George Reed Wilbourn (September 2, 1922 – October 9, 2011) was an American jazz drummer and singer who performed as George Reed.

Life and works

Reed was born in 1922 in Mount Hope,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He grew up in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, near 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 Harle ...

. His early mentors included the

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 ...

musicians

Jo Jones Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...

and

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Ca ...

. In the course of his career, he played with

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 ...

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

and

Bertha Hope Bertha Hope-Booker ( Rosemond; born November 8, 1936, Los Angeles, California) is an American jazz pianist and jazz educator. She is the widow of fellow pianist Elmo Hope, with whom she collaborated. She has toured Europe and Japan and played wi ...

. In 1970, he toured Europe in the all-star formation Saints & Sinners with

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and care ...

and

Red Richards Charles Coleridge "Red" Richards (October 19, 1912, New York City – March 12, 1998, Scarsdale, New York) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Richards began playing classical piano at age ten and concentrated on jazz from age sixteen after h ...

. In his later years, Reed performed as a percussionist and singer with the swing and dance band Lindy Hop Heaven. He often appeared at the Green Pastures jazz club in Elmira where he has lived since 1990 and was a mentor for younger jazz musicians. In the 2000s, he formed a trio with Jeff Barone (guitar) and Ron Oswanski (organ). Reed, who was active as a musician until 2010, died in October 2011 at the age of 89 at the Chemung County Nursing Facility in Elmira.

Discography

* Red Allen: ''Live 1965'' (

Storyville Records Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appea ...

, 1965) * The Buddy Tate Celebrity Club Orchestra: ''Unbroken'' (

MPS Records MPS Records was a German jazz record company and label founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer. MPS stands for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald" (Music Production Black Forest). History Originally based in Villingen, MPS was founded as the su ...

, 1970) * ''The Saints & Sinners In Europe'' (MPS, 1970) with

Rudy Powell Rudy Powell (later Musheed Karweem) (October 28, 1907 – October 30, 1976) was an American jazz reed player. Born in New York City, United States, Powell learned piano and violin while young and then clarinet and saxophone. In the late 1920s, he ...

, Red Richards, Vic Dickenson,

Herman Autrey Herman Autrey (December 4, 1904 – June 14, 1980) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Autrey was born into a musical family in Evergreen, Alabama, United States. He played alto horn before taking up trumpet as a teenager and performing lo ...

* Marion McPartland,

Jimmy McPartland James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married to ...

& The All Star Jazz Assassins: ''!Wanted!'' (Improv, 1977) * Lindy Hop Heaven: ''Goin' To Lindy Land'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, George 1922 births 2011 deaths American jazz percussionists American jazz singers Musicians from West Virginia Musicians from New York (state) People from Mount Hope, West Virginia Saints & Sinners (jazz band) members