John Collins (guitarist)

John Elbert Collins (* 20th September 1913 in Montgomery , Alabama ; † 4. October 2001 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American jazz guitarist of swing and bebop .

Life

As a child, John Collins took lessons from his mother, Georgia Gorham , who was a band leader and pianist. He gained his first experience as a professional musician in 1932–1935 in his mother's orchestra, then with Art Tatum in Chicago (1935) and Roy Eldridge (1936–1939). In 1940 he went to New York, where he worked with Benny Carter , Billie Holiday , Lester Young , Dizzy Gillespie and Fletcher Henderson . After serving in the US Army (1942-1946) he worked in New York City in Slam Stewart's Quartet (1946-1948), with which he took part in the Paris Jazz Festival in May 1948, and with Erroll Garner . He then played 1949-1951 in the trio of Billy Taylor , from 1951 with Nat King Cole , with whom he visited Europe in 1954 and 1960. In 1961 he worked on Benny Carter's album Further Definitions . In the late 1960s he worked at Bobby Troup . In 1983 he toured Europe with his own trio; In 1988 he accompanied Carmen McRae . Even in the 1990s, Collins performed occasionally in Los Angeles, but was mostly active as a music teacher.

Collins, influenced by Charlie Christian , was one of the most important bebop guitarists alongside Tal Farlow , Barney Kessel and Irving Ashby . In 1947 he was awarded the Esquire Star Award ; he later received the Los Angeles Jazz Society Prize . He can be heard on recordings by Ray Brown , Kenny Clarke , Tadd Dameron , Ella Fitzgerald , Louis Jordan , Fats Navarro , Ike Quebec , Art Tatum , Sarah Vaughan , Joe Williams and Zoot Sims .

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
• Bielefeld catalog 1988 & 2002
• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

Web links

• Biography at musicianguide.com