George James (musician)
George James (December 7, 1906, in Boggs, Oklahoma – January 30, 1995, in Columbus, Ohio[1]) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist.[2]
Life and career
James's career began late in the 1920s, in the bands of Charlie Creath and Johnny Neal.[2] He moved to Chicago in 1928, where he played with Jimmie Noone, Sammy Stewart, Ida Marples, Jabbo Smith, and Bert Hall.[2][1] In 1931 through March 1932 he toured with Louis Armstrong, and he remained in New York City at the end of the tour, where he joined the Savoy Bearcats and, later, Charlie Turner's Arcadians.[2][1] Fats Waller assumed leadership of the Arcadians in the middle of the decade, and James played under him until 1937.[2][1]
James finished the decade of the 1930s playing in the Blackbirds Revue.[1] Early in the 1940s he worked with James P. Johnson, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, and Lucky Millinder, and led his own band in 1943-44.[1][2] Later in the decade James played with Claude Hopkins and Noble Sissle.[1] He was active both as a leader and a sideman into the 1970s, playing with Clyde Bernhardt and the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band in that decade.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rye, Howard (2001). "James, George". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J221900. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d e f Eugene Chadbourne, George James at Allmusic
- Pages containing links to subscription-only content
- Articles with short description
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Articles with ISNI identifiers
- Articles with VIAF identifiers
- Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
- Articles with BNF identifiers
- Articles with BNFdata identifiers
- Articles with GND identifiers
- Articles with LCCN identifiers
- Articles with SNAC-ID identifiers
- Articles with SUDOC identifiers
- 1906 births
- 1995 deaths
- American jazz saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- Musicians from Oklahoma
- RCA Victor artists
- 20th-century American saxophonists
- Jazz musicians from Oklahoma
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians
- Harlem Blues and Jazz Band members