J. (Jack) C. Higginbotham (May 11, 1906 – May 26, 1973) 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 ...
swinging
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Social Circle, Georgia
Social Circle is a city in southern Walton County, extending into Newton County, in the U.S. state of Georgia, 45 miles east of Atlanta.
History
It is unclear why the name "Social Circle" was applied to this place. According to tradition, Soc ...
, United States, and raised in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
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 ...
. In the 1930s and 1940s, he played with some of the premier
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
bands, including
Luis Russell
Luis Russell (August 5, 1902 – December 11, 1963) was a pioneering Panamanian jazz pianist, orchestra leader, composer, and arranger.
Career
Luis Carl Russell was born on Careening Cay, near Bocas del Toro, Panama, in a family of African-Car ...
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...
's,
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. ...
's,
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...
's, and
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. ...
. He also played with
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 ...
, who had taken over Russell's band from 1937 to 1940. From 1947 on, he chiefly led his own groups. He recorded extensively both as a sideman and as a leader. He played for a long period in the 1940s with his ideal partner Red Allen, and then disappeared from the scene for several years.
Higginbotham led several bands in the 1950s in Boston and Cleveland, appeared regularly at the Metropole in New York between 1956 and 1959, and led his own Dixieland band there in the 1960s. He also appeared on the DuMont series '' Jazz Party'' (1958), aired on
WNTA-TV
WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...
.
During the tenure with Luis Russell on February 5, 1930, a single session was issued under the name of J.C. Higgenbotham and His Six Hicks was issued on OKeh 8772, featuring "Give Me Your Telephone Number" and "Higgenbotham Blues." Musicians included Henry Allen, Higgenbotham, Charlie Holmes, Luis Russell, Will Hognson, Pops Foster and Paul Barbarin, all member of Russell's band.
He went on his first European tour with Sammy Price, appearing in Scandinavia, and worked once again briefly in 1964 with Louis Armstrong.
He died on May 26, 1973 in
Manhattan, New York City
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
at
Harlem Hospital
Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887.
The hosp ...
.
Discography
As leader
* ''
Callin' the Blues
''Callin' the Blues'' is an album by guitarist Tiny Grimes with trombonist J. C. Higginbotham recorded in 1958 and released on the Prestige label.Tiny Grimes'' (Prestige, 1958)
* ''Higgy Comes Home '' (Jazzology, 1979)
As sideman
*
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...
, ''
Red Allen, Kid Ory & Jack Teagarden at Newport
Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...
'' (Verve, 1957)
* Red Allen's All Stars, ''Ride, Red, Ride in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1957)
* Kenny Burrell & Bill Jennings & Tiny Grimes, ''Guitar Soul'' (Status, 1965)
* Buck Clayton, '' All the Cats Join In'' (Columbia, 1956)
*
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...
Things Ain't What They Used to Be
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons.
Background
In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington ...
'' (Swingville, 1961)
*
Alberta Hunter
Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977.
Early life
Hu ...
& Lucille Hegamin & Victoria Spivey, ''Songs We Taught Your Mother'' (Prestige, Bluesville, 1962)
*
James P. Johnson
James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...
, ''Father of the Stride Piano'' (CBS, 1965)
* Pete Johnson, ''Pete's Blues'' (Savoy, 1958)
*
Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.
Biography
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...
Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...