Skeets Tolbert

Campbell Aurelius "Skeets" Tolbert (born February 14, 1909 in Calhoun Falls , South Carolina ; † November 30, 2000 in Houston , Texas ) was an American jazz alto saxophonist , clarinetist , singer and band leader of swing .

Tolbert grew up in Lincoln , North Carolina and studied at Johnson C. Smith University . From 1929 he played in Dave Taylor's Dixie Serenaders Band (with Jimmy Gunn ) and recorded with her in 1931. In 1934 he moved to New York City , where he worked with Charlie Alexander before joining the Savoy Ballroom's house band . In 1936 he worked for Fats Waller , then in a band that was formed around the Olympic athlete Jesse Owens in 1937. Shortly thereafter, he played in Snub Mosley's band and took over after Mosley's departure. Freddie Green , Kenny Clarke , Red Richards , Otis Hicks , Carl ″ Tatti ″ Smith and Lem Johnson were members of this formation, with which he made records in 1939 under the title Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing . Tolbert recorded with this ensemble for three years for Decca Records . In 1944 films were titled No No Baby , Tis You Babe , Blitzkrieg Bombardier and Corn Pone . In 1946 Tolbert continued his studies at Columbia University , broke up the band and taught as a teacher at a high school in Charlotte, North Carolina . In 1948 he became a member of the faculty of music at Southern University in Houston. In his later years he largely gave up the active music profession, he worked for the musicians' union American Federation of Musicians and had a music business.

Discographic notes

• Skeets Tolbert 1931-1940 (Classics)
• Skeets Tolbert 1940–1942 (Classics)

literature

• Bielefeld catalog jazz. 2001.
• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .

Web links

• Information on the album Skeets Tolbert 1940–1942 at answers.com