Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
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Perry, Ermitt [Ermet] (b. 1910)
Born in Jacksonville, FL; resident of the Jenkins Orphanage from 1921-1926; lead trumpeter; worked with Bubber Applewhite and his Florida Troubadours, the Sunset Royals in Florida, and big bands between 1940-1960 including Dizzy Gillespie’s band in the 1950s; recorded with Louis Jordan, Bud Powell, and Sarah Vaughan; played for Broadway shows in the 1970s.

Robinson, Timothy James (b. 1988)
Native of Charleston, SC; trombonist; graduated with honors from the Charleston County School of the Arts in 2006; has performed with many local jazz musicians and ensembles in Charleston; currently a student at the Manhattan School of Music.

Shepherd, Leo (b. 1926)
Born in Charleston; entered Jenkins Orphanage in 1932 and played trumpet with the bands in the late 1930s through early 1940s; worked with several big bands including Lionel Hampton and was known as “the whistler” because of his high-note playing.

Simmons, “Lonnie” Samuel
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; a multi-instrumentalist doubling on tenor saxophone and clarinet, he recorded on several early Fats Waller sides including “The Joint Is Jumpin’”; in 1939, he gigged with Hot Lips Page and the Savoy Sultans, the Savoy Ballroom’s house band; he accompanied Ella Fitzgerald up through the early 1940s, then moved to Chicago; there he soloed, led groups up to ten pieces performing in the Pershing Lounge and Club Silhouette; he became a busy lounge and cabaret organist/pianist, crime scene photographer and restaurant manager; his busy lifestyle was described in a headline – “The Man Who Never Sleeps” of a mid-50s article about him; Simmons was known for dashing off-stage to get a picture of a fire or crime scene -- they have been used in cases by the Chicago police department and have been published in Ebony, The Chicago Defender, and The Pittsburgh Courier; Simmons remained busy with his musical life and business affairs right until the end of his life (he played a gig on New Year’s Eve and suffered a stroke in the midst of the set list).

Smalls, “Cliff” Clifton (b. 1918)
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 – his father played the organ and piano for Charleston’s Central Baptist Church, and brothers Archie and Edward Smalls, Jr. were also musicians; while in high school, he joined the Carolina Cotton Pickers and toured extensively with the band - probable personnel during his tenure were Cat Anderson, John Williams, and Thad Seabrook, and Joseph Williams on trumpet; Leroy Hardeson and Eugene Earle on trombone; Booker Starks, Lew Williams, Addison White, and Aaron Harvey on saxophones; Cliff Smalls (piano); W.J. Edwards (guitar); Len Thurman (bass); and Otis Walker (drums); studied piano, music theory and composition at Kansas City Conservatory; in a unique doubling position, he played trombone and was the relief piano player with Earl “Fatha” Hines (1942-46); played/recorded with Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra in Detroit, Billy Eckstine, Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic, Bennie Green, Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, Lucky Millinder, and Cab Calloway; served as music director/arranger for Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Sy Oliver, Sammy Davis, Jr., Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Clyde McPhatter and Brook Benton (late 1950s-mid-1960s); his discography includes Ella Fitzgerald: Newport Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall and A Portrait of Julian Dash with Charlestonian, St. Julian Bennett Dash, among others; his solo album, The Man I Love was recorded in 1979; still in good health, he often leads the Cliff Smalls Septet in Brooklyn utilizing young jazz musicians along with seasoned regulars.

Smith, Chris (1879-1949)
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 including the lyricist, Cecil Mack (R.C. McPherson); his first songwriting success was “Good Morning, Carrie”; other songs he composed and in collaboration with others were “All in Down and Out” (1906), “Down Among the Sugar Cane” and “You’re in the Right Church but the Wrong Pew” (both in 1908) with Cecil Mack – the latter of which was made popular by Bert Williams (some speculate that this tune may well have been the source of “You’ve Got the Right String Baby but the Wrong Yo-Yo”; with lyricist, Jim Burris, he wrote “There’s a Big Cry-Baby in the Moon,” “Come After Breakfast,” “Bring ‘Long Your Lunch and Leave ‘Fore Supper Time,” and “Transmagnificanbamdamuality (or C-A-T Spells Cat)”; with and for Bert Williams’ stage performances, he composed “Constantly,” and “If He Comes In, I’m Going Out”; composed the fox trot, “Ballin’ the Jack” (1913) with James Reese Europe (lyrics by Jim Burris) that created the dance craze; "Never Let the Same Bee Sting You Twice" and "San Francisco Blues,” his first commercial ventures that placed him in the league with W.C. Handy; "I've Got My Habits On" (1921 with Jimmy Durante); and "If You Sheik on Your Mama, Your Mama's Gonna Sheba on You" (1924); his songs were also recorded by Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams; Smith’s "Lookin' for Another Sweetie" (1929) was recorded by Fats Waller & His Buddies but was stolen and reappeared with new lyrics under the title "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)," now credited to Doc Daughtery, Al J. Neiburg and Ellis Reynolds; after this disappointment, little is known about Smith’s life; he passed away in New York City.

Smith, “Jabbo” Cladys (1908-1991)
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, and recorded with Perry Bradford; recorded “Black and Tan Fantasy” with Duke Ellington (1927); in Charlie Johnson’s Paradise Ten, house band for New York’s Smalls Paradise (owned by Ed Smalls of Charleston); played in the show, “Keep Shufflin’” with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller; his high point were his 1929 recordings with Jabbo Smith’s Rhythm Aces; worked in Chicago and Detroit from 1930-35 and was with Claude Hopkins from 1936-38; was only occasionally active musically in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s; played with the Preservation Hall Band and during the late 1970s, was featured in the New York musical, One Mo’ Time; a brilliant soloist whom Brunswick Records signed as an alternate Louis Armstrong; Smith recorded 19 albums with Brunswick and also recorded for Decca Records (“How Could Cupid Be So Stupid” and “More Rain More Rest”); considered the rival of Louis Armstrong but his skill could not be sustained because of his numerous vices.

Smith, LaToya (b. 1988)
Vocalist and native of Cross, SC; graduated with honors from the Charleston County School of the Arts; an emerging composer and keyboardist, Smith has performed with numerous jazz musicians and ensembles in Charleston; currently, a student at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.

Smith, “Willie” William McLeish (1910-1967)
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, and joined his band in 1929-42 as an alto saxophonist; in the 1930s, he was ranked as third among alto saxophonists behind Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter and had a distinctive sound and swinging style that catapulted the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra; as a multi-instrumentalist, he also performed vocals on “Rhythm Is Our Business” – his best-known recording, played clarinet solos and arranged tunes for Lunceford; he also played/recorded with Harry James’s big band from the mid-1940s through the early 1950s and back again from 1954-1964; he joined Duke Ellington in 1951 and began the Ellington saxophone lineage; also played with Charlie Barnet, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic (where he was featured on recordings); played local gigs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas with Johnny Rivers, and recorded under his name in 1965; he passed away from cancer in Los Angeles.

Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
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