Lloyd Hunter (May 4, 1910–month and date unknown, 1961) was an American
trumpeter and
big band leader from
North Omaha, Nebraska.
[(nd]
"Jammin’ For the Jackpot: Big Bands and Territory Bands of the 30s"
New World Records, p. 10. .
Biography
Hunter was trained by Josiah Waddle, the first
African-American musician to organize a band in
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, around 1915. Hunter's bands played regionally, filling
high school auditoriums, jitney ("Dime-a-Dance") halls,
farm buildings and
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s throughout
Nebraska,
Iowa,
Kansas and
South Dakota from the 1920s through the 1950s.
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders were one of several black
territory bands that played venues in the African American community of the
Near North Side of Omaha from the early 1920s through the
big band era.
In 1924, Hunter formed his first six-piece band. In 1927 it became an 8-piece band with Lloyd Hunter on trumpet,
Elmer Crumbley on trombone,
Noble Floyd
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Great ...
on clarinet and alto sax,
Bob Welch Bob Welch may refer to:
*Bob Welch (baseball) (1956–2014), American baseball pitcher
*Bob Welch (author) (born c. 1955), American author and newspaper columnist
*Bob Welch (musician) (1945–2012), American musician and member of Fleetwood Mac
** ...
on trombone, tenor sax and bass sax;
Burton Brewer
Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to:
Companies
* Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer
** Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937
**The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...
on piano;
Julius Alexander on banjo;
Wallace Wright
Wallace S. Wright II (born February 1, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at North Carol ...
on tuba, and;
Amos Clayton
Amos or AMOS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968
* Amos (band), an American Christian rock band
* ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray
* ''Amos' ...
on drums. As was usual, the band toured the area playing one night stands. By 1929, the band was heard on radio stations KGBZ in
York, Nebraska;
KFAB in
Lincoln, Nebraska; and
WOW
Wow or WoW may refer to:
Games and toys
*''World of Warcraft'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
*''World of Warplanes'', an online flight simulator
*''World of Warships'', an online naval simulator
*''Wizard of Wor'', a 1981 a ...
in Omaha.
He recorded only once, near the beginning of a ten-month national tour with then prominent blues singer
Victoria Spivey
Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis A ...
. The record, ''Sensational Mood'', included Lloyd Hunter, Reuben Floyd, and George Lott or Ted Frank on trumpets; Elmer Crumbley or Joe Edwards on trombone; Horace "Noble" Floyd and Archie Watts on alto saxophones; Harold Arnold or Dick Lewis on tenor saxophone; George Madison, piano; Herbert Hannah, banjo; Robert Welch or Wallace Wright, bass, and Pete Woods or
Jo Jones
Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...
on drums. It was recorded April 21, 1931, in New York. Originally issued on
Vocalion 1621 (The other side was a Victoria Spivey blues vocal with the band providing accompaniment.)
[
The 12-piece band undertook a national tour that featured Spivey, who was married to Hunter's second trumpet Rueben Floyd at the time. The tour was less than successful, and by 1932 Hunter was back in Omaha, which would be his home base for the next 10 years.
The saxophonist ]Preston Love
Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...
got his start with Lloyd Hunter in the early 1940s, as well as Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...
on drums. While describing North Omaha's music scene, Love once suggested that Hunter relied on that community's talent for his own success. Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...
was an early collaborator with Hunter.
Nat Towles
Nat Towles (August 10, 1905 – January 1963) was an American musician, jazz and big band leader popular in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, North Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois. He was also music educator in Austin, Texas. The N ...
' band once out-played The Serenaders to make their own name in Omaha's music history. Hunter's band was also once the target of a "raid" by a major label attempting to construct their own version of Count Basie's band, which was also formed after one-such raid.
Legacy
Lloyd Hunter was recognized for his contributions to the North Omaha scene in 2005 when he was inducted in the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame.[(nd]
2005 Inductees
Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
See also
*Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska
Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska, the north end of Omaha, is defined by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and political diversity among its residents. The neighborhood's culture is largely influenced by its predominantly African American community.
...
*Music in Omaha, Nebraska
Music in Omaha, Nebraska, has been a diverse and important influence in the culture of the city. Long a home to jazz, blues, funk and rock, today Omaha has dozens of subgenres represented, including Latin, alternative rock and hip hop. Omaha's h ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Lloyd
American jazz bandleaders
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
Big band bandleaders
Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska
People from Omaha, Nebraska
Year of birth missing
1961 deaths
Territory bands
American male jazz musicians