Herman Autrey (December 4, 1904 – June 14, 1980) 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 ...

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 locally in Pittsburgh and Florida. After some time in Florida he worked in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, where he played with Charlie Johnson in 1933. He became well known through Fats Waller, who hired him in 1934 after signing a contract with

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. He played with the drummer Harry Dial, guitarist Al Casey, and reedist Gene Sedric. Autrey went on to record extensively with Waller, Fletcher Henderson, and

Claude Hopkins Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader. Biography Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his ...

. Autrey worked as a sideman into the 1940s with

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, al ...

Sammy Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating the ...

, and

Una Mae Carlisle Una Mae Carlisle (December 26, 1915 – November 7, 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life Carlisle was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Edward and Mellie Carlisle. She was of African and Native American ...

. He ensembles which sometimes included pianist Herbie Nichols. Early in the 1950s Autrey was hurt in a car crash, sidelining his career for one year. He played with Saints & Sinners in the 1960s, including on their 1968/69 tours of Europe. In 1969, he played with

Buzzy Drootin Benjamin "Buzzy" Drootin (April 22, 1920 – May 21, 2000) was an American jazz drummer. Career Drootin was born near Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, with his family when he was five. His father played the cl ...

's Jazz Family, which included

Benny Morton Benny Morton (January 31, 1907 – December 28, 1985) was an American jazz trombonist, most associated with the swing genre. Career He was born in New York, United States. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appea ...

, Herb Hall, pianist Sonny Drootin, bassist Eddie Gibbs and. In the 1970s, he began to lose his playing capacity and spent more time as a vocalist. Herman Autrey died in June 1980 in New York, at the age of 75.

Discography

Buster Bailey William C. "Buster" Bailey (July 19, 1902 – April 12, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career history Early career Buster Bailey was taught clarinet by classical teacher Franz Schoepp, who also taught Benny Goodman. Bailey gained his s ...

, ''

All About Memphis ''All About Memphis'' is an album by clarinetist Buster Bailey which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.

'' (Felsted, 1958) *

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

, ''All Star Swing Sessions'' (Prestige, 2003) * Saints & Sinners, ''The Saints and Sinners'' (77 Records, 1964) * Fats Waller, ''The Joint Is Jumpin'' (Bluebird, 1987) *

George Wettling George Godfrey Wettling (November 28, 1907 – June 6, 1968) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Topeka, Kansas, United States, and from his early teens was living in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the young Chicagoans who fell ...

, ''George Wettling and His Windy City Seven'' (Stere-o-craft, 1958)

References

External links

* Herman Autreyat

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 databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autrey, Herman 1904 births 1980 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Saints & Sinners (jazz band) members