Louis Metcalf

Louis Metcalf (born February 28, 1905 in Webster Groves , Missouri , † October 27, 1981 in New York ) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornet player of swing .

Life

Metcalf grew up in St. Louis and at the beginning of his career worked on a river steamer of the "Streckfus" line, which at the time had a band each from New Orleans and St. Louis. He toured a popular show, Jimmy Cooper's Black & White Revue, for a few years and finally came to New York in 1923. There he worked in clubs with Sidney Bechet , Johnny Hodges , Willie The Lion Smith and Tom Benford , as well as with Jelly Roll Morton , Benny Carter and King Oliver . Metcalf was a sought-after session musician and is said to have been involved in around 200 recordings during this time.

In 1926 he became a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra . Ellington had hired him because his soft tone contrasted well with Bubber Miley's style. He also had the ability to sight-play "stock" arrangements, which made up the bulk of the band's repertoire. Metcalf stayed with the band until the spring of 1928 and left when Arthur Whetsol returned. In the 1930s Metcalf also led his own formations and played in Fletcher Henderson's band.

In 1946 he moved to Montreal and formed the "International Band" which played an early bebop style. For a few years he moved in the Montreal jazz scene in the “Café Saint-Michel”, where he worked with local musicians such as the young Oscar Peterson and traveling Americans such as Art Pepper , Fats Navarro and Sonny Rollins .

He was forced to return to New York City in 1951 because of a drug offense. He then released an album in 1966 called "I've Got The Peace Brother Blues" and had his own formations. After 1968 an illness ended his musical activities; he died in Jamaica on Long Island in 1981.

literature

• James Lincoln Collier : Duke Ellington. Genius of jazz. Revised edition. Ullstein, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-548-35839-X ( Ullstein 35839).