young and Buck Clayton; highly regarded as a composer including Basie standards, “Corner Pocket” (later renamed “Until I Met You” for the vocal version and popularized by Sarah Vaughn), “Down for Double,” and “Right On”; performed with Billie Holiday on some of her greatest recordings including "The Loneliest Man In Town", "Why Was I Born", and "I Must Have That Man"; also recorded with Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Joe Sullivan, Illinois Jacquet, and Lester Young; joined Count Basie Orchestra as a rhythm guitarist (his first instrument was the banjo) in 1937 and remained until Basie’s death; Green rarely soloed but a good example is the 1935 recording of "Topsy"; won the Melody Maker Critics’ Poll in 1957 (guitar division) and the Down Beat Critics poll in 1958; by Basie’s own account, Green as the definitive rhythm guitarist, along with bassist, Walter Page and drummer, Jo Jones, set the pace of the band and defined American swing; Green was the longest serving member of the Basie band and is universally acknowledged as the greatest rhythm guitarist in jazz history, hands down.

Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
A - G | H - M | N - T | U - Z