(Portrait of Joe Thomas, Pied Piper, New York, N

Joseph Lewis Thomas (July 24, 1909 – August 6, 1984) was an American swing jazz trumpeter, who was born in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ...

, and died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York.

Biography

He was born in

, United States, and started his music career at the age of 19 with bandleader Cecil Scott in 1928, and played throughout the Midwest before moving to New York in 1934, where he became one of the most sought-after trumpeters of the 1930s and 1940s. Those he worked with include Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra (1934–37), Fats Waller,

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

(1939–40),

Joe Sullivan Michael Joseph O'Sullivan (November 4, 1906 – October 13, 1971) was an American jazz pianist. Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in si ...

and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

's Sextet (1942–43),

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 ...

and many others. He featured in

Art Kane Art Kane (born Arthur Kanofsky; April 9, 1925 – February 3, 1995) was an American fashion and music photographer active from the 1950s through the early 1990s. He created many portraits of contemporary musicians, including Bob Dylan, Jefferson A ...

's iconic 1958 photograph '' A Great Day in Harlem''."The Musicians"
''A Great Day in Harlem''.

Discography

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...

, '' How Hi the Fi'' (Columbia, 1954) * Buck Clayton, ''

Jumpin' at the Woodside "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...

'' (Columbia, 1955) *

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

& Joe Thomas, ''Mainstream'' (Atlantic, 1958) *

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

, '' Coleman Hawkins All Stars'' (Swingville, 1960) * Fletcher Henderson All Stars, ''The Big Reunion'' (Jazztone, 1958) *

, ''

Let's Jam ''Let's Jam'' is an album by pianist Claude Hopkins with saxophonist Buddy Tate and trumpeter Joe Thomas (trumpeter), Joe Thomas recorded in 1961 and originally released by the Prestige Records, Swingville label.Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

, ''

Henderson Homecoming ''Henderson Homecoming'' is a live album performed by cornetist Rex Stewart with the Fletcher Henderson Alumni that was recorded at the Great South Bay Jazz Festival in 1958 and released on the United Artists label.Edwards, D., Eyries, P. & Call ...

'' (United Artists, 1959) * Rex Stewart, ''Rex Stewart and the Ellingtonians'' (Riverside, 1960)

References

External links

"Remembering Joe Thomas", Jazz Lives, June 11, 2009.

"Soulful Elegance: Joe Thomas, trumpet"
Jazz Lives, July 20, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Joe 1909 births 1984 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Jazz musicians from Missouri Swing trumpeters 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians