Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. (November 26, 1919 – January 16, 1977) known as Tom Archia, 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 The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Early life

Archia was born in

Groveton, Texas Groveton is a city in Trinity County, Texas, United States. The population was 918 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Trinity County. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 sq mi (6. ...

, moving with his family as a child to Rockdale and then

Baytown Baytown may refer to: * Baytown, Texas, a city in the United States near Houston, Texas *Baytown culture, an archaeological culture in the United States *Operation Baytown Operation Baytown was an Allied amphibious landing on the mainland o ...

, near

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 in ...

. He played saxophone in the Wheatley High School orchestra. He was known in childhood as "Sonny", but took the name "Tom" when he decided that neither "Ernest" nor "Alvin" were appropriate for a musician.

Career

After graduating from

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learnin ...

in 1939, he joined

Milt Larkin Milt Larkin (October 10, 1910, Navasota, Texas, Navasota, Texas – August 31, 1996) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer.Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'', also included

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and rhythm and blues, R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in whi ...

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

, and

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

in the reed section and Cedric Haywood as pianist and arranger. Archia arrived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as a member of Larkin's band, which took up a nine-month residency backing

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''Roll ...

at the Rhumboogie Club from August 1942 to May 1943.Campbell, Robert L.; Bukowski, Leonard J. and Büttner, Armin "The Tom Archia Discography"
/ref> In November 1943, he was a member of the

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...

orchestra that recorded in Chicago for the Brunswick

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

. Other band members included

Ike Quebec Ike Abrams Quebec (August 17, 1918 – January 16, 1963) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career in the big band era of the 1940s, then fell from prominence for a time until launching a comeback in the years before his dea ...

, Ted Sturgis, and

Doc West Harold "Doc" West (August 12, 1915 – May 4, 1951) was an American jazz drummer. Early life West was born in Wolford, North Dakota. He learned to play piano and cello as a child before switching to drums. Career In the 1930s, West playe ...

. He moved to the Rhumboogie "Dream Band," which lasted from November 1943 to June 1944. Along with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

, Archia frequently disrupted band discipline, so when

Marl Young Marl Young (January 29, 1917 – 29 April 2009) was an American musician and arranger who helped with the merger of the all-black and all-white musicians unions in Los Angeles in the early 1950s. He later became the first black music director of a ...

took over as bandleader, his first act was to fire Archia. In 1945, Archia went to Los Angeles to join

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger beb ...

's combo, with

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and then ...

, among others. Shortly afterwards, he was recording with the Jacquet brothers,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and Russell, as well as

Helen Humes Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981) was an American singer. Humes was a teenage blues singer, a vocalist with Count Basie's band, a saucy R&B diva, and a mature interpreter of the classic popular song. Early life She was born on ...

. Returning to Chicago in 1946, he became a headliner at

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago blu ...

's club, the

Macomba Lounge The Macomba Lounge, at 3905 South Cottage Grove, Chicago, was an after-hours music club owned by Leonard Chess from 1946 to October 1950, when it burned down. Chess had invested the money made from his two liquor stores into refurbishing an old eat ...

, and recorded extensively for

Aristocrat Records Aristocrat Records, sometimes billed as the Aristocrat of Records, was founded in April 1947 by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel. By September Leonard Chess had invested in the young rec ...

, the predecessor to

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

, during 1947 and 1948. He also recorded with

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ma ...

and

Hot Lips Page Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sh ...

(on King Records).The Red Saunders Research Foundation
He frequently participated in tenor saxophone duels with

Buster Bennett James Joseph "Buster" Bennett (March 19, 1914 – July 3, 1980) was an American blues saxophonist and blues shouter. His nickname was "Leap Frog". At various times in his career, he played the soprano saxophone, the alto, and the tenor. H ...

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

Claude McLin Claude McLin (December 27, 1925 – July 21, 1995)
was an American

, and

Hal Singer Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Early life Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood District, Tul ...

, among others. His run at the Macomba ended when the club was closed by a fire in 1950. Although Tom Archia worked steadily on the South Side of Chicago during the 1950s, and added

Harold Ashby Harold Ashby (March 27, 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States – June 13, 2003, in New York City) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He worked with Duke Ellington's band, replacing Jimmy Hamilton in 1968. In 1959, he recorded backing ...

Porter Kilbert Porter Kilbert (June 10, 1921 – October 23, 1960) was a jazz alto and tenor saxophonist. In September 1942, he replaced Preston Love as lead alto saxophonist in Nat Towles' band, before going on to spend two years with Benny Carter's band, playi ...

and Lucius Washington to his roster of duelling partners, his recording opportunities were sparse and unheralded but included two sessions accompanying

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

. His last recording session was a blues jam organized by

Armand "Jump" Jackson Armand "Jump" Jackson (March 25, 1917 – January 31, 1985) was an American blues and rhythm and blues drummer, bandleader, songwriter, record label owner, and booking agent. He is best known for creating the forceful "sock" rhythm found on the ...

in 1960 for visiting German critic

Joachim-Ernst Berendt Joachim-Ernst Berendt (20 July 1922 in Berlin – 4 February 2000 in Hamburg) was a German music journalist, author and producer specialized on jazz. Life Berendt's father, Ernst Berendt, was a Protestant pastor belonging to the Confessing ...

, who was touring the United States doing research on jazz history. Archia struggled to find gigs in the 1960s. He retired to Houston in 1967, after being temporarily disabled by a broken jaw. After recovering, he played Houston clubs for the rest of his life. He worked with Arnett Cobb in the

Sonny Franklin Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

Big Band, Chadbourne, Eugene at allmusic/ref> which also included Joe Bridgewater and

Don Wilkerson Don Wilkerson (c. 1932 – 18 July 1986) was an American soul jazz / R&B tenor saxophonist born in Moreauville, Louisiana, probably better known for his Blue Note Records recordings in the 1960s as bandleader with guitarist Grant Green. Prior t ...

, with guest appearances by

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

and another old Larkin bandmate,

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

. Many of the band's arrangements were by another Larkin alumnus, Cedric Haywood.

Personal life

Archia's died in 1977, aged 57, and was commemorated with a

jazz funeral A jazz funeral is a funeral procession accompanied by a brass band, in the tradition of New Orleans, Louisiana. History The term "jazz funeral" was long in use by observers from elsewhere, but was generally disdained as inappropriate by most New ...

in Houston's Fifth Ward.

Discography

* ''The Chronological Tom Archia 1947–1948'' (Classics, 2001) *

, ''

Soulful Saxophone ''Soulful Saxophone'' is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons, compiling tracks recorded between 1948 and 1951, some of which were originally released as singles, that was issued by the Chess label in 1959.Jug and Sonny ''Jug and Sonny'' is a compilation album by saxophonist Gene Ammons, with Sonny Stitt featured on two tracks, collecting recordings made between 1948 and 1951, some of which were originally released as singles, that was issued by the Chess label i ...

'' (Chess, 1960) *

, ''The Illinois Jacquet Story'' (Proper, 2002) *

, ''All the Cats Join In'' (MCA, 1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archia, Tom American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists 1919 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists People from Groveton, Texas People from Rockdale, Texas People from Baytown, Texas Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians