Ernie Carson (December 4, 1937 – January 9, 2012) was an American

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

revival

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

ist, pianist, and singer. He was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. Carson played trumpet from elementary school and at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. He was introduced to Dixieland music by listening to Monte Ballou's Castle Jazz Band through the bathroom wall at the Liberty Theater in Portland as a teenager. He ended up playing with the

Castle Jazz Band The Castle Jazz Band was a Dixieland jazz band, part of the "West Coast revival" of traditional jazz music. Their recordings were popular worldwide for a time, although touring outside their Portland, Oregon base was limited. History The Castle Jaz ...

in the mid-1950s prior to a stint in the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

. Following this he worked in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with Dave Wierbach, Jig Adams,

Ray Bauduc Ray Bauduc (June 18, 1906 – January 8, 1988) was an American jazz drummer best known for his work with the Bob Crosby Orchestra and their band-within-a-band, the Bobcats, between 1935 and 1942. He is also known for his shared composition of " ...

, Pat Yankee, and

Turk Murphy Melvin Edward Alton "Turk" Murphy (December 16, 1915 – May 30, 1987) was an American trombonist and bandleader, who played traditional and Dixieland jazz. Biography He was born in Palermo, California, United States. Murphy served in the Navy ...

, and led several of his own groups from the 1970s, including the Capital City Jazz Band and a new version of the Castle Jazz Band. After more than twenty years of playing based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, he moved back to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 1995. He died in 2012 in Portland, Oregon.

Discography

As leader

* ''Ernie Carson and His Capital City Jazz Band'' (

Jazzology Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year he ...

, 1968) * ''Ole Oregon Ern'' (Fat Cat, 1973) * ''Pretty Little Lady from Beaumont, Texas'' (1975) * ''At the Hooker's Ball'' (

GHB ''gamma''-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. ...

, 1980) * ''Pink Elephants'' (GHB, 1992) * ''Southern Comfort'' (GHB, 1993) * ''Christmas at the Castle'' (1993) * ''Wher'm I Gonna Live?'' (Stomp Off, 1994) * ''Every Man a King'' (GHB, 1995) * ''Old Bones'' (

Stomp Off Stomp Off is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1980 by Bob Erdos in York, Pennsylvania. The label's first release was ''Feelin' Devilish'' by Waldo's Gutbucket Serenaders. It was described in 1986 as concentrating on "jazz in t ...

, 1995) * ''One Beer'' (GHB, 1995) * ''If I Had a Talking Picture'' (1998)

As sideman

* ''Live at Earthquake McGoon's'' with Turk Murphy (RCA, 1961) * Nonte Ballou and his New Castle Jazz Band (GHB 1968) * "Jazz On a Saturday Afternoon - Volume One and Two" with

Wild Bill Davison William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they p ...

(Jazzology Records 1970) * "Barrelhousin' with Joe" with Joe Darensbourg (GHB 1972) * "Echoes og Chicago" with Art Hodes and his Windy City Seven (Jazzology Records 1978) * "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye" with Maxine Sullivan (Jazzology Records 1978) * ''On the Goldenrod Showboat'', The Original Salty Dog Jazz Band (1982) * "World of Jelly Roll Morton" with Bob Greene (GHB 1982) * "Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night" with Carol Leigh (GHB 1996) * "You've Got To Give Me Some" with Carol Leigh (GHB 1996) * "St. Peter Street Strutters" with Bob Greene (Delmark Records 2009 - recorded in 1964)

References

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

Ernie Carson Ernie Carson (December 4, 1937 – January 9, 2012) was an American Dixieland jazz revival cornetist, pianist, and singer. He was born in Portland, Oregon. Carson played trumpet from elementary school and at Lincoln High School in Portland, Orego ...

Allmusic 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Ernie American jazz cornetists Musicians from Oregon 1937 births 2012 deaths Jazzology Records artists Stomp Off artists FatCat Records artists