Edwin Calvin Newborn (April 27, 1933 – December 1, 2018) 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 m ...

guitarist.

Career

He was the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–89), with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with their father Phineas Newborn Sr. on drums and

Tuff Green Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

on bass. The group also included Willie Mitchell and Ben Branch. The group was the house band at the Plantation Inn Club in

West Memphis, Arkansas West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state's 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is ...

, from 1947 until 1951. The group recorded as B. B. King's band on his first recordings in 1949, and also the

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

sessions in 1950. Newborn gave guitar lessons to

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

and was friends with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, who frequented his gig at the Plantation Inn Club two nights a week. Presley also used to eat at the Newborns' house and browse their music store for gospel records. The group left West Memphis in 1951 to tour with

Jackie Brenston Jackie Brenston (August 24, 1928 or 1930Most published sources and the U.S. Social Security Death Index give 1930 as his year of birth. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and reportedly his gravestone give 1928. – December 15, 1979) ...

as the "Delta Cats" in support of the record "

Rocket 88 "Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to " Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. T ...

". It was considered by many to be the first rock and roll record ever recorded, and was the first '' Billboard'' number one record for Chess Records. Following this he played with Earl Hines starting in 1959. In the early 1960s, he toured with Lionel Hampton, Jimmy Forrest,

Wild Bill Davis Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Care ...

, and

Freddie Roach Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champio ...

, along with fellow Memphis jazz players including

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

Frank Strozier Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist. Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Litt ...

, and Louis Smith. Newborn also worked with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Hank Crawford and

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

. Since the 1970s Newborn had remained mostly in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he played regularly in local clubs well into the 1990s. His 1980 album ''Centerpiece'' hit No. 35 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' jazz albums chart, Billboard Allmusic.com but much of his earlier material was not reissued on CD until 2005. He lived most recently in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and continued to perform throughout Northeast Florida until his death. According to family members, Calvin Newborn died in Jacksonville on December 1, 2018, aged 85.

Discography

As leader

* ''Centerpiece'' with Hank Crawford (Buddah, 1980) * ''From the Hip'' (Rooster ater known as 'Rooster Blues' 1983) * ''Up City!'' (Omnivarious Music, 1998; reissue: Yellow Dog, 2005) * ''New Born'' (Yellow Dog, 2005) * ''Clazz (Classical Jazz)'' with Kenny Levine (Omnifarious, 2011)

As sideman

With Phineas Newborn Jr. * ''

Here Is Phineas ''Here Is Phineas'' (subtitled ''The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr.'') is the debut album by American jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. recorded in May 1956 and released on the Atlantic Records, Atlantic label in August 1956.Phineas' Rainbow'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * '' While My Lady Sleeps'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''

Fabulous Phineas ''Fabulous Phineas'' is an album by American jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. recorded in 1958 and released on the RCA Victor label.

'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''A World of Piano!'' (Contemporary, 1962) With others * Hank Crawford, ''Midnight Ramble'' (Milestone, 1983) *

Lou Donaldson Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is an American retired jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop ...

, ''Lou Donaldson at His Best'' (Cadet, 1967) * Lou Donaldson, ''Ha' Mercy'' (Cadet, 1971) * Jimmy Forrest, '' Sit Down and Relax with Jimmy Forrest'' (Prestige, 1961) * Jimmy Forrest, '' Soul Street'' (New Jazz, 1964) *

, ''Having a Ball'' (Argo, 1963) * Lionel Hampton, ''The Many Sides of Hamp'' (Glad-Hamp, 1961) * Earl Hines, ''Earl's Pearls'' (MGM, 1960) *

Linda Hopkins Linda Hopkins (December 14, 1924 – April 10, 2017) was a Tony-winning American actress and blues and gospel singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes. Biography Born Me ...

, ''How Blue Can You Get'' (Palo Alto, 1986) *

, ''Sings the Blues'' (Crown, 1962; reissue: Ace, 2004) * Bobby Hutcherson, ''The Al Grey & Dave Burns Sessions'' (Lone Hill Jazz, 2004) *

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, ''King of the Blues'' (MCA, 1992) *

Booker Little Booker Little Jr. (April 2, 1938 – October 5, 1961)
– accessed June 2010 was an American

, ''Booker Little 4 & Max Roach'' (United Artists, 1959) *

, '' All That's Good'' (Blue Note, 1965) *

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

, ''Secrets of the Sun'' (El Saturn, 1965) *

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

, ''Midnight Lady Called the Blues'' (Muse, 1986)

References

External links

Biography and reviews
on

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

Calvin Newborn
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newborn, Calvin 1933 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists Jazz-blues guitarists Guitarists from Tennessee American male guitarists People from Whiteville, Tennessee Yellow Dog Records artists Jazz musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians