Jimmy Butts (September 24, 1917 – January 8, 1998) 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 major ...
double-bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
ist.
Early in his career Butts played with local groups
Dr. Sausage and His Pork Chops and Daisy Mae's Hepcats. Early in the 1940s he played in the orchestras of
Les Hite
Les Hite (February 13, 1903 – February 6, 1962) was an American jazz bandleader.
Life and career
Born in DuQuoin, Illinois, United States, Hite attended the University of Illinois and played saxophone with family members in a band in the 1920s. ...
and
Chris Columbus. He accompanied
Frances Brock on
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tours during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and also played with
Don Redman
Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, music arrangement, arranger, bandleader, and composer.
Biography
Redman was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, Un ...
,
Art Hodes
Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.
Biography
Hodes was born in Mykolaiv, in present-day Ukrain ...
,
Lem Johnson
Lemuel Charles "Lem" Johnson (August 6, 1909 – April 1, 1989) was an American jazz saxophonist who played both tenor and soprano saxophones.
Johnson was born in Oklahoma City. He played clarinet in local ensembles in the 1920s and picked up sax ...
,
Tiny Grimes
Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (July 7, 1916 – March 4, 1989) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a rec ...
, and
Noble Sissle
Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry".
Ea ...
in the 1940s. Late in the decade he played in a duo with
Doles Dickens and had his own ensemble, continuing with it into the early 1950s.
In the 1960s Butts emigrated to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, where he played with
Juanita Smith. In the 1970s he returned to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and played with his own small group, working almost up until his death. His band remained together under the name Friends of Jimmy Butts after his death.
References
*
Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.
Life and career
Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...
,
Jimmy Buttsat
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 ...
External links
Jimmy Butts Collection, ca. 1935-1990sInstitute of Jazz Studies, Dana Library, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butts, Jimmy
1917 births
1998 deaths
American jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
20th-century American musicians
20th-century double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians