Joshua Altheimer (May 17, 1910 – November 18, 1940)Although some sources give his date of death as February 18, 1940, that cannot be correct as he is known to have recorded later that year. was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

who is remembered for accompanying

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

, Lonnie Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson and others on influential blues recordings made in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the 1930s. He was described by Broonzy as "the best blues piano player I ever heard", and by blues historian

Hugues Panassié Hugues Panassié (27 February 1912 in Paris – 8 December 1974 in Montauban) was a French Music criticism, critic, record producer, and impresario of traditional jazz. Career Panassié was born in Paris. When he was fourteen, he was stricke ...

as "the greatest blues pianist on records".

Biography

He was born in

Altheimer, Arkansas Altheimer is a city in Plum Bayou Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas. It is situated on the Union Pacific Railway, northeast of Pine Bluff. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 984, down from 1,192 at the 2000 census. As of 2018 th ...

, which he claimed had been founded by his grandfather, and would therefore have had family connections with the leading Chicago law firm of Altheimer & Gray. Joshua Altheimer was relatively light-skinned; it is believed that his grandfather (Louis Altheimer) was an immigrant from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and his grandmother an ex-slave (Epsy Marks). His father was Silas Altheimer. It is thought likely that he received some formal musical training, explaining his technique and "perfect tempo". He worked for some years in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, where he met and probably first performed with blues singer Big Bill Broonzy, who grew up in the same area. Altheimer then moved to Chicago, and in 1937 began working as Broonzy's regular piano accompanist. According to writer Roger House, Altheimer "brought a nimble, boogie-woogie piano style to the urban blues trio". He became a key part of Broonzy's band in performance and on recordings, and was sought out by other blues performers of the time including John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson,

Washboard Sam Robert Clifford Brown (July 15, 1910 – November 6, 1966), known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues musician and singer. Biography Brown's date and place of birth are uncertain; many sources state that he was born in 191 ...

Jazz Gillum William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902 or 1904 – March 29, 1966) was an American blues harmonica player. Biography Gillum was born in Indianola, Mississippi. He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few years lived in ...

, and Lonnie Johnson. He played piano at the 1939 session on which Johnson used an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

for the first time, and recorded prolifically as a sideman during 1939 and 1940. He is described by Bruce Eder at

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 ...

as "a strong player, with a right hand capable of coaxing rich, diverse figures out of his instrument". However, he made no recordings as a solo or featured performer. Joshua Altheimer died in Chicago in November 1940 at the age of 30, the result of various ailments including

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altheimer, Joshua 1910 births 1940 deaths American blues pianists American male pianists People from Jefferson County, Arkansas Musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois