Charlie Shavers

Charlie Shavers, National Studios, circa May 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .

Charlie James Shavers (* 3. August 1917 in New York City , † 8. July 1971 ) was a jazz - trumpet player from the era of Swing .

biography

The first instruments Shavers played were the piano and banjo , and it was only later that he switched to the trumpet. As a pianist he has performed at Tilly's Chicken Shack in Harlem and plays the banjo with Bobby Hackett . At the age of 18 he joined the band Tiny Bradshaws in 1935 , in 1937 he went to Lucky Millinder and finally to John Kirby's band, where he replaced Frankie Newton . The band, which performed in the Onyx Club and was therefore also called the Onyx Club Boys , celebrated great success as a swing band with a smaller line-up. Shavers also made appearances with Johnny Dodds , Jimmy Noone and Sidney Bechet . Shavers also arranged pieces for Kirby and made his own composition Undecided a hit.

In 1944 he turned his back on Kirby's band, played with Raymond Scott for a year and then joined Tommy Dorsey's orchestra . He also made recordings with the Metronome All-Stars and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic . After Dorsey died in 1956, Shavers devoted himself primarily to his own band; so in 1957 an album with the singer Maxine Sullivan was created . In 1963 he took part in a new formation of the Dorsey Orchestra, which was led by Sam Donahue . In the late 1960s he had his own quartet with Budd Johnson .

His technical brilliance, mastery of fast tempos, linear melodies and an often funny articulation gave his style a personal touch. Richard Cook and Brian Morton emphasize his humor and "intense feeling" for the history of jazz.

On July 8, 1971, Charlie Shavers died of cancer in New York at the age of 53. He died two days after Louis Armstrong ; Shavers' mouthpiece was placed in the coffin.

Discographic notes

• Horn O'Plenty (Lonehill Jazz, 1954-58) with Buster Bailey , Urbie Green , Russell Procope , Billy Kyle , Barry Galbraith , Bob Haggart , Specs Powell , Cozy Cole
• The Complete Charlie Shavers with Maxine Sullivan (Avenue Jazz, 1957) with Bennie Moten , Buster Bailey, Russell Procope, Billy Kyle, Aaron Bell
• Charlie Shavers & Ray Bryant Quartet Recordings, Vols. 1-3 (Lonehill Jazz, 1958-1964) with Aaron Bell , Tommy Bryant , Oliver Jackson , Jerome Richardson , Budd Johnson
• Here Comes Charlie (WRC, 1960) with Ray Bryant , Tom Bryant
• Live (Black and Blue, 1970) with Budd Johnson

literature

• Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X .
• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
• Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon . Reinbek, Rowohlt, 1988.