Paul Bascomb ( – December 2, 1986)
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 major ...
tenor saxophonist, noted for his extended tenure with
Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...
.
He is a 1979 inductee of the
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (AJHF) was founded in 1978, and opened a museum on September 18, 1993, with a mission "to foster, encourage, educate, and cultivate a general appreciation of the medium of jazz music as a legitimate, original and dis ...
.
Career
Bascomb was a founding member of the
Bama State Collegians, which was led by Erskine Hawkins and eventually became his
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
.
Bascomb's brother
Dud played in this ensemble.
Bascomb remained in this ensemble until 1944, aside from a brief interval in 1938 and 1939, where he played in
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 orchestra after
Herschel Evans
Herschel "Tex" Evans (9 March 1909 – 9 February 1939) was an American tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. He also worked with Lionel Hampton and Buck Clayton. He is also known for starting his cousin Joe McQueen's ...
's death.
From 1944 to 1947 he and Dud co-led a septet which evolved into a big band.
He recorded for
States Records
States Record Company was a Chicago-based record label. A subsidiary of United Recording, it was in business from May 1952 to December 1957. States focused on rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel.
States was operated by Leonard Allen and Lew ...
in 1952; these sides were reissued by
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a recordi ...
in the 1970s. From 1953 to 1955, he recorded for
Parrot Records
Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the ...
, and was active as a performer nearly up until the time of his death.
References
External links
Official website of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascomb, Paul
1912 births
1986 deaths
Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
Jazz musicians from Alabama
United Records artists
Delmark Records artists
Manor Records artists
20th-century American saxophonists
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians