Henry Crowder (1890–1955) was an American

jazz musician This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources. Accordion * Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983) * Luciano Biondini (born 1971) * A ...

. He was an important figure in the European jazz culture of his time. Crowder was born in Gainesville, Georgia, to a poor family and was largely a self-taught musician. Crowder began his career playing piano in the brothels of Washington, D.C., and rose to become an important bandleader here before leaving for Europe in 1928 with Eddie South's Alabamians. He was best known for his romantic and professional involvement with avant-garde poet, muse, and shipping heiress

Nancy Cunard Nancy Clara Cunard (10 March 1896 – 17 March 1965) was a British writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class, and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She became a muse to some of the ...

. They met in 1928 in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, where the Alabamians had an extended engagement to play, a residency at the Hotel Luna. Cunard’s 1934 anthology ''Negro ''is inspired by and dedicated to Crowder. Crowder also assisted Cunard in creating her Hours Press publishing house, which published

Richard Aldington Richard Aldington (8 July 1892 – 27 July 1962), born Edward Godfree Aldington, was an English writer and poet, and an early associate of the Imagist movement. He was married to the poet Hilda Doolittle (H. D.) from 1911 to 1938. His 50-year w ...

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

, and

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

among others. Crowder’s influence on Cunard was profound. She claimed in one letter that: “Henry made me”. Cunard and Crowder collaborated on a book of music and poetry with contributions from

, and pictures by

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

. By Crowder’s own account, musician

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

was deported from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

after an argument with a member of Crowder’s group turned violent and several bystanders were shot.Crowder, Henry.As Wonderful As All That? Wild Tree Press:Navarro California, 1987 Crowder died in Washington, District of Columbia, having largely given up performing and recording jazz on his return from Europe in the 1940s.

Personal life

Henry Crowder was married to May Frances "Frankie" Turner,

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

's seamstress at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, with whom he had one son, Henry Jr.

Europe

Henry Crowder lived for almost 12 years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. During his stay there, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s invaded

. He was interned for 22 and a half months in

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

camps, first in

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then in

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References

* Crowder, Henry (with Hugo Speck). As Wonderful As All That. Wild Tree Press: Navarro, California, 1987. * Nancy Cunard. Henry Music. Hours Press: Paris, 1930. * http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/beckett/circle/ * http://www.thenation.com/article/lives-others {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Henry 1890 births American jazz musicians 1955 deaths 20th-century American musicians