Worked With:
- Active: '20s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Trumpet
Biography
This artist, who literally dropped dead while on tour with Cab Calloway, left behind a catalog of songs with hysterical titles as well as a pile of recordings with Calloway and Jelly Roll Morton. It was Edwin Swayzee, often coronated with the nickname of "King," who determined that "Father's Got His Glasses On" and "Good Sauce from the Gravy Bowl" were worthy song titles and subjects. Another interest dictated by trends was the jitterbug, rendering ditties such as "Call of the Jitterbug."Swayzee had a big musical background in Little Rock, the same Arkansas metropolis from which came clever country songwriter Roger Miller and shrieking saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, not to mention the wealth of local talent with which Swayzee underwent initial training. In the early '20s, this list included both Alex Hill and Alphonso Trent, not to mention what sounds like one of the greatest bands of all time, Eugene Crook's Synco Six.
Prior to moving to New York City, Swayzee hit the road with pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton as well as Sammie Lewis' Barnville Dandies.
The trumpeter continued associating with Morton in New York, eventually going on a lengthy European tour with the Blackbirds show organized by Lew Leslie. Leaving this show, Swayzee stayed put in Europe with several ventures including Herb Flemming's International Rhythm Aces and the Plantation Band, leading the latter outfit himself during an extended summer stay at an Amsterdam hotel venue. The first few years of the '30s were spent with both Chick Webb and Sam Wooding. Swayzee's final blast with Calloway began in 1932 and also included a European tour. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
