Shelton "Scad" Hemphill (March 16, 1906 – January 6, 1960) was an American

jazz trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

whose career lasted from the mid 1920s through the late 1950s. Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Hemphill was still in his teens when he played in the band of Fred Longshaw, which accompanied

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...

on recordings in 1924–25. Also in 1924, at age 18, he enrolled at

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in t ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and was a member of

Horace Henderson Horace W. Henderson (November 22, 1904 – August 29, 1988), the younger brother of Fletcher Henderson, was an American jazz pianist, organist, arranger, and bandleader. Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States. While later a ...

's student band alongside

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

and

Castor McCord Castor "Cass" McCord (May 17, 1907 — February 14, 1963) was an American jazz saxophonist, born in Alabama's largest city, Birmingham, who, with his twin brother, clarinetist and alto saxophonist Ted McCord, started out, at age 17, as a member o ...

. He moved to New York City late in the 1920s, where he played with

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 ...

and

Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...

before joining 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. ...

, playing with this group from 1931 to 1937. He was in

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 ...

's band from 1937 to 1944 and

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 ...

's from 1944 to 1949. In the 1950s, he played occasionally in New York City but left music due to mounting health problems later in the decade. Shelton Hemphill died in New York City two months and ten days before his 54th birthday. His demise, along with that of blues singer

Gladys Bentley Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 – January 18, 1960) was an American blues singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in th ...

, who died twelve days later, was noted in the syndicated column of music critic Ralph J. Gleason.Gleason, Ralph J. "Rhythm Section: Jazz in Music, Not Vaudeville" Longtime jazz and pop columnist mentions that "Shelton Hemphill, a trumpeter who used to be with Ellington, died recently, and so did Gladys Bentley, an entertainer" (''The Milwaukee Journal'', March 26, 1960, pages 1–2)
/ref> He is the father of Barry Shelton Hemphill, who spent a career as a vocal artist in the US Army Chorus, retiring at the rank of E-9. Barry Hemphill was also the Artistic Director of The Metropolitan Chorus in Arlington Virginia for 38 years (1977-2015). and has been the Conductor of the renowned Kennedy Center Messiah Sing every December 23 in Washington, DC, for over 20 years.

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* 1906 births 1960 deaths Duke Ellington Orchestra members American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters African-American jazz musicians Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters Jazz musicians from Alabama American male jazz musicians Mills Blue Rhythm Band members 20th-century American male musicians {{US-jazz-trumpeter-stub