Walter "Rosetta" Fuller (February 15, 1910 in

Dyersburg, Tennessee Dyersburg is a city and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 census. ...

– April 20, 2003 in San Diego, California) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is no relation to

Gil Fuller Walter Gilbert "Gil" Fuller (April 14, 1920, Los Angeles, California – May 26, 1994, San Diego, California) was an American jazz arranger. He is no relation to the jazz trumpeter and vocalist Walter Fuller (musician), Walter "Rosetta" Fuller. I ...

, whose birth name is also Walter. Walter Fullerat Allmusic, accessed 31 December 2010

Biography

Fuller learned

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

as a child before settling on trumpet. He played in a traveling medicine show from age 14, then played with

Sammy Stewart Samuel Lee Stewart (October 28, 1954 – March 2, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1978 to 1987. Stewart had the best earned run average (ERA) in the American League (AL) in 1981 ...

in the late 1920s. In 1930 he moved to Chicago and played with Irene Eadie and Her Vogue Vagabonds. He began a longtime partnership with

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

in 1931, remaining with him until 1937, when he took a job with

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 ensemble. This gig lasted only a few months, though and after a year with Henderson he returned to duty under Hines again. He left Hines again in 1940 to form his own band, playing at the Grand Terrace in Chicago and the Radio Room in Los Angeles. Among his sidemen were

Rozelle Claxton Rozelle Claxton (February 5, 1913, Bartlett, Tennessee - March 30, 1995, Lake Forest, Illinois) was an American jazz pianist and arranger. Claxton learned the piano at the age of 11 and started playing professionally with Clarence Davis by the ag ...

, Quinn Wilson, Omer Simeon, and

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 ...

. He led bands on the West Coast for over a decade, and played as a side trumpeter and vocalist for many years afterward. Fuller won the nickname "Rosetta" based on his singing on the 1934 Hines recording of "Rosetta", a Hines' composition which also became the Hines' band's theme-tune.

References

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

, "Walter Fuller". '' Grove Jazz'' online.

External links

Walter Fuller Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (interview date, December 11, 2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Walter 1910 births 2003 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters American jazz singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century trumpeters Burials at Greenwood Memorial Park (San Diego) People from Dyersburg, Tennessee Jazz musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians