Lee Collins

Leeds' Lee "Collins (* 17th October 1901 in New Orleans , † 3. July 1960 in Chicago ) was an American jazz - trumpet player and band leader of the New Orleans Jazz .

As a teenager, Lee Collins played in his hometown brass bands such as The Young Eagles , The Columbia Band and the Tuxedo Brass Band . In the 1910s he worked in New Orleans alongside Louis Armstrong , Papa Celestin, and Zutty Singleton . In 1924 he moved to Chicago, where he replaced Louis Armstrong in King Oliver's band. He also played for Jelly Roll Morton before returning to New Orleans at the end of the decade. There he appeared in 1929 with his formation (with Davey Jones ) Jones-Collins Astoria Hot Eight , which he led together with tenor saxophonist David Jones. In Jones' and Collins bands played a. a. Sidney Arodin , Al Morgan , Ted Purnell and Joe Robichaux . In 1929 they played the tracks "Astoria Strut", "Duet Stomp", "Damp Weather Blues" and "Tip Easy Blues".
In 1930 he went to New York City , where he played in 1930 with Luis Russell ; then he moved to Chicago. There he worked with Dave Peyton (1930), the Chicago Ramblers (1932), Johnny Dodds and Baby Dodds , Zutty Singleton, Mezz Mezzrow , Lovie Austin and Jimmy Bertrand (1945). Collins was also active as an accompanist for many blues singers in the 1930s and 1940s and played in the night clubs. After 1945 he led his own formation at the Victory Club on Clark Street in Chicago, recorded with Mutt Carey in 1946 and performed with the blues singer Chippie Hill (1946), Kid Ory (1948) and Art Hodes (1950-1951). In 1951 he went on a European tour with Mezz Mezzrow, particularly to France; In 1953 he worked for Joe Sullivan in California . In the mid-1950s he withdrew from the music scene due to illness.

Collins wrote the autobiography Oh Didn't He Ramble , which appeared in 1974.

Fonts

• Oh Didn't He Ramble- The Life Story of Lee Collins as Told to Mary Colins. Edited by Frank J. Gillis and John W. Miner . Urbana, Chicago, London. University of Illinois Press. 1974.

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
• Rex Harris, Brian Rust : Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide. Penguin, London 1958.
• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

Web links

• Lee Collins at Allmusic (English)