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

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

Ott, Horace (b. 1953)
A South Carolina native, Ott is a pianist, arranger, and conductor who resides in the New York-New Jersey vicinity; he has arranged and recorded with King Curtis, Gil Scott-Heron, Nina Simone, Dakota Staton, Joe Williams, Etta Jones, Houston Person, Bob Thiele and many rhythm and blues artists; did the musical arrangement for the film, Can’t Stop the Music (1980), and composed the musical score for Gordon’s War(1973).


Pearson, “Skipp” Thales Thomas
Born in Orangeburg, SC and graduated with a degree in music from Claflin University; worked as a band director|music teacher South Carolina (Bamberg and Clarendon counties) for 24 years; worked with Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Patti LaBelle, Wynton Marsalis, Ron Westray, Wycliff Gordon, and others; his current band, Jazzology, has performed regularly at local clubs in Columbia including Greenstreets and the Hunter Gatherer; he has been honored by the South Carolina State University Jazz Band Hall of Fame (1998), the South Carolina State House of Representatives (2002), and has received an Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award for the Arts (2003).

Person, Houston (b. 1934)
Born in Florence, SC, Person began musical studies on the piano and later the tenor saxophone; in the service in Germany, he played with Eddie Harris, Lanny Morgan, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton; he was a member of Johnny “Hammond” Smith’s group (1963-66) and since then, has been a bandleader and worked often with singer Etta Jones; he has recorded a number of recordings for Muse and other labels.

Prysock, Arthur (1929-1997 )
Born in Spartanburg, SC and the brother of saxophonist, Red Prysock; he moved to Hartford, CT as a teenager where he sang in several small bands; as a singer (baritone), his breakthrough came in 1964; his first professional work was with Buddy Johnson (1944) as his lead male vocalist in Harlem ballrooms and clubs where he was discovered; he went solo in 1952 and quickly landed an R & B hit (“I Didn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night”) – he was instantly a hit with audiences as a balladeer; he became well known in jazz circles during his work and recorded with Count Basie (1965); he hosted his own television show (“Tonight”), performed at Carnegie Hall (1966) and in countless jazz, rhythm and blues venues and with an array of musicians; he scored countless rhythm and blues hits including “I Worry ‘Bout You” (1958), “The Very Thought of You” (1960), “It’s Too Late Baby, It’s Too Late” (1965), a disco hit, “When Love Is New” (1976), and several hit albums including A Rockin’ Good Way (1985), This Guy’s in Love With You (1986), and Today’s Love Songs, Tomorrow’s Blues (1987); he also recorded a popular jingle for Lowenbrau beer; Prysock passed away in 1997 in Bermuda.

Russell, “Snookum” Isaac (1913-1981)
Bandleader, arranger and pianist; born in Columbia, SC, Russell first studied drums and later the bass, and played with a local band at age 7; he toured the country with the Hartley Toots Band (1933-1939) then formed his own band (1939-50) with Fats Navarro, Ray Brown and J.J. Johnson playing all over the U.S.; recorded with George Lewis and Jimmy Yancey; Russell settled in New Orleans in the 1950s and was the jazz pianist at the Paddock Bar and Lounge on Bourbon Street for over 25 years; he has performed as leader of a jazz combo at other New Orleans night clubs including the Gateway Hotel piano bar; he passed away in 1981 and a jazz funeral was held for him.

Shirley, Jimmy (1913-1989)
Swing guitarist and one of the early electric guitarists; born in Union, SC and raised in Cleveland where he was taught guitar by his father; he joined J. Frank Terry and Hal Draper in Cincinnati (1934-36), formed his own quartet and trio, worked with Clarence Profit’s trio (1937-41) with whom he made his recording debut; toured with Ella Fitzgerald (1942-43), played with the Phil Moore Four, and had a long, off and on association with Herman Chittison (1944-54); he began doubling on electric bass with Buddy Tate (1967), and recorded with James P. Johnson, Sidney DeParis (1944), Johnny Guarnieri (1975), and Stephane Grappelli (1978); he recorded “Jimmy’s Blues” for Blue Note (1945) and headed one album for Black & Blue (1975); he was one of the first to use the vibrola attached to his guitar for a unique sound; Shirley passed away in 1989 in Harlem.

Thompson, “Lucky” Eli (1924-2005)
Born in Columbia, SC; jazz saxophonist; early in his career (before age 21), he played with Erskine Hawkins’ Alabama State Collegians, and played tenor saxophone with Billy Eckstine (including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey) and Count Basie; he later played with Lionel Hampton, Slam Stewart, Dinah Washington, Milt Jackson, Eddie Barclay, Stan Kenton, Charles Mingus, Buddy Collette and Miles Davis among others, and can be heard on hundreds of jazz recordings; he led his own band at the Savoy Ballroom and performed at the Nice Jazz Festival; considered a great jazz saxophonist, he abruptly quit in the early 1970’s giving his instruments to a dentist to pay a bill; he dropped out of public view and the Los Angeles Times reported that it was widely believed he was homeless; he spoke out against what he considered the unfair control of the jazz business by record companies, music publishers and booking agents and was blacklisted -- partly for these reasons, he left the United States to live in Paris (1957-1962) and Lausanne, Switzerland (1968-1970); he frequented New York occasionally, taught music at Dartmouth (1973-1974), lived on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island, in Savannah, and settled in Seattle in the late 1980s; he died at Seattle’s Columbia City Assisted Living Center.

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

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