James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947)
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 ...
alto saxophonist and bandleader in the
swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...
, near
Fulton
Fulton may refer to:
People
* Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship
* Fulton (surname)
Given name
* Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer
* Fult ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, United States.
The farm was owned by his father, James. His mother was Idella ("Ida") Shumpert of Oklahoma City, an organist of "more than average ability". Seven months after James Melvin was born, the family moved to Oklahoma City.
The family next moved to
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
where Lunceford attended high school and studied music under Wilberforce J. Whiteman, father of
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...
,
whose band was soon to acquire a national reputation. As a child in Denver, he learned several instruments. After high school, Lunceford continued his studies at
Fisk University. In 1922, he played alto saxophone in a local band led by the violinist George Morrison which included
Andy Kirk, another musician destined for fame as a bandleader.
Career
![Trummy Young and Jimmie Lunceford, ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Trummy_Young_and_Jimmie_Lunceford%2C_ca._early_1940s_%28William_P._Gottlieb%29.jpg)
In 1927, while an athletic instructor at Manassas High School in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, Lunceford organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra.
Under the new name, the band started its professional career in 1929, and made its first recordings in 1930.
Lunceford was the first public high school band director in Memphis.
After a period of touring, in 1934 the band accepted a booking at the
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 on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
nightclub
The Cotton Club for their revue "Cotton Club Parade" starring
Adelaide Hall. The Cotton Club had already featured
Duke Ellington and
Cab Calloway, who won their first widespread fame from their inventive shows for the Cotton Club's all-white patrons. With their tight musicianship and the often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics, Lunceford's orchestra made an ideal band for the club, and Lunceford's reputation began to steadily grow.
Jimmie Lunceford's band differed from other great bands of the time because it was better known for its ensemble than for its solo work. Additionally, he was known for using a two-beat rhythm, called the Lunceford two-beat, as opposed to the standard four-beat rhythm. This distinctive "Lunceford style" was largely the result of the imaginative arrangements by trumpeter
Sy Oliver
Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.
Life
Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his ...
, which set high standards for dance-band arrangers of the time.
Though not well known as a musician, Lunceford knew how to play several instruments and was even featured on flute in "Liza".
Comedy and
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
played a distinct part in Lunceford's presentation. Songs such as "Rhythm Is Our Business" (featured in a 1937
musical short
The musical short (a.k.a. musical short film, a.k.a. musical featurette) can be traced back to the earliest days of sound films.
Performers in the Lee de Forest Phonofilms of 1923-24 included Eddie Cantor, George Jessel, Abbie Mitchell ("The C ...
with Myra Johnson (Taylor) on vocals), "I'm Nuts about Screwy Music", "I Want the Waiter (With the Water)", and "Four or Five Times" displayed a playful sense of
swing, often through clever arrangements by trumpeter Sy Oliver and bizarre lyrics. Lunceford's stage shows often included costumes, skits, and obvious jabs at mainstream white bands, such as Paul Whiteman's and
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer.
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and oth ...
's.
Despite the band's comic veneer, Lunceford always maintained professionalism in the music befitting a former teacher; this professionalism paid off and during the apex of
swing in the 1930s, the Orchestra was considered the equal of
Duke Ellington's,
Earl Hines' or
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 ...
's.
This precision can be heard in such pieces as "Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam)", "Lunceford Special", "For Dancers Only", "Uptown Blues", and "Stratosphere". The band's noted saxophone section was led by alto sax player
Willie Smith. Lunceford often used a
conducting baton to lead his band.
The orchestra began recording for the
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
label and later signed with the
Columbia subsidiary
Vocalion
Vocalion Records is an American record company and label.
History
The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...
in 1938. They toured Europe extensively in 1937, but had to cancel a second tour in 1939 because of the outbreak of
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 opposing ...
. Columbia dropped Lunceford in 1940 because of flagging sales. (Oliver departed the group before the scheduled European tour to take a position as an arranger for
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
). Lunceford returned to the Decca label. The orchestra appeared in the 1941 movie ''
Blues in the Night''.
Lunceford's band was hired to play at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles on September 26, 1940 and again on June 26, 1947, by
Leon Hefflin Sr.
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
Most of Lunceford's sidemen were underpaid and left for better paying bands, leading to the band's decline.
Death
After playing McElroy's Ballroom in Portland, Lunceford and his orchestra were in
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The name Seaside is derived from ''Seaside House'', a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population ...
, to play at The Bungalow dance hall on July 12, 1947. Before the performance Lunceford collapsed during an autograph session at a local record store. He died while being taken by ambulance to the Seaside hospital. Lunceford was 45. Dr Alton Alderman performed an autopsy in nearby Astoria, Oregon, and concluded that Lunceford died of
coronary occlusion.
Lunceford had complained about an aching leg as they arrived in Seaside, and had been suffering with high blood pressure for a while, and had recently complained about not feeling well. Allegations and rumors circulated that he had been poisoned by a restaurant owner, who was unhappy at having to serve a "Negro" in his establishment.
[Myers, Mark (July 20, 2011). "Swing's Forgotten King". '']Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
.
Legacy
![Jimmie Lunceford Billboard 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Jimmie_Lunceford_Billboard_4.jpg)
Band members, such as
Eddie Wilcox and
Joe Thomas, kept the band going for a time but finally had to break up the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra in 1949.
