Irvin Stokes (born November 11, 1926, Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American jazz trumpeter. Stokes moved to New York City in 1947 and recorded with a

Charlie Singleton Charles Fowler Singleton Jr. (September 17, 1913 – December 12, 1985), known as Charlie "Hoss" Singleton, was an American songwriter, best known for having co-written the lyrics for " Strangers in the Night" and " Moon Over Naples" (later cove ...

sextet in 1949. Throughout the 1950s he worked in the big bands of Tiny Bradshaw,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, Mercer Ellington, Erskine Hawkins, Buddy Johnson, Andy Kirk, and Jimmie Lunceford. In 1959-60 he played in Austin Powell's ensemble, then went on to record with

Bobby Donaldson Robert Stanley "Bobby" Donaldson (November 29, 1922, Boston – 1971) was an American jazz and R&B drummer. After playing locally in the early 1940s, Donaldson played with Russell Procope while serving in the Army in New York City. In 1946–47 ...

and Lou Donaldson in the early 1960s. Stokes was involved principally with Broadway musical bands in the 1970s such as ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', though in 1978 he also played on the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Orchestra's tour of Europe, and with Panama Francis at the end of the decade. His credits in the 1980s included George Kelly, Illinois Jacquet,

Oliver Jackson Oliver Jackson may refer to: * Oliver Jackson (musician), American jazz drummer * Oliver David Jackson, Australian Army officer * Oliver Lee Jackson, American painter, printmaker, sculptor, and educator * Oliver Toussaint Jackson, American business ...

, and the Count Basie Orchestra. Stokes was a regular performer alongside

Spanky Davis Ronald J. "Spanky" Davis (March 6, 1943 – October 23, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter. Career Davis worked with Charlie Palmieri (1979), Sam Jones (1979–82), Machito (1980–81), and Benny Goodman (1982–83). He toured Ireland with Al ...

at Doc Cheatham's Sunday brunch gig at the

Sweet Basil Jazz Club Sweet Basil was a jazz club in New York City's Greenwich Village, located at 88 Seventh Avenue South. Founded in 1974 by Sharif Esmat, it was considered among the most prominent New York City jazz clubs of its day. Many jazz albums were recorded l ...

, continuing in this role after Cheatham's death in 1997, when Chuck Folds took over. He also played with the

Statesmen of Jazz Statesmen of Jazz was a swing jazz group started in 1994 by the American Federation of Jazz Societies. The group performs as a sextet, but it has a rotating, all-star membership comprising about thirty musicians. The group released its first album ...

late in the 1990s.

References

*Howard Rye, "Irvin Stokes". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Irvin American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Jazz musicians from North Carolina American male jazz musicians Statesmen of Jazz members Arbors Records artists