Cassino Simpson

Wendell "Cassino" Simpson (born July 22, 1909 in Venice or Chicago , † March 27, 1952 in Elgin (Illinois) ) was an American jazz pianist and band leader who became known in the Chicago jazz scene.

Live and act

Simpson took piano lessons from Zinky Cohn . The first recordings were made in 1923 in Bernie Young's band , then with the Moulin Rouge Orchestra (1925). In the following years he was a member of Arthur Sims' Creole Roof Orchestra , with whom he recorded in 1926. After the band leader's death, Bernie Young took over the leadership of the band. Simpson stayed in the ensemble until 1930, which included Chester Boone , Ed Burke , Scoops Carry and Keg Johnson . In 1929 he recorded with Jabbo Smith ' Rhythm Aces for Brunswick ("Jazz Battle", "Little Willie Blues", "Take Me to the River"). From 1931 to 1933 he worked at Erskine Tate , with whom, however, no recordings were made. He also accompanied Laura Rucker on some recordings. In 1932/33 he had his own orchestra and recorded under his own name under various pseudonyms, with Jabbo Smith and Milt Hinton as accompanists. In 1933 he accompanied Half Pint Jaxon , with whom four record sides were created. Shortly thereafter, he became mentally ill and in 1935 was placed in a mental hospital in Elgin, Illinois . There he played piano and vibraphone in the institution's dance band, as well as bass drum in their marching band . In 1942 he took up some solo piano pieces there; however, he did not leave the facility until his death in 1952.

Lexical entries

• John Jörgensen, Erik Wiedemann Jazzlexikon , Bertelsmann, undated

Web links

• Cassino Simpson at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Paul Oliver The Story of the Blues 1998. p. 73
2. ↑ SD Records (annotated discography) ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.