King Fleming

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Walter "King" Fleming (born May 4, 1922 in Chicago , Illinois , † April 1, 2014 in Manteno , Illinois) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and band leader.

Career

Walter Fleming played the trombone in high school and then studied at the Midwest College of Music. He then led some loose formations before founding King Fleming and His Swing Band in 1942 . After he was drafted into the military in July 1943, his band continued to play under the direction of other band members. After his discharge from the army in 1945, Fleming worked as a session musician in Los Angeles, played with Johnnie Alston & His All Stars, with whom he accompanied Wynonie Harris on recordings for Apollo ; he also played with Addison Farmer . In 1946 he was a member of the swing band Oliver "King" Perry's Pied Pipers . He then returned to Chicago to perform there from 1947 with his own formation, the King Fleming's Four .

In 1950 he was a member of the Dallas Bartley Quartet, in which drummer Oliver Coleman also played, and worked as a session musician for various vocal groups, such as the Dozier Boys when they were recording for Chess Records . He then played with Oliver Coleman's Palmaires . In 1954 he made his first recordings under his own name for the Blue Lake label ; with Lorez Alexandria as band singer and John Neely as saxophonist . In 1955 he recorded for Chess as King "Flemings" (" Stompin 'at the Savoy "); In 1957 he accompanied his band Lorez Alexandria on their first two albums for King Records and worked with Muhal Richard Abrams , who wrote some arrangements for a big band led by King Fleming . Between 1960 and 1965 he recorded three piano trio albums for Argo and Cadet Records , the jazz sublabels of the Chess label. In the following years he performed mainly in the Chicago area with his trio, without further recordings being possible for him. It wasn't until 1996 that a new album was created when he recorded for Southport Records.

Discography

  • 1961: Misty Night - King Fleming Trio
  • 1962: Stand By
  • 1996: King! The King Fleming Songbook
  • 2000: The King and I

Web links

Individual references / comments

  1. ↑ a b c Campbell, Robert L .; Pruter, Robert and Büttner, Armin "The King Fleming Discography" ( Memento of the original from April 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / hubcap.clemson.edu
  2. ^ Lorez Alexandria: Obituary at The Last Post
personal data
SURNAME Fleming, King
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fleming, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 2014
Place of death Manteno , Illinois