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Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
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 Hamilton, Jimmy (1917-1994)
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 (1939-41), Benny Carter’s Sextet (1941-42), with Lucky Millinder, Jimmy Mundy, Eddie Heywood, and then with Duke Ellington for 25 years (1943-1968) having replaced Chauncey Haughton; with Duke, he was featured on clarinet on “Air Conditioned Jungle,” “Ad Lib on Nippon,” and many, many others; his discography includes Can’t Help Swinging (1961), Swing Low Sweet Clarinet (1960), Rediscovered Live at the Buccaneer (1985), Jimmy Hamilton and the New York Jazz Quintet (1991), among others; he also recorded with Billie Holiday; a very skilled musician with an impeccable technique; Hamilton moved to the Virgin Islands after his long stint with Duke where he taught music in the public schools; he died in 1994 in St. Croix.
 Johnson, “Buddy” Woodrow Wilson (1915-1977)
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 – in fact, he composed his “Southland Suite” with vocal work by his sister, Ella and his “Piano Concerto” which he performed at Carnegie Hall in 1948; went to New York and played piano for The Cotton Club Revue; toured with a revue in Europe until the war broke out; recorded for Decca Records – his first recording was “Jammin’ in Georgia” and his composition, “Stop Pretending” (So Hep You See) in 1939 became a number one hit; he had a 9-piece orchestra by 1941 with rhythm and blues hits (“Let’s Beat Out Some Love,” “Baby Don’t You Cry,” “When My Man Comes Home,” “Fine Brown Frame,” and “That’s the Stuff You Gotta Watch”); the band was so successful that it called its music “Walk ‘Em Rhythm” which meant to the fans to get ready to dance; their performances took them to the Savoy Ballroom (New York and Los Angeles) and throughout the country, though mainly in the South; he moved to Mercury Records in 1953 and recorded hits with Ella as vocalist; mostly known as a rhythm and blues musician, his success was in the South; sister, Ella contributed much to the success of the band and the selling of his records; the film, “The Jackie Robinson Story” used Buddy’s 1947 hit, “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball” in the motion picture; throughout the band’s success, South Carolinian, Purvis Henson (tenor saxophonist) was a constant presence in the band’s reed section.
 Johnson, Ella (1923-2004)
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; she recorded “Since I Fell for You” in 1945 and stayed with the band in the late 1950s also making solo appearances; with the band, and on the Mercury label, she recorded many hits (“Hittin’ on Me,” “I’m Just Your Fool”); she was often compared to Billie Holiday, though Ella had her own distinctive style.
 Jones, Etta Jones (1928-2001)
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; debuted on record with Barney Bigard’s pickup band (1944) singing “Evil Gal Blues” which became a hit for Dinah Washington, and recorded other songs (1946-47) for RCA, and many for Prestige (1960-65); performed with J.C. Heard (1948), Earl Hines Sextet (1949-52), and toured Japan with Art Blakey (1970); her version of “Don’t Go to Strangers” (1960) was a big hit; she performed/recorded with South Carolina native and tenor saxophonist, Houston Person; she also free-lanced and had several recordings under her own name – her last was Etta Jones Sings Lady Day; she passed away from complications of cancer in 2001 in Mt. Vernon, NY.
 Jordan, Taft (1915-1981)
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; Jordan’s recording of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” was so close to Armstrong’s, some listeners thought Louis was copying Taft; played and recorded with the Washboard Rhythm Kings, Doc Hyder in Philadelphia then joined Chick Webb (1933) and remained after Webb’s death under Ella Fitzgerald’s leadership until the band was disbanded in 1942; Taft was the lead trumpeter (along with Bobby Stark) in Webb’s band through the 1930s; played with his own combo, the Duke Ellington Orchestra (1943-47) where he gained a lot of attention, the Lucille Dixon Orchestra at New York’s Savannah Club (1949-53), and toured with Benny Goodman with a stint at the Brussels Worlds Fair (1958); he led his own bands, and played in show bands and with the New York Jazz Repertory Company; he recorded four titles as a band leader in 1935 and three albums (1960-61).
 Keenan, “Dewey” Norman Wilson (b. 1916)
Born in Union, SC; bassist; played/recorded with Count Basie, Bud Powell, Harry Belafonte, and the Cootie Williams Orchestra.
Letman, “Johnny” John (1917-1992)
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); worked with Teddy Buckner and John Kirby in Detroit; settled in New York in 1944 and played with the Phil Moore Four at Café Society, Lucky Millinder (1945), Cab Calloway (1947-49), and Count Basie (1951); he headed his own combo and recorded with Joe Thomas, Stuff Smith, Chubby Jackson and Panama Francis (1958-60); he free-lanced in the 1950s-1960s and was active in television and on Broadway; as a bandleader, he recorded four titles between 1959 and 1968 including Black and Blue; he made a few recordings in Paris (1968), and with Lionel Hampton, Cozy Cole and Earl “Fatha” Hines (1977); his New Orleans Blues Serenaders toured Europe (1985-86).
Miley, Bubber (1903-1932)
Born in Aiken, SC; trumpeter; Miley came to New York at age six and began studying trombone and trumpet; duing his service in the Navy, he toured with Mamie Smith (1920), played with Elmer Snowden’s Washingtonians (1923), and formed his own band; when his band broke up, many of the musicians, including Miley, joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra (1926-28) where he drew much attention; he later joined Noble Sissle to work in Europe but returned to the States and worked with Zutty Singleton at Lafayette Theatre; Miley was largely responsible for creating the signature “jungle” sound for the Duke Ellington Orchestra that made the group famous by specializing in the use of the rubber-plunger mute and producing dramatic effects, imitating a human voice; his solos are unsurpassed that they have often been referred to as “supernatural”; he co-wrote several compositions with Duke including “East St. Louis Toodle-oo,” “Black and Tan Fantasy,” and “Doin’ the voom voom”; alcoholism made him unreliable and Duke fired him; Miley contributed more than any other musician of his era to the Ellington band; following his stint with Duke, he played with bandleader, Leo Reisman – his solo on “What Is This Thing Called Love” is quite memorable, and formed his own band recording six titles; with Bubber Miley and His Mileage Makers, he recorded Don’t Leave Me Here in New York, vol. 3; at the peak of his career and at only 29 years of age, Miley died of tuberculosis in New York in 1932.
 Minger, Pete (? – 2000)
Orangeburg, SC native; bop-based trumpeter and flügelhornist who attended Tennessee State University and Berklee School of Music; spent ten years with the Count Basie Orchestra (1970-80) as a featured soloist; settled in Miami in the 1980s and free-lanced in the area; he led superior quartet sessions for Spinnster (1983), later reissued on Concord (1992); his discography includes Straight from the Source (1983), Minger Painting (1991), and Look to the Sky (1992); he also recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Milt Jackson, Mel Torme and Keter Betts.
Charleston Musicians
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Other South Carolina Musicians
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