Lawrence Lucie (December 18, 1907 – August 14, 2009) was an American jazz guitarist.

Early life

Lucie was born in Emporia, Virginia. When he was eight years old, he was learning mandolin, violin, and banjo. He moved to New York City in 1927 and attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music to study banjo. He studied guitar at Paramount Music Studios, and guitar became his primary instrument.

Professional career

Lucie's professional career began as a temporary substitute for

Fred Guy Frederick L. Guy (May 23, 1897 – December 22, 1971) was an American jazz banjo player and guitarist. Born in Burkeville, Virginia, Guy was raised in New York City. He played guitar and banjo with Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra. In the early 192 ...

in the

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 ...

Orchestra in 1931. He spent the next two years playing guitar for

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 ...

, followed by

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...

, the

Mills Blue Rhythm Band The Mills Blue Rhythm Band was an American big band active during the 1930s. The band was formed in New York City, United States, in 1930 by drummer Willie Lynch as the Blue Rhythm Band, and then briefly operated as the Coconut Grove Orchestra. ...

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

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 ...

in 1940, and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

until 1944, recording with all of them except Ellington. He can also be found on record with

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

Putney Dandridge Louis "Putney" Dandridge (January 13, 1902 – February 15, 1946) was an American jazz pianist and singer. Career Born in Richmond, Virginia, United States, Dandridge began performing in 1918 as a pianist in a revue entitled ''The Drake and Wal ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Spike Hughes Patrick Cairns "Spike" Hughes (19 October 1908 – 2 February 1987) was a British musician, composer and arranger involved in the worlds of classical music and jazz. He has been called Britain's earliest jazz composer. Later in his career, he ...

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

, 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 ma ...

. Lucie served in the U.S. Army, then became a member of small groups in contrast to his big band years, and worked often as a studio musician. He spent his career as a rhythm guitarist, seldom taking solos until the 1970s, when he founded Toy Records to issue music performed by him and his wife, Nora Lee King. In the 1980s and 1990s he played in concerts with

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

. For thirty years, he taught at

Borough of Manhattan Community College The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, busines ...

until 2004. He played solo guitar in clubs until he was 99-years-old. In 2009, his death at the age of 101 ended a career that lasted over seventy-five years. He was the last living musician to have recorded with Jelly Roll Morton.

Discography

As leader

* ''Cool and Warm Guitar'' (Toy, 1975) * ''Sophisticated Lady''/''After Sundown'' (Toy, 1977) * ''This Is It... The Innovator'' (Toy, 1978) * ''Mixed Emotions'' (Toy, 1979) * ''It Was Good...It is Good'' (Toy, 1982)

As sideman

Dollar Brand Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

, ''African Marketplace'' (Elektra, 1980) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, ''Newport Jazz Festival Live at Carnegie Hall July 5, 1973'' (Columbia, 1973) *

, ''The Hawk in Flight'' (RCA Victor, 1955) *

, ''Swing's the Thing'' (Decca, 1961) *

, ''Spike Hughes and His All American Orchestra'' (London, 1956) * Marion Williams, ''Gospel Now'' (Cotillion, 1971)

References

External links

Lawrence "Larry" Lucie papers, 1927–2004
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucie, Lawrence 1907 births 2009 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians American jazz guitarists American session musicians Guitarists from Virginia Rhythm guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from Virginia Mills Blue Rhythm Band members The Chocolate Dandies members