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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

David Roy Eldridge

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(born Jan. 30, 1911, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.died Feb. 26, 1989, Valley Stream, N.Y.) U.S. trumpeter, one of the most vital and creative jazz musicians of the swing era. He was influenced by saxophonists such as Coleman Hawkins and developed a fast, nimble technique matched with harmonic sophistication. He played with Fletcher Henderson (193536) and was featured with the big bands of Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw in the 1940s. (A nickname reflecting his stature, Little Jazz, was also the title of a record he made with Shaw). The dominant voice on his instrument in the swing style, he exerted a strong influence on bebop musicians.

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Roy Eldridge

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Gale Contemporary Black Biography:

Roy Eldridge

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jazz musician; trumpet player

Personal Information

Born David Roy Eldridge on January 30, 1911, in Pittsburgh, PA; son of Alexander and Blanche (Oakes) Eldridge; died on February 26, 1989, in Valley Stream, NY; married Viola Lee Fong, 1936 (died, 1989); children: Carole Elizabeth Eldridge.

Career

Jazz trumpeter, 1927-80; recording artist, 1936-80; albums: After You've Gone, 1936; Live at the Three Deuces, 1937; Little Jazz, 1950; Roy and Diz, 1954; Swingin' On the Town, 1960; Nifty Cat, 1970; Roy Eldridge and His Little Jazz, Volumes 1 and 2, 1998; wrote music column for Paris Post (France), 1950-51.

Life's Work

During his active career as a jazz musician, trumpeter Roy Eldridge was often overlooked in favor of his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, who cultivated more flamboyant public personas. Even Eldridge's nickname, "Little Jazz," seemed to highlight his more modest reputation in jazz circles. Yet the very length and versatility of his career demonstrated Eldridge's talent and drive to make great music. First coming to prominence in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the leader of his own band, Eldridge's early career also saw him working with Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw. After a brief, self-imposed exile in Europe in the early 1950s, Eldridge returned to the United States and worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, and the Count Basie Orchestra. Through the 1970s his recorded output remained impressive, and Eldridge took up residence at Jimmy Ryan's, a jazz club in New York City. After suffering a heart attack in 1980, Eldridge was forced to cut back on his performing schedule at the very time that his reputation as a legendary jazz musician was growing. In 1982, seven years before his death, Eldridge was named an American Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Born to Alexander and Blanche (Oakes) Eldridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 30, 1911, David Roy Eldridge showed an interest in music from an early age. His older brother, Joe, played the alto saxophone and violin, while Eldridge himself was first attracted to the drums. Before he was ten years old, he picked up the bugle and then the trumpet, which became his primary instrument. He also played the piano and flugelhorn. Able to pick up almost any tune and play it back by ear, the 16-year-old Eldridge was good enough on the trumpet to earn a spot with the touring carnival band the Nighthawk Syncopators after an impromptu audition. While he was still in his teens, Eldridge formed the first of several bands, Roy Elliott and His Palais Royal Orchestra. Prior to 1930 he also played brief stints with Horace Henderson's Dixie Stompers and other bands led by Zach White and drummer Laurence "Speed" Webb.

Relocating to New York City in 1930, Eldridge continued to play in a number of bands. Clarinetist Cecil Scott, pianist Charile Johnson, saxophonist Teddie Hill, and banjo and guitar player Elmer Snowden were just a few of the band leaders Eldridge worked with during his stay in the city. While he was in New York, Eldridge earned a regular spot with a band led by composer and arranger Fletcher Henderson. He also earned the nickname "Little Jazz," a reference to his relatively short stature of five-foot, three inches tall. According to various sources, the name was given to him either by Otto "Toby" Hardwicke, a saxophonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, or by Earl Snowden. The nickname was not an indication, however, of Eldridge's stature within the jazz community. Indeed, during his time in New York, Eldridge became renowned for engaging in "cutting" contests with other musicians in late-night musical duels to see who was the superior performer.

Eldridge married Viola Lee Fong in 1936, and the couple had one daughter, Carole Elizabeth. The couple's 53-year marriage lasted until Viola's death in early 1989. The couple took up residence in Chicago as newlyweds and stayed there for the next two years while Eldridge played at the Three Deuces Club. Eldridge's band made live broadcasts from the club every night, making him one of the best-known jazz band leaders in the Midwest. Eldridge also began his recording career around this time, and several of his live, Three Deuces performances from 1937 were later reissued by the Jazz Archives label. During his career Eldridge would release more than fifty albums of live performances, studio sessions, and compilations of his work.

Eldridge later reminisced that his days as a bandleader in residence at the Three Deuces were some of the best of his career. In 1938 he left Chicago and returned to New York City, where he played at some of the city's most fashionable clubs, including the Famous Door, the Arcadia Ballroom, and the Savoy Ballroom. Around this time, Eldridge considered leaving his career in music for something more stable, and pursued an education in radio engineering before deciding to resume his musical career. After a brief return to Chicago in 1941, Eldridge joined the band led by drummer Gene Krupa, where he often accompanied singer Anita O'Day. Although the pair were electrifying on stage, the two performers never got along, and Eldridge ended his stint with the band after a year.

Eldridge joined clarinetist Artie Shaw's band in 1944 and remained there until a nervous breakdown forced his departure in 1945. As one of the few African-American musicians in the big bands of the era, Eldridge was traumatized by the racist treatment he encountered on the road. During one tour with Shaw, Eldridge was barred from entering through the front door of the San Francisco concert hall where he was scheduled to perform. The experience upset him so much that he was unable to play the trumpet that night. Eldridge was routinely exposed to this kind of treatment, which caused him to remark to a Down Beat interviewer (later reprinted in his New York Times obituary), "One thing you can be sure of. As long as I'm in America, I'll never in my life work with a white band again."

With the rise of bebop jazz in the mid-1940s, Eldridge began to be viewed by some younger musicians as old-fashioned, although he worked with some of the best-known big bands of the day. Leaving for Europe in 1950, Eldridge settled in Paris, where he wrote a music column for the Paris Post and continued to play in various bands across the continent. Revived by the experience, Eldridge returned to the United States in 1951 and joined Norman Granz's acclaimed Jazz at the Philharmonic group, which toured across the country playing jazz in a concert-like setting. His recorded output in the 1950s was prolific and included the 1950 release Roy Eldridge in Paris for the Vogue label, Roy's Got Rhythm, for EmArcy in 1951, Roy and Diz for Verve in 1954, and That Warm Feeling for Verve in 1957.

In the 1960s Eldridge played with his own quintet and joined Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie for tours. His notable albums from the period included Swingin' on the Town (1960), Comin' Home Baby (1965), and Nifty Cat (1970). In 1969 Eldridge started to play at Jimmy Ryan's, a New York City Dixieland jazz club, and occasionally played in Chicago as well. A 1980 heart attack stopped Eldridge from playing the trumpet in public, but he continued to appear as a singer, drummer, and pianist through the 1980s. In early 1989 Eldridge's wife, Viola, died; Eldridge followed her just weeks later, on February 26, 1989. Having been named an American Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982, Eldridge was mourned as a legend of the jazz world. His New York Times obituary quoted Ella Fitzgerald on Eldridge's talent: "God gives it to some and not others. He's got more soul in one note than a lot of people could get into the whole song."

Awards

Named American Jazz Master, National Endowment for the Arts, 1982.

Works

Selected discography

  • After You've Gone, Decca Jazz, 1936; reissued, 1991.
  • Live at the Three Deuces, Jazz Archives, 1937; reissued, 1975.
  • Roy Eldridge in Paris, Vogue, 1950.
  • Roy's Got Rhythm, EmArcy, 1951.
  • Dale's Wail, Verve, 1952.
  • The Roy Eldridge Quintet, Clef, 1953.
  • Battle of Jazz, Volume 7, Brunswick, 1953.
  • Roy and Diz, Verve, 1954.
  • That Warm Feeling, Verve, 1957.
  • Little Jazz Live in 1957, Jazz Band, 1957.
  • Swingin' on the Town, Verve, 1960.
  • Comin' Home Baby, Pumpkin, 1965.
  • Nifty Cat, New World, 1970; reissued, 1986.
  • Happy Time, Original Jazz, 1975.
  • Roy Eldridge Four, Pablo, 1978.
  • The Big Sound of Little Jazz, Topaz, 1995.
  • Roy Eldridge and His Little Jazz, Volume 1, BMG, 1998.
  • Roy Eldridge and His Little Jazz, Volume 2, BMG, 1998.

Further Reading

Books

  • Carr, Ian, et al, editors, Jazz: The Rough Guide, The Rough Guides, 1995.
Periodicals
  • New York Times, February 28, 1989, p. B7.
On-line
  • All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com/ (September 14, 2002).
  • BBC Radio 3, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/jazzprofiles/ (September 14, 2002).
  • International Association of Jazz Education, http://www.iaje.org/ (September 14, 2002).

— Timothy Borden

Gale Musician Profiles:

Roy Eldridge

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Jazz trumpeter, vocalist

When Otto Hardwick, a reed player with Duke Ellington’s orchestra, gave Roy Eldridge the lasting nickname "Little Jazz," he was referring to Eldridge’s physical stature, not his standing as a jazz performer. Although Eldridge’s name may not be as familiar to the general public as those of fellow trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, his immense talent had a profound effect on the history of jazz. In addition to playing an important role in jazz’s transition from the swing styles of the 1930s to the bebop styles of the 1940s and 1950s, Eldridge was an exceptional soloist in his own right. He combined a somewhat abrasive personality with a deep sensitivity and created a musical style that, as drummer Phil Brown told Musician’s Burt Korall, "went directly to the heart."

Korall described Eldridge as "a crucial link on trumpet between Armstrong’s New Orleans-inflected ‘hot jazz’ and the bebop innovations Gillespie helped pioneer." The musical succession from Armstrong to Eldridge to Gillespie is audible on recordings; yet, seeing Eldridge as merely a transitional figure does him a great disservice, for he was one of the most gripping performers jazz has produced. Gary Giddins maintained in Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the 80s that, of the trumpeters of his generation, "Eldridge was the most emotionally compelling, versatile, rugged, and far-reaching." He had a tone like no other, which Giddins described as holding "an urgent, human roughness that gave his music an immediacy of its own. You felt you could hear the sound start in the viscera and work its way through his small body, carving a path in his throat, and bursting forth in breathtaking release."

Eldridge first heard Armstrong in 1932, and he learned much from the trumpeter’s sense of logic and climax. Unlike Armstrong, however, he played uptempo numbers with a passion and relentless energy that sometimes verged on the demonic; as Whitney Balliett described in American Musicians: Fifty-Six Portraits in Jazz, "He would work so hard and grow so excited that he would end up caroming around his highest register and sounding almost mad." However, though Eldridge was undoubtedly Gillespie’s most important early influence—indeed, the younger musician’s first recordings sound almost like a carbon copy of Eldridge’s playing—he never completely assimilated the bebop techniques that Gillespie later used to such advantage, remaining at heart a swing-era player.

Deeply Influenced by Saxophone
Eldridge began playing drums at the age of six; he later learned to play the bugle, and then the trumpet, receiving some early training on that instrument from his

brother Joe, a fine musician in his own right. As he became proficient on the trumpet, Eldridge turned for inspiration not just to brass players such as Rex Stewart and Red Nichols, but also to saxophonists, whose work he admired for its speed and fluidity. In fact he was given one of his first jobs—in a carnival—because he could play note-for-note saxophonist Coleman Hawkins’s solo on Fletcher Henderson’s recording of "The Stampede." Eldridge’s fascination with sax playing would continue to be an important influence on his style; later he would come under the spell of such players as Lester Young and Chu Berry.

Eldridge formed his first band in Pittsburgh while he was still a teenager, using the pseudonym Roy Elliott. During the 1920s he played with several important groups, including Horace Henderson’s Dixie Stompers and Zach White’s band. In 1930 he moved to New York City, and soon carved out a niche for himself with many of Harlem’s finest ensembles, including those led by Cecil Scott, Charlie Johnson, Teddy Hill, and Elmer Snowden. The trumpeter came to national prominence in the mid-1930s, when he was a featured soloist with Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra. In 1936 Eldridge began a two-year residency at Chicago’s Three Deuces club, with an ensemble that included his brother Joe on alto sax. According to Stanley Dance in The World of Swing, Eldridge called this group, which was featured on a radio broadcast seven nights a week, "the best little band I ever had."

Wounded by Prejudice
During the 1940s Eldridge played with the ensembles of two important white band leaders, Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw. At a time when integration of musicians on the bandstand was still a subject of great controversy, Eldridge’s presence in the brass section of these groups represented an important step forward. Yet, Eldridge himself had to face frequent humiliation from club owners and the managers of restaurants and hotels. A sensitive and proud man, this wounded Eldridge deeply, and the scars never entirely healed.

As an example, Eldridge once recalled an episode that took place at a club in San Francisco while he was on tour with Artie Shaw’s orchestra. Having just played a successful job at a ballroom in Oakland, across the bay, he was excited about the upcoming performance, and showed up early. However, he found that, because he was black, he was not allowed in the front door, even though his name was on the marquee. Although he was eventually allowed to enter, he was so upset he couldn’t perform. As he told Musician’s Korall, "I threw my mutes and things around; I began to cry. I knew it wasn’t my fault. Finally I was told to take the evening off. And all I wanted to do was play my horn!"

In 1950 Eldridge went to Europe with a sextet that featured clarinetist Benny Goodman, tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims, and pianist Dick Hyman. Because of the relative lack of racial tensions in Europe and the immense appreciation that audiences there showed him, Eldridge decided to settle in Paris. He lived there for almost two years, during which he played, recorded, and wrote a music column for the Paris Post.

Returned to United States
After returning to New York in 1951, Eldridge made a highly acclaimed appearance at Old Stuyvesant Casino, and then spent much of the 1950s playing with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic, an ensemble founded to present jazz performances in a concert setting. For two years he was a member of the group that accompanied singer Ella Fitzgerald; he also played briefly with Count Basie’s orchestra in 1966.

In 1970 Eldridge began what was to become a ten-year run at Jimmy Ryan’s, a club that featured Dixieland—a style of jazz playing that revived the instrumentation, repertory, and playing styles popular in jazz of the teens and the 1920s. Although many jazz fans viewed this type of music as archaic, Eldridge approached each evening’s performance with typical enthusiasm and inventiveness.

A heart attack in 1980 brought Eldridge’s run at Ryan’s, as well as his trumpet playing career, to a close. Thereafter he performed only occasionally, usually as a singer, drummer and even pianist. Tired of the demanding life of a full-time musician, he began to spend more time at home with his wife, Vi, and focus on his hobbies of carpentry, radio engineering and electronics. Eldridge died in 1989, just three weeks after his wife.

Selected discography
After You’ve Gone (recorded in 1936, 1943-46), Decca Jazz, 1991.
Roy Eldridge at the Three Deuces, Chicago—1937, reissued, Jazz Archives, 1975.
Roy Eldridge at the Arcadia Ballroom—1939, reissued, Jazz Archives, 1973.
At Jerry Newman’s (recorded in 1940), Xanadu.
Roy Eldridge and the Swing Trumpets (recorded in 1944), Mercury, 1987.
Roy and Diz, Clef, 1954.
The Urbane Jazz of Roy Eldridge and Benny Carter, Verve, 1955.
At the Opera House, Verve, 1957.
Tour de force, Verve, 1957.
The Nifty Cat (recorded in 1970), reissued, New World, 1986.
(With Paul Gonsalves) Mexican Bandit Meets Pittsburgh Pirate (recorded in 1973), Fantasy, 1986.
Happy Time (recorded in 1975), Fantasy/OJC, 1991.
The Art Tatum Group Masterpieces: Tatum/Eldridge, reissued, Pablo, 1975.
Roy Eldridge Four: Montreux 77, reissued, Fantasy/OJC, 1989. All the Cats Join In, reissued, MCA, 1982.
Louis Armstrong—Roy Eldridge/Jazz Masterpieces, reissued, Franklin Mint Record Society, 1982.
Roy Eldridge: The Early Years, reissued, Columbia, 1982.
Little Jazz, Columbia Jazz Masterpieces, 1989.
Uptown, reissued, Columbia, 1990.
Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate!, reissued, Verve, 1992.
The Best of Roy Eldridge, Pablo.
Loose Walk, Pablo.
Oscar Petersen and Roy Eldridge, Pablo.
Roy Eldridge, GNP Crescendo.

Sources
Books
Balliett, Whitney, American Musicians: Fifty-Six Portraits in Jazz, Oxford University Press, 1986.
Collier, James Lincoln, The Making of Jazz: A Comprehensive
History, Dell, 1978.
Dance, Stanley, The World of Swing, Scribner’s, 1974. Giddins, Gary, Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the 80s, Oxford University Press, 1985.
Gillespie, Dizzy, with AI Fraser, To Be or Not … To Bop: Memoirs, Doubleday, 1979.
Shapiro, Nat, and Nat Hentoff, The Jazz Makers: Essays on the Greats of Jazz, Rinehart, 1957.

Periodicals
Down Beat, February 4, 1971; May 1989.
Jazz Journal International, April 1989.
Musician, November 1987.
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Roy Eldridge

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  • Genres: Jazz

Biography

One of the most exciting trumpeters to emerge during the swing era, Roy Eldridge's combative approach, chance-taking style and strong musicianship were an inspiration (and an influence) to the next musical generation, most notably Dizzy Gillespie. Although he sometimes pushed himself farther than he could go, Eldridge never played a dull solo.

Roy Eldridge started out playing trumpet and drums in carnival and circus bands. With the Nighthawk Syncopators he received a bit of attention by playing a note-for-note re-creation of Coleman Hawkins' tenor solo on "The Stampede." Inspired by the dynamic playing of Jabbo Smith (Eldridge would not discover Louis Armstrong for a few years), Eldridge played with some territory bands including Zack Whyte and Speed Webb and in New York (where he arrive in 1931) he worked with Elmer Snowden (who nicknamed him "Little Jazz"), McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and most importantly Teddy Hill (1935). Eldridge's recorded solos with Hill, backing Billie Holiday and with Fletcher Henderson (including his 1936 hit "Christopher Columbus") gained a great deal of attention. In 1937 he appeared with his octet (which included brother Joe on alto) at the Three Deuces Club in Chicago and recorded some outstanding selections as a leader including "Heckler's Hop" and "Wabash Stomp." By 1939 Eldridge had a larger group playing at the Arcadia Ballroom in New York. With the decline of Bunny Berigan and the increasing predictability of Louis Armstrong, Eldridge was arguably the top trumpeter in jazz during this era.

During 1941-1942 Eldridge sparked Gene Krupa's Orchestra, recording classic versions of "Rockin' Chair" and "After You've Gone" and interacting with Anita O'Day on "Let Me Off Uptown." The difficulties of traveling with a White band during a racist period hurt him, as did some of the incidents that occurred during his stay with Artie Shaw (1944-1945) but the music during both stints was quite memorable. Eldridge can be seen in several "soundies" (short promotional film devoted to single songs) of this era by the Krupa band, often in association with O'Day, including "Let Me Off Uptown" and "Thanks for the Boogie Ride." He is also very prominent in the band's appearance in Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire, in an extended performance of "Drum Boogie" mimed by Barbara Stanwyck, taking a long trumpet solo -- the clip was filmed soon after Eldridge joined the band in late April of 1941, and "Drum Boogie" was a song that Eldridge co-wrote with Krupa.

Eldridge had a short-lived big band of his own, toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic, and then had a bit of an identity crisis when he realized that his playing was not as modern as the beboppers. A successful stay in France during 1950-1951 restored his confidence when he realized that being original was more important than being up-to-date. Eldridge recorded steadily for Norman Granz in the '50s, was one of the stars of JATP (where he battled Charlie Shavers and Dizzy Gillespie), and by 1956, was often teamed with Coleman Hawkins in a quintet; their 1957 appearance at Newport was quite memorable. The '60s were tougher as recording opportunities and work became rarer. Eldridge had brief and unhappy stints with Count Basie's Orchestra and Ella Fitzgerald (feeling unnecessary in both contexts) but was leading his own group by the end of the decade. He spent much of the '70s playing regularly at Ryan's and recording for Pablo and, although his range had shrunk a bit, Eldridge's competitive spirit was still very much intact. Only a serious stroke in 1980 was able to halt his horn. Roy Eldridge recorded throughout his career for virtually every label. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Roy Eldridge

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Roy Eldridge

Eldridge at the Village Jazz Lounge in Walt Disney World (photo by Laura Kolb)
Background information
Birth name David Roy Eldridge
Born January 30, 1911(1911-01-30)
Origin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died February 26, 1989(1989-02-26) (aged 78)
Genres Jazz
Swing
Big Band
Occupations Trumpeter
Instruments Trumpet
Associated acts Charlie Barnet

David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the smooth and lyrical style of earlier jazz trumpet innovator Louis Armstrong, and his strong impact on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop.

Contents

Early Life

Eldridge was born on the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 30, 1911 to parents Alexander, a carpenter, and Blanche, a gifted pianist with a talent for reproducing music by ear, a trait that Eldridge claims to have inherited from her.[1] Eldridge began playing the piano at age five; he claims to have been able to play coherent blues licks at even this young age.[2] The young Eldridge looked up to his older brother, Joe, particularly because of Joe's diverse musical talents on the violin, alto saxophone, and clarinet.[3] Roy took up the drums at the age of six, taking lessons and playing locally.[4] Joe recognized his brother's natural talent on the bugle, which Roy played in a local church band, and tried to convince Roy to play the valved trumpet[5] When Roy began to play drums in his brother's band, Joe soon convinced him to pick up the trumpet, but Roy made little effort to gain proficiency on the instrument at first.[6] It wasn't until the death of their mother, when Roy was eleven, and his father's subsequent remarriage that Roy began practicing more rigorously, locking himself in his room for hours, and particularly honing the instrument's upper register.[7] From an early age, Roy lacked proficiency at sight-reading, a gap in his musical education that would affect him for much of his early career, but he could replicate melodies by ear very effectively[8].

Career

Early Career and Traveling Bands

Eldridge led and played in a number of bands during his early years, moving extensively throughout the Midwest.[9] He absorbed the influence of saxophonists Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins, setting himself the task of learning Hawkins's 1926 solo on "The Stampede" in developing an equivalent trumpet style.[10]

Eldridge left home after being expelled from high school in ninth grade, joining a traveling show at the age of sixteen; the show soon folded, however, and Eldridge was left in Youngstown, Ohio.[11] He was then picked up by the "Greater Sheesley Carnival," but returned to Pittsburg after witnessing acts of racism in Cumberland, Maryland that significantly disturbed him.[12] Eldridge soon found work leading a small band in the traveling "Rock Dinah" show,[13] his performance therein leading swing-era bandleader Count Basie to recall young Roy Eldridge as "the greatest trumpet I'd ever heard in my life."[14] Eldridge continued playing with similar traveling groups until returning home to Pittsburgh at age seventeen.[15]

At the age of twenty, Eldridge led a band in Pittsburgh, billed as "Roy Elliott and his Palais Royal Orchestra,"[16] the agent intentionally changing Eldridge's name because "he thought it more classy."[17] Roy left this position to try out for the orchestra of Horace Henderson, younger brother of famed New York bandleader Fletcher Henderson, and joined the ensemble, generally referred to as The Fletcher Henderson Stompers, Under the Direction of Horace Henderson.[18] Eldridge then played with a number of other territory bands, staying for a short while in Detroit before joining Speed Webb's band which, having garnered a degree of movie publicity, began a tour of the Midwest.[19] Many of the members of Webb's band, annoyed by the leader's lack of dedication, left to form a practically identical group with Eldridge as bandleader.[20] The ensemble was short-lived, and Eldridge soon moved to Milwaukee, where he took part in a celebrated cutting contest with trumpet player Cladys "Jabbo" Smith, with whom he later became good friends.[21]

New York and Chicago

Eldridge moved to New York in November of 1930, playing in various bands in the early 1930s, including a number of Harlem dance bands with Cecil Scott, Elmer Snowden, Charlie Johnson, and Teddy Hill.[22] It was during this time that Eldridge received his nickname, "Little Jazz," from Otto Hardwick, who was amused by the incongruity between Roy's raucous playing and short stature.[23] At this time, Eldridge was also making records and radio broadcasts under his own name. He laid down his first recorded solos with Teddy Hill in 1935, which gained almost immediate popularity.[24] For a brief time, he also led his own band at the reputed Famous Door nightclub.[25] Roy recorded a number of influential small group tracks with singer Billie Holiday in July of 1935, including "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You", employing a Dixieland-influenced improvisation style.[26] In October of 1935, Eldridge joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, playing lead trumpet and occasionally singing.[27] Until he left the group in early September of 1936, Roy was Henderson's featured soloist, his talent highlighted by such numbers as "Christopher Columbus" and "Blue Lou."[28] His rhythmic power to swing a band was a dynamic trademark of the jazz of the time. It has been said that "from the mid-Thirties onwards, he had superseded Louis Armstrong as the exemplar of modern 'hot' trumpet playing".[29]

In the fall of 1936, Eldridge moved to Chicago to form an octet with older brother Joe Eldridge playing saxophone and arranging. The ensemble boasted nightly broadcasts and made a number of recordings that featured Roy's extended solos, including "After You've Gone" and "Wabash Stomp."[30] Roy, fed up with the racism he had encountered in the music industry, quit playing in 1938 to study radio engineering.[31] He was back to playing in 1939, when he formed a ten-piece band that gained a residency at New York's Arcadia Ballroom.[32]

With Gene Krupa's Orchestra

In April 1941, after receiving many offers from a number of white swing bands, Eldridge joined Gene Krupa's Orchestra, and was successfully featured with rookie singer Anita O'Day.[33] In accepting this position, Eldridge became one of the first black musicians to be come a permanent member of a white big band.[34] Eldridge was instrumental in changing the course of Krupa's big band from schmaltz to jazz.[35] The group's cover of Jimmy Dorsey's "Green Eyes," previously an entirely orchestral work, was transformed into jazz through Eldridge's playing; critic Oliphant notes that Eldridge "lift[ed]" the tune "to a higher level of intensity."[36] Eldridge and O'Day were featured in a number of recordings including the novelty hit "Let Me Off Uptown" and "Knock Me With a Kiss".[37]

One of Eldridge's most famous recorded solos is on a rendition of Hoagy Carmichael's tune, "Rockin' Chair", arranged by Benny Carter as something like a concerto for Eldridge.[38] Jazz historian Gunther Schuller referred to Eldridge's solo on "Rockin' Chair" as "a strong and at times tremendously moving performance," although he disapproved of the "opening and closing cadenzas, the latter unforgivably aping the corniest of operatic cadenza traditions."[39] Critic and author Dave Oliphant describes Eldridge's unique tone on "Rockin' Chair" as "a raspy, buzzy tone, which enormously heightens his playing's intensity, emotionally and dynamically" and writes that it "was also meant to hurt a little, to be disturbing, to express unfathomable stress."[40]

After complaints from Eldridge that O'Day was upstaging him, the band broke up when Krupa was jailed for marijuana possession in July of 1943.[41]

Touring, Freelancing, and Small Group Work

After leaving Krupa's band, Eldridge freelanced in New York during 1943 before joining Artie Shaw's band in 1944. Due a a number of racial incidents that Eldridge faced while playing in Shaw's band, Eldridge left to form his own big band.[42] When Eldridge's group proved financially unsuccessful, Roy returned to small group work.[43]

