Charlie Irvis (May 6, 1899 – 1939) 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 ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

, best known for performing in

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's band.

Career

Irvis played with

Bubber Miley Bubber is a nickname and surname which may refer to: People: * Bubber or Bubba Brooks (1922-2002), American jazz tenor saxophonist * James Bubber Epps (born 1943), American politician * Clarence James Bubber Jonnard (1897-1977), American Major Leag ...

in his youth and then with blues singer

Lucille Hegamin Lucille Nelson Hegamin (November 29, 1894 – March 1, 1970) was an American singer and entertainer and an early African-American blues recording artist. Life and career Lucille Nelson was born in Macon, Georgia, the daughter of John and Minni ...

and her Blue Flame Syncopators from 1920 to 1921. Following this he played with

Willie "The Lion" Smith William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf Smith (November 23, 1893 – April 18, 1973), nicknamed "The Lion", was an American jazz and stride pianist. Early life William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf, known as Willie, was born in 1893 in Goshen, ...

and with

's orchestra (1924–1926), as well as recording occasionally with Clarence Williams between 1923 and 1927. Irvis, along with friends Miley and

Tricky Sam Nanton Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (February 1, 1904 – July 20, 1946) was an American trombonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Early life Joe Nanton was born Joseph Irish Nanton in New York City, United States. His parents were John Barzly Nanton an ...

, all contributed to the development of "jungle sounds" ( growl effects) in trombone playing. After leaving Ellington's band, he recorded with

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

(1927, 1929) and played with Charlie Johnson (1927–1928) and

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

(1929–1930). Some of his latest recordings were in 1931 with Miley again, and shortly thereafter with

Elmer Snowden Elmer Chester Snowden (October 9, 1900 – May 14, 1973) was an American banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as b ...

Personal life

After the early 1930s, Irvis apparently stopped playing, and died around 1939 in obscurity.

References

1939 deaths 1899 births 20th-century American musicians American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from New York (state) Duke Ellington Orchestra members 20th-century trombonists American male jazz musicians 20th-century American male musicians {{US-jazz-trombonist-stub