Campbell Aurelius "Skeets" Tolbert (February 14, 1909,
Calhoun Falls
Calhoun Falls is a town in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,724 at the 2020 census, down from 2,004 at the 2010 census.
The town derives its name from John E. Colhoun (or Calhoun), a United States Senator fro ...
,
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
- November 30, 2000,
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
) 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 m ...
clarinetist, alto saxophonist, vocalist, composer and bandleader. He acquired the nickname "Skeets", which was short for "Mosquito." Tolbert grew up in
Lincolntown, North Carolina, and studied at
Johnson C. Smith University
Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The univer ...
. Though Tolbert never had a standard to his credit, he composed and arranged a great number of tunes that would become hits for others, notably Nat King Cole. He has 42 tracks over two albums to his credit as well and more that he has credit for in part. Red Richards who played piano and sang with Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing said of Tolbert that he "could play" and was an original, that he didn't copy Louis Jordan. Of the band he said they were a strong, good sounding band. Of the music he said they were a "nice style band" that could play for dancing.
Early career
He played in
Dave Taylor's "Taylor's Dixieland Orchestra (Serenaders)" from 1929, with his first known recording in 1931, as a vocalist and on alto sax. In 1934 he moved to New York City, where he played with
Charlie Alexander before joining the house band at the New York night club, the
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...
. In 1936 he played with
Fats Waller, primarily alto sax, this time was clearly highly influential on Tolberts own style of writing and arranging. He played in a band with athlete
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.
Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...
in 1937. He next joined
Snub Mosley's band and kept it going after Mosley left the group.
[Howard Rye, "Skeets Tolbert". '' Grove Jazz'' online.]
Bandleader
Freddie Green
Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years.
Early life and education
Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...
,
Kenny Clarke
Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...
,
Red Richards,
Otis Hicks
Otis Verries Hicks, known as Lightnin' Slim (March 13, 1913 – July 27, 1974), was an American blues musician who played Louisiana blues and swamp blues for Excello Records. The blues critic ED Denson ranked him as one of the five great blu ...
,
Carl "Tatti" Smith,
Lem Johnson,
Buddy Johnson
Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977) was an American jump blues pianist and bandleader active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister Ella Johnson, most notably " Since I ...
,
Theodore Carpenter
Theodore "Wingie" Carpenter (April 15, 1898 – July 21, 1975) was a jazz trumpet player, singer, and band leader active from the 1920s through the 1960s.John Chilton: ''Who's Who of Jazz, Storyville to Swing Street'', Chilton Book Co., Phi ...
, Leonard Hawkins Harry Prather, Clarence Easter, all played with Tolbert in the band, which recorded in 1939 under the name Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing. Babe Hines appeared on the Vol. 1 collection, Yack Taylor on the second; both were featured female vocalists. Tolbert made a point to have women sing solo blues ballads on at least a few songs on each album. He rarely used a single male lead and favored a call and response style leader/chorus. He used elements of vaudeville in many of his tunes, primarily minor blues, but some with darker lyrics. None of his songs ever charted or became standards but were intended for dancing in nightclubs and living rooms. Bold in his writing style, Tolbert was influenced by
Fats Waller. In his tune, "Baby You're a Fine Piece of Meat," he used the line, "you got... the right size feet", a reference to Waller's "Your Feets Too Big." He also emulated Waller's style of writing odd tunes such as "The Stuff's Out," "Papa's in Bed with His Britches On," and others with silly lyrics. He recorded with this ensemble for three years for
Decca Records, which at the time published
Louis Jordan. His style evoked many eras of blues, vaudeville, and jazz fusion.
[
Tolbert played at the Famous Door in New York for $75/week. he also played aside the bar at the Queens Terrace in Astoria Queens, New York, the same club ]Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
got started playing in when he broke into the music business. In a 1995 interview with Eddie Detmeyer, Red Richards noted that the band at the Queen's Terrace would frequently get called to play in the "big room" for bigger acts including Jackie Gleason because Tolbert knew the music. He could play the music of anyone from Louis Jordan to the emerging Nat King Cole, whose career he helped launch. Cole used Tolbert's number, "Hit that Jive Jack," and had huge success with it. Tolbert arranged and composed a number of tunes for Cole, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, all reaching more success than Tolbert ever did. Most of his gigs were "tough jobs" according to Richards because he was so good but always remained in the background, never gaining fame or enough money to live, which is why he left to pursue teaching.
Tolbert got into the film business with a series of shorts known as soundies. In 1944 the ensemble recorded four sound films of the tunes "No No Baby", "'Tis You Babe", "Blitzkrieg Bombardier", and "Corn Pone." All of those became soundies, with Lupe Cartiero singing the tune she wrote, "Corn Pone".[
Tolbert used four dancers, likely from Fritz Pollard's Sun Tan Studios in Harlem. They may have been former members of The Zanzibeauts – dancers who performed at the Club Zanzibar who appear without credit in many soundies. The women also sang choruses to tunes on stage while Tolbert and band were in the orchestra pit.][
]
Later life
Tolbert completed studies at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1946 and broke up the group to take a job in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
as a high school music teacher. He became a faculty member at Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...
in Houston in 1948. Later in his life he worked for the American Federation of Musicians, Local 65-699 and owned Pied Piper Music store. Tolbert lived to be 91 years old.[
]
Discography
* ''Skeets Tolbert and His Gentlemen of Rhythm, Vol I, 1931–1940''
* ''Skeets Tolbert and His Gentlemen of Rhythm Vol. II'', 1940–42
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Skeets
1909 births
2000 deaths
Johnson C. Smith University alumni
American jazz clarinetists
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz bandleaders
Musicians from South Carolina
20th-century American saxophonists
People from Calhoun Falls, South Carolina
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians