Paul Bascomb

Paul Bascomb (born February 12, 1910 in Birmingham , Alabama , † December 2, 1986 in Chicago ) was an American tenor saxophonist and bandleader of swing and rhythm and blues . He played in Erskine Hawkins' band .

Life

Paul Bascomb was a founding member of the Bama State Collegians , which was then led by Erskine Hawkins and from which his big band later emerged. With this orchestra, in which his brother Dud also played, Bascomb came to New York in 1935 and was its leading saxophone soloist ( " Sweet Georgia Brown " , 1940). He remained in the ensemble until 1944, apart from a brief interlude from 1938 to 1939 when he worked in the Count Basie Orchestra after Herschel Evans' death. Then he led a septet together with his brother Dud until 1947 , which was gradually expanded into a big band, played in the rhythm and blues style and made recordings for Alert Records . In the 1950s he recorded some 78s for United , which were later re-released by Delmark . He also recorded under the pseudonym "Manhattan Paul" ( "Mumbles Blues" ). During this time he was also involved in recordings of Dinah Washington and Little Esther . He was not musically active in the 1960s and 1970s, but made a small comeback in the late 1970s, performing with Erskine Hawkins at European festivals.

Selection discography

• Bad Bascomb (Delmark)

literature

• John Jörgensen, Erik Wiedemann : Jazz Lexicon . Mosaic, Munich 1967, DNB 457101105 .

Web links

• detailed biography with discographic information at earthlink.net
• Scott Yanow : Paul Bascomb in the All Music Guide