James Avery Parrish (January 24, 1917 – December 10, 1959) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist, composer and arranger. He wrote and recorded " After Hours". Injuries from a bar fight in 1943 ended his career as a pianist.

Early life

Parrish was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. His parents were Curley and Fannie G Parrish. Avery had at least one brother, who became an educator. Parrish graduated from Parker High School in Birmingham. According to a gossip columnist in 1935, Parrish was at that time married to singer

Velma Middleton Velma Middleton (September 1, 1917 – February 10, 1961) was an American jazz vocalist and entertainer who sang with Louis Armstrong's big bands and small groups from 1942 until her death. Biography Middleton was born in Holdenville, Okla ...

Later life

Parrish studied at the Alabama State Teachers College, where he played in the Bama State Collegians, an ensemble led by

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...

. He remained in Hawkins's employ until 1942,"'Record Man' Returns to WOR Program" (May 9, 1942) ''The Pittsburgh Courier''. p. 20. and recorded with him extensively. Parrish wrote the music to " After Hours", and a 1940 recording of the tune with Hawkins's orchestra resulted in its becoming a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

. He also wrote arrangements for Hawkins. In August 1942 Parrish was injured in a car crash that killed Marcellus Green, one of Hawkins's trumpeters."Erskine Hawkins Bandsman Is Killed: Hawkins Bandsman Killed in Accident Avery Parrish, Pianist. Among Others Hurt in Auto Capsizing". (August 15, 1942) ''New York Amsterdam Star-News''. p. 1. They were in a group of five in the vehicle, driving between Pittsburgh and Chattanooga to gigs when it overturned. Parrish left Hawkins later that year and moved to California. He was a commercially successful solo pianist there.Shaw, Arnold (1978) ''Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues''. Collier. p. 60. . He was involved in a bar fight in 1943 – he was hit in the head by a bar stool – which put him in hospital for a few months. This left him partly paralyzed; he was unable to play music for the rest of his life. Parrish died of unknown causes on December 10, 1959.Bruyninckx, Walter (1981) ''60 Years of Recorded Jazz 1917–1977, Volume 9''. W. Bruyninckx. p. 97. A contemporary report stated that he "had been found lying in Harlem streets five days before he died at the Harlem Hospital. There were no marks of violence on his body." Author and music executive

Arnold Shaw Arnold Shaw may refer to: * Arnold Shaw (politician) (1909–1984), British politician * Arnold Shaw (writer) (1909–1989), American music writer {{hndis, Shaw, Arnold ...

stated that Parrish suffered "a fall down a flight of stairs". At the time, Parrish was living with his mother on Saint Nicholas Avenue and "working as a porter for a local bottling company." He was buried in

Ferncliff Cemetery Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located at 280 Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Fernc ...

, New York."Avery Parrish Pianist Dies; Was Composer". (December 19, 1959) ''New York Amsterdam News''. p. 38. He was survived by his mother and a brother, Julian. In 1979, Parrish was inducted into the

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) was founded in 1978, and opened a museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and dis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Avery 1917 births 1959 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians