Les Hite
Les Hite (born February 13, 1903 in DuQuoin , Illinois , † February 6, 1962 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American big band leader of swing . He played the alto saxophone, piano and xylophone.
Les Hite played the saxophone in the family band and studied at the University of Illinois. He toured with Helen Dewey and joined the Spike Brothers band in Los Angeles in 1925, where he played in various orchestras, including his own dance band in Solomon Penny's dance palace. In 1930 he took over the Quality Serenaders orchestra in Los Angeles from Paul Howard, with whom he played a lot on the West Coast and also worked for film studios. They became known when Hite and his band accompanied and recorded with Louis Armstrong (and Fats Waller ) during performances at Sebastian's New Cotton Club (also the name of the orchestra) in Los Angeles from 1930 to 1932 . In addition to touring, his band had permanent engagements in 1937 in New York, 1938 in Portland and 1940 in Chicago . From 1942 to 1945 Les Hite led a band in Los Angeles, but then changed his profession and ran an artist agency.
Many well-known jazz musicians played in the Les Hite band at times, such as Lionel Hampton , Lawrence Brown (as well as Hampton already with the Quality Serenaders ) Dizzy Gillespie , Joe Wilder , Al Morgan , T-Bone Walker .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hite, Les |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American big band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 13, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | DuQuoin , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 6, 1962 |
| Place of death | Santa Monica , California |