Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) 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 ...

, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.

Biography

Born in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Young Family band, which included saxophonist

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

. According to Williams he acquired his nickname as a boy when his father took him to a band concert. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and he replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie." In 1928, he made his first recordings with pianist

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

in New York, where he also worked briefly in the bands of Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Williams rose to prominence as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra when the band was playing at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

, with which he first performed from 1929 to 1940. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both freelance and with other Ellington sidemen. Williams was renowned for his "jungle"-style trumpet playing (in the manner of Ellington's earlier trumpeter Bubber Miley and trombonist Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton) and for his use of the

plunger mute A mute is a device attached to a musical instrument which changes the instrument's tone quality (timbre) or lowers its volume. Mutes are commonly used on string and brass instruments, especially the trumpet and trombone, and are occasionally ...

. He also sang occasionally, a notable instrumental feature being in the Ellington piece "Echoes of the Jungle". For him, Duke Ellington wrote ''Concerto for Cootie,'' which when lyrics were added became "

Do Nothing till You Hear from Me "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental ("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight th ...

". He was also the soloist in other Ellington compositions, such as "

Echoes of Harlem "Echoes of Harlem", also known as "Cootie's Concerto", is a 1936 composition by Duke Ellington. A piece with a jazz blues sound in F minor with an ostinato piano pattern, it has been cited as one of Ellington's "mood" pieces. It opens with trumpet, ...

", " Harlem Air Shaft", and the religious piece ''The Shepherd Who Watches Over the Night Flock'', which was dedicated to the Rev. John Gensel. In 1940, Williams joined

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

's orchestra, a highly publicized move that caused quite a stir at the time (commemorated by

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

with the song "When Cootie Left the Duke"), then in 1941 formed his own orchestra, in which over the years he employed

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

, Bud Powell,

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and rhythm and blues, R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in whi ...

, and other young players. In 1947, Williams wrote the song "Cowpox Boogie" while recuperating from a bout with smallpox. He contracted the disease from a vaccination he insisted all band members receive. By the late 1940s, Williams had fallen into obscurity, having had to reduce his band numbers and finally to disband. In the 1950s, he began to play more rhythm and blues, toured with small groups, and played in the

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

. In the late 1950s, he formed a small jazz group and recorded a number of albums with

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

, as well as his own album, ''Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' (1958). In 1962, he rejoined Ellington and stayed with the orchestra until 1974, after Ellington's death. In 1975, he performed during the

Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) cha ...

halftime show. He was a 1991 inductee of 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 ...

Death

Williams died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on September 15, 1985, at the age of 74 from a kidney ailment. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City.

Discography

As leader

* ''

The Big Challenge ''The Big Challenge'' is an album by trumpeter Cootie Williams and cornetist Rex Stewart, recorded in 1957 and released on the Jazztone label.

'' (Jazztone, 1957) * ''

Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi ''Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' is an album by trumpeter Cootie Williams, recorded in 1958 and released on the RCA Victor label.

'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Around Midnight'' (Jaro, 1959) * ''Cootie'' (Decca, 1959) * ''

Porgy & Bess Revisited ''Porgy & Bess Revisited'', subtitled ''Played by a Very Unusual Cast'', is an album of jazz interpretations of songs from the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess performed by cornetist Rex Stewart and trumpeter Cootie Williams, with saxophonist ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1959) * ''Do Nothing Till You Hear from ... Cootie'' (Warwick, 1960) * '' The Solid Trumpet of Cootie Williams'' (Moodsville, 1962) * '' Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941–1944'' (

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, 1995)

As sideman

* Duke Ellington, ''

All Star Road Band Volume 2 ''All Star Road Band Volume 2'' is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago for radio broadcast and first released as a double LP on Bob Thiele's Doctor Jazz label in 1 ...

'' (Doctor Jazz, 1985) *

Joya Sherrill Joya Sherrill (August 20, 1924 – June 28, 2010) was an American jazz vocalist and children's television show host. Sherrill was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on August 20, 1924. Her first ambition was to become a writer: she was the editor of her ...

, ''

Joya Sherrill Sings Duke ''Joya Sherrill Sings Duke'' is a 1965 album by Joya Sherrill recorded in tribute to the bandleader and composer Duke Ellington. Several members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra accompany Sherrill on the album. Reception The album was reviewed by ...

'' (20th Century Fox, 1965)

References

External links

Allmusic biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*
Cootie Williams recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

.
Official website of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Cootie 1911 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicians African-American musicians American jazz trumpeters American male jazz musicians American male trumpeters American rhythm and blues musicians Big band bandleaders Duke Ellington Orchestra members Jazz musicians from Alabama Jump blues musicians Musicians from Mobile, Alabama New York blues musicians RCA Victor artists Rhythm and blues trumpeters Swing trumpeters Vocalion Records artists