In 1999, band-leader Robert Veen and a team of musicians set out to acquire permission to use the original band charts and arrangements of the Jimmie Lunceford canon. "The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra" officially debuted in July 2005 at the
North Sea Jazz Festival in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival was founded by Bro. Ronald Cortez Herd II aka R2C2H2 Tha Artivist in 2007 with the aim of increasing recognition of Lunceford's contribution to jazz, particularly in Memphis, Tennessee. The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Awards were created by the festival to honor exceptional musicians with Memphis ties as well as those who have dedicated their careers to excellence in music and music education.
Lunceford's music continues to have an impact. Most recently the tune "Rhythm is Our Business" was included as track on the compilation set ''
Memphis Jazz Box
"The Memphis Jazz Box" is a 3-CD box set by Memphis jazz artists, first released by Ice House Records in March 2004 and then re-released to the public in 2008. Volume one and two have a combined 24 tracks from a wide variety of artists who were ...
'' in 2004 in honor of Lunceford's close ties to Memphis.
On July 19, 2009, a brass note was dedicated to Lunceford on the
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, t ...
Walk of Fame in Memphis.
Selected discography
Prior to Lunceford's success on Decca (beginning September 1934), Lunceford made the following recordings:
*"In Dat Mornin'"/"Sweet Rhythm" (
Victor V-38141) - recorded Memphis, June 6, 1930
*"Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass"/"While Love Lasts" (test pressings for Columbia, not released until 1967 on LP) - recorded New York, May 15, 1933
*"Jazznocracy"/"Chillun, Get Up" (Victor 24522) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934
*"White Heat"/"Leaving Me" (Victor 24586) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934
*"Breakfast Ball"/"Here Goes" (Victor 24601) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934
*"Swingin' Uptown"/"Remember When" (Victor 24669) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934,
Also prior to his Decca period, he made recordings for Brunswick records from 1934 to 1940.
Decca recordings
*''Jazz Heritage Series #3- Jimmie Lunceford 1: Rhythm Is Our Business (1934-1935)'' (LP:
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
#79237, 1968/LP reissue:
MCA #1302, 1980)
*''Jazz Heritage Series #6- Jimmie Lunceford 2: Harlem Shout (1935-1936)'' (LP: Decca #79238, 1968/LP reissue: MCA #1305, 1980)
*''Jazz Heritage Series #8- Jimmie Lunceford 3: For Dancers Only (1936-1937)'' (LP: Decca #79239, 1968/LP reissue: MCA #1307, 1980)
*''Jazz Heritage Series #15- Jimmie Lunceford 4: Blues In The Night (1938-1942)'' (LP: Decca #79240, 1968/LP reissue: MCA #1314, 1980)
*''Jazz Heritage Series #21- Jimmie Lunceford 5: Jimmie's Legacy (1934-1937)'' (LP: MCA #1320, 1980)
*''Jazz Heritage Series #22- Jimmie Lunceford 6: The Last Sparks (1941-1944)'' (LP: MCA #1321, 1980)
*''Stomp It Off'' (1934-1935 Decca recordings) (CD:
GRP #608, 1992)
*''For Dancers Only'' (1935-1937 Decca recordings) (CD: GRP #645, 1994)
*''Swingsation: Jimmie Lunceford'' (1935-1939 Decca recordings) (CD: GRP #9923, 1998)
Columbia recordings
*''Lunceford Special'' (1939-1940
Columbia Records recording) (78rpm 4-disc album set/8 songs/#C-175: 1948; original LP issue/12 songs/#CL-634: 1956; expanded LP reissue/16 songs/#CL-2715 and #CS-9515: 1967; CD release/22 songs/#CK-65647: 2001 from Sony-Legacy label)
Majestic recordings
*''Margie'' (1946-1947 Majestic recordings) (LP/13 songs/#SJL-1209: 1989 from
Savoy Jazz
Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music.
In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.
...
label)
The Chronological...Classics series
note: every recording by Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra is included in this 10 volume series from the
Classics reissue label:
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1930-1934'' (#501)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1934-1935'' (#505)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1935-1937'' (#510)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1937-1939'' (#520)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1939'' (#532)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1939-1940'' (#565)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1940-1941'' (#622)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1941-1945'' (#862)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1945-1947'' (#1082)
*''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford's Orchestra 1948-1949'' (#1151) -note: these last recordings (1948-1949) were made after Lunceford's death by his long-time band under the joint-direction of Eddie Wilcox (his piano player) and Joe Thomas (his tenor sax player/vocalist).
CD compilations from different reissue labels
*''Rhythm Is Our Business'' (
ASV/Living Era, 1992) -note: all tracks recorded 1933–1940, both the Decca and Columbia periods successively.
*''It's the Way That You Swing It: The Hits of Jimmie Lunceford'' (
Jasmine, 2002) 2-CD set
*''Jukebox Hits 1935–1947'' (
Acrobat
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...
2005)
*''Quadromania: Jimmie Lunceford–Life Is Fine'' (1935–45, Membran/Quadromania Jazz, 2006) 4-CD box set
*''Strictly Lunceford'' (
Proper
Proper may refer to:
Mathematics
* Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact
* Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...
, 2007) 4-CD box set
*''The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions'' (
Mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
, 2014) 7-CD box set
References
External links
Jimmie Lunceford recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunceford, Jimmie
1902 births
1947 deaths
African-American saxophonists
American jazz alto saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz bandleaders
Big band bandleaders
Death in Oregon
Fisk University alumni
Musicians from Denver
People from Fulton, Mississippi
Swing bandleaders
Swing saxophonists
20th-century American saxophonists
Jazz musicians from Mississippi
Brunswick Records artists
Columbia Records artists
Decca Records artists
Majestic Records artists
RCA Victor artists
Jazz musicians from Colorado
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
20th-century African-American musicians