In the postwar years, he became part of the group which toured under the Jazz at the Philharmonic banner.[44] He became one of the stalwarts of the group. Its producer Norman Granz said that Roy Eldridge typified the spirit of jazz. "Every time he's on he does the best he can, no matter what the conditions are. And Roy is so intense about everything, so that it's far more important to him to dare, to try to achieve a particular peak, even if he falls on his ass in the attempt, than it is to play safe. That's what jazz is all about."[45]

Eldridge moved to Paris in 1950 while on tour with Benny Goodman, before returning to New York in 1951 to lead a band at the Birdland jazz club. He additionally performed from 1952 until the early sixties in small groups with Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald and Earl "Fatha" Hines among others, and also recorded a number of tracks for Verve Studios at this time.[46] Eldridge also toured with Ella Fitzgerald from late 1963 until March of 1965 and with Count Basie from July until September of 1966 before returning to freelance playing and touring at festivals.[47]

Racial Barriers

As the featured soloist in Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa's bands, Eldridge was something of an exception, as black musicians in the 1930s were not allowed to appear in public with white bands.[48] Artie Shaw commented on the difficulty Roy had in his band, noting that "Droves of people would ask him for his autograph at the end of the night, but later, on the bus, he wouldn’t be able to get off and buy a hamburger with the guys in the band."[49] Krupa, on at least one occasion, spent several hours in jail and paid fines for starting a fistfight with a restaurant manager who refused to let Eldridge eat with the rest of the band.[50]

Late Life

Eldridge became the leader of the house band at Jimmy Ryan's jazz club on Manhattan's West 54th Street for several years, beginning in 1969.[51] Although Ryan's was primarily a Dixieland venue, Eldridge tried to combine the traditional Dixieland style with his own more brash and speedy playing.[52] Eldridge was incapacitated by a stroke in 1970, but continued to lead the group at Ryan's soon after and performing occasionally as a singer, drummer, and pianist.[53] Writer Michael Zirpolo, seeing Eldridge at Ryan’s in the late 1970s noted "I was amazed that he still could pop out those piercing high notes, but he did, with frequency…I worried about his health, because the veins at his temples would bulge alarmingly."[54] As leader at Ryan’s, Eldridge was noted for his occasional hijinx, including impromptu “amateur night” sessions during which he’d invite inexperienced players on stage to lead his band, often for comedic effect and to give himself a break.[55] In 1971, Eldridge was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.

After suffering a heart attack in 1980, Eldridge gave up playing.[56] He died at age 78 at the Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream, New York, three weeks after the death of his wife, Viola.[57]

Music

Influences

According to Roy, his first major influence on the trumpet was Rex Stewart, who played in a band with young Roy and his brother Joe in Pittsburgh.[58] But unlike many trumpet players, the young Eldridge did not derive most of his inspiration from other trumpeters, but from saxophonists. Roy first developed his solo style by playing along to recordings of Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, and later said that, after hearing these musicians, "I resolved to play my trumpet like a sax."[59] Following these musicians was evidently beneficial to Roy, who got one of his first jobs by auditioning with an imitation of Coleman Hawkin's solo on Fletcher Henderson's "Stampede" of 1926.[60] Eldridge additionally purports to have studied the styles of white cornettist Loring "Red" Nichols and Theodore "Cuban" Bennett, whose style was also very much influenced by the saxophone.[61] Eldridge, by his own report, was not significantly influenced by trumpeter Louis Armstrong during his early years, but did undertake a major study of Armstrong's style in 1932.[62]

Style

Eldridge was very versatile on his horn, not only quick and articulate with the low to middle registers, but the high registers as well; jazz critic Gary Giddins described Eldridge as having a "flashy, passionate, many-noted style that rampaged freely through three octaves, rich with harmonic ideas impervious to the fastest tempos."[63] Eldridge is frequently grouped among those jazz trumpeters of the '30s and 40's, including Red Allen, Hot Lips Page, Shad Collins, and Rex Stewart who eschewed Louis Armstrong's lyrical style for a rougher and more frantic style.[64] Of these players, critic Gary Giddins names Eldridge "the most emotionally compelling, versatile, rugged, and far-reaching."[65] Eldridge was also lauded for the intensity of his playing; Ella Fitzgerald once said: "He's got more soul in one note that a lot of people could get into the whole song."[66] The high register lines that Eldridge employed were one of many prominent features of his playing, and Eldridge expressed a penchant for the expressive ability of the instrument's highest notes, frequently incorporating them into his solos.[67] Eldridge was also known for his fast style of playing, often executing blasts of rapid double-time notes followed by a return to standard time. His rapid-fire style was noted by jazz trumpeter Bill Coleman when Roy was as young as seventeen; when asked by Coleman how he achieved his speed, Eldridge replied: "Well, I've taken the tops off my valves and now they really fly."[68] Eldridge attributes these virtuosic elements of his style to a rigorous practice regime, particularly as a teen: "I used to spend eight, nine hours a day practicing every day."[69] Critic J. Bradford Robinson sums up his style of playing as exhibiting "a keen awareness of harmony, an unprecedented dexterity, particularly in the highest register, and a full, slightly overblown timbre, which crackled at moments of high tension."[70] Giddins also notes that Eldridge "never had a pure or golden tone; his sound was always underscored by a vocal rasp, an urgent, human roughness."[71]

