Lawrence Lucie

Lawrence "Larry" Lucie (* 18th December 1907 in Emporia , Virginia ; † 14. August 2009 in New York ) was an American jazz - guitarist . Lucie was one of the oldest active jazz guitarists; he was 101 years old. His career began in the early years of jazz - he was still playing with Jelly Roll Morton - and lasted into the early years of the 21st century.

Career

Lawrence Lucie began to learn banjo, mandolin and violin and played in his father's band. At the age of 19 he moved to New York to work as a professional musician. He played mostly as a rhythm guitarist and rarely had solos; he was considered someone who could masterfully keep the beat . The long list of musicians Lucie worked with includes Duke Ellington , with whom he played a few nights in the early 1930s, and Louis Armstrong , with whom he worked from 1940 to 1945; He also played with the Chocolate Dandies in 1933, Red Allen in 1935, Lucky Millinder (1935), Billie Holiday / Teddy Wilson ("What a Night, What a Moon, What a Girl", 1935), Benny Carter / Spike Hughes (1933) , in Coleman Hawkins All-Star Octet 1940 ("The Sheik of Araby"), Fletcher Henderson (1934-1935 and 1936-1939), Pete Johnson , in the Mills Blue Rhythm Band . From 1946 he had his own combo, went on tour with Louie Bellson in 1959 and then played with Cozy Cole .

In his later career he performed with his wife, guitarist and singer Nora Lee King ; During this time, joint recordings and television appearances were made on the public TV network in Manhattan. Lucie taught at the Borough of Manhattan Community College for a total of three decades . He also performed with the New York Jazz Repertory Company and the Harlem Jazz and Blues Band in the 1970s . In 1973 he appeared in Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra at Carnegie Hall (reconstructed from the Chick Webb Orchestra); In 1979 he worked on Abdullah Ibrahim's album African Marketplace . In the 1980s / 90s with Panama Francis and the new edition of the Savoy Sultans ; In 1987 he worked on Bobby Watson's album The Year of the Rabitt . Until 2005 he performed as a soloist at Arturo's in Greenwich Village on Sunday night. He was the last musician still alive to record with jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton.

He can be seen playing with Louis Armstrong in the 1944 comedy film Jam Session .

He has recorded with Benny Carter / Spike Hughes, Red Allen, Fletcher Henderson, Lucky Millinder, Teddy Wilson / Billie Holiday, Jelly Roll Morton , Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Pete Johnson, Joe Turner and Putney Dandridge , among others .

Lexical entry

• Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler, Christian Pfarr: Reclam's Jazz Guide . 3rd, revised and expanded edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-15-010355-X .

Web links

• Obituary New York Times

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IMDB