Cootie Williams
Cootie Williams | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Charles Melvin Williams |
Born | Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | July 10, 1911
Died | September 15, 1985 New York City, U.S. | (aged 74)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Trumpet |
Years active | 1925–1975 |
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues,[1] and rhythm and blues trumpeter.
Biography
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Young Family band, which included saxophonist Lester Young.[2] According to Williams he acquired his nickname as a boy when his father took him to a band concert. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and he replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie."[3]
In 1928, he made his first recordings with pianist
In 1940, Williams joined Benny Goodman's orchestra, a highly publicized move that caused quite a stir at the time[5] (commemorated by Raymond Scott with the song "When Cootie Left the Duke"),[6] then in 1941 formed his own orchestra, in which over the years he employed Charlie Parker, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bud Powell, Eddie Vinson, and other young players.[2][6]
In 1947, Williams wrote the song "Cowpox Boogie" while recuperating from a bout with smallpox. He contracted the disease from a vaccination he insisted all band members receive.[7]
By the late 1940s, Williams had fallen into obscurity, having had to reduce his band numbers and finally to disband.[2] In the 1950s, he began to play more rhythm and blues, toured with small groups, and played in the Savoy Ballroom.[4]
In the late 1950s, he formed a small jazz group and recorded a number of albums with Rex Stewart, as well as his own album, Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi (1958).[2] In 1962, he rejoined Ellington and stayed with the orchestra until 1974, after Ellington's death. In 1975, he performed during the Super Bowl IX halftime show. He was a 1991 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.[8]
Death
Williams died in
Discography
As leader
- Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941–1944 (Classics, 1995) --earliest solo recordings
- The Big Challenge (Jazztone, 1957)
- Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi (RCA Victor, 1958)
- Around Midnight (Jaro, 1959)
- Cootie (Decca, 1959)
- Porgy & Bess Revisited (Warner Bros., 1959)
- Do Nothing Till You Hear from ... Cootie (Warwick, 1960)
- The Solid Trumpet of Cootie Williams (Moodsville, 1962)
As sideman
- Duke Ellington, All Star Road Band Volume 2 (Doctor Jazz, 1985)
- Joya Sherrill, Joya Sherrill Sings Duke (20th Century Fox, 1965)
References
- ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ a b c d e f Robinson, J. Bradford (1994). "Williams, Cootie". In Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 1290.
- ^ Curtis, Constance; Herndon, Cholie (April 30, 1949). "Know your Boroughs Orchestra Men Talk About Show Business". The New York Amsterdam News. p. 15.
- ^ a b Fraser, C. Gerald (16 September 1985). "Cootie Williams, Ellington Trumpeter, Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ Visser, Joop (2001). "Disc Four - Take the A-Train". Duke Ellington - Masterpieces 1926-1949 (CD booklet). Duke Ellington. England: Proper. pp. 39–52. PROPERBOX 25.
- ^ a b Schenker, Anatol (1995). Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941–1944 (CD booklet). Cootie Williams. France: Classics. pp. 3–8. CLASSICS 827.
- ^ "The Laugh is on Maestro Cootie". The Afro American. May 3, 1947. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ "Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Inductees". Jazzhall.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2015-12-25.