Singleton Palmer (November 13, 1912,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

– March 8, 1993, St. Louis) 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 ...

multi-instrumentalist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

of the Dixieland Six.

Career

Palmer began playing cornet at age 11, and was actively playing gigs with the Mose Wiley Band in St. Louis by 14. In 1928, he began playing tuba, and joined Oliver Cobb's Rhythm Kings in 1929. Palmer's first recordings were with Cobb in 1929, and he continued to perform with the band through 1934. Following Cobb's death in 1931, Eddie Johnson took over leadership for the band, renaming it the St. Louis Crackerjacks. He recorded with the band under Johnson's leadership in 1932, and switched to string bass in 1933. In 1934, Palmer joined

Dewey Jackson Dewey Jackson (June 21, 1900 – January 1, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Early life Jackson was a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Career Jackson began playing professionally at an early age, with the Odd Fellows Bo ...

on the riverboats, and performed with him until 1941. Beginning in 1941, Palmer took a job at Scullin Steel, where he joined the company's 45-piece big band, which performed for the employees in the cafeteria during the daily lunch hour. He additionally began performing with George Hudson's first band in 1941, continuing until 1947. Toward the end of the 1940s, Palmer began to get higher-profile performing and recording opportunities, including with

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

in 1947 and

Jimmy Forrest James, Jim or Jimmy Forrest may refer to: Sports * James Forrest (rugby union) (born 1907), Scotland international rugby union player * James Forrest (baseball) (1897–1977), American baseball player * James Forrest (basketball) (born 1972), Ame ...

in 1948. Additionally, he played bass on record with

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians such as

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the s ...

and Sonny Boy Williamson. In 1947 he joined Count Basie's 18-piece jazz band, touring for 3 years and recording 11 sides. In 1950, Palmer left Basie's group and started his own band, the Dixieland Six. Palmer led this Dixieland jazz ensemble in jam sessions at the Universal Dance Hall on the DeBaliviere Strip, an entertainment street on the west side of St. Louis. The Dixieland Six would go on to perform at Gaslight Square at the Opera House, and record six albums between 1960 and 1967. Palmer became a source for jazz historians late in his life, offering

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

testimonies of his early years in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Singleton 1912 births 1993 deaths American jazz tubists American male jazz musicians American jazz bandleaders Jazz musicians from St. Louis 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American male musicians