As for Eldridge's singing style, jazz critic Whitney Balliett descibes Eldridge as "a fine, scampish jazz singer, with a light, hoarse voice and a highly rhythmic attack," comparing him to American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Hot Lips Page.[72]

Musical Impact

Eldridge's fast playing and extensive development of the instrument's upper register were heavy influences on Dizzy Gillespie, who, along with Charlie Parker, brought bebop into existence. Tracks such as "Heckler's Hop," from Eldridge's small group recordings with alto saxophonist and clarinettist Scoops Carry, in which Eldridge's use of the high register is particularly emphasized, were especially influential for Dizzy.[73] Dizzy got the chance to engage in numerous jam sessions and "trumpet battles" with Eldridge at New York's Minton's Playhouse in the early 1940s.[74] Referring to Eldridge, Dizzy went so far as to say: "He was the Messiah of our generation."[75] Eldridge first heard Dizzy on bandleader Lionel Hampton's 1939 recording of "Hot Mallets," and later recalled: "I heard this trumpet solo and I thought it was me. Then I found out it was Dizzy."[76] A careful listening to bebop standards, such as the song "Bebop", reveals how much Eldridge influenced this genre of jazz. Eldridge also claimed that he was not impressed with Dizzy's bop solo style, saying once to bebop trumpeter Howard McGhee after jamming with Dizzy at the Heat Wave club in Harlem: "I don't dig it...I really don't understand him."[77] Although frequently touted as the bridge between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, Eldridge always insisted: "I was never trying to be a bridge between Armstrong and something."[78]

In modern jazz criticism, Eldridge has become something of a litmus test for jazz trumpeters. Critic Gunther Schuller, critiquing the style of multi-instrumentalist composer-arranger Benny Carter wrote that Carter's playing is "not true trumpet playing, in the sense that Roy Eldridge's or Buck Clayton's or Harry James's is."[79]

Other significant musicians influenced by Roy Eldridge include Shorty Sherock of the Bob Crosby Orchestra[80], and bebop pioneers Howard McGhee and Fats Navarro.[81]

Personality

Eldridge was famously considered competitive by those who knew him, pianist Chuck Folds saying, "I can't imagine anyone more competitive than he [Roy] was in the 1970s. I've never met anyone scrappier than Roy, ever, ever, ever."[82] Eldridge fully admitted to his competitive spirit, saying "I was just trying to outplay anybody, and to outplay them my way."[83] Jazz trumpeter Jonah Jones reports that Eldridge's willingness to "go anywhere and play against anyone" even led to a cutting contest with his own hero, Rex Stewart.[84] Roy could also become antagonistic, particularly in the face of those he deemed racist.[85] Many noted Roy's constant restlessness, saxophonist Billie Bowen noting that Roy "could never, even as a youngster, sit down for more than a few minutes, he was alwas restless."[86] Eldridge is also said to have suffered from sporadic stage fright.[87] He occasionally found himself in trouble with women, including an incident which involved his being forced to sell his trumpet temporarily in order to reclaim a portion of the money that had been stolen from him by a woman with whom he had drunkenly spent the night.[88] Roy is also said to have developed a fiery temper later in life, according to clarinettist Joe Muranyi, who worked with Eldridge at Ryan's and has called Elridge's temper "Mt. Vesuvius to the fifth power."[89]

Discography

(From left) Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Hill, Minton's Playhouse, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1947.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb.

Notes

  1. ^ Chilton, p. 4-5
  2. ^ Chilton, p. 5
  3. ^ Chilton, p. 5-6
  4. ^ Chilton, p. 6
  5. ^ Chilton, p. 6
  6. ^ Chilton, p. 7
  7. ^ Chilton, p. 8
  8. ^ Chilton, p. 9
  9. ^ Eldridge, (David) Roy in Oxford Music Online Gunther Schuller, Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  10. ^ Lyttelton, p. 410
  11. ^ Chilton, p. 12-13
  12. ^ Chilton, p. 14-16
  13. ^ Chilton, p. 16
  14. ^ Basie, qtd. in Chilton, p. 18
  15. ^ Chilton, p. 22
  16. ^ Balliett, p. 151
  17. ^ Eldridge, qtd. in Chilton, p. 22
  18. ^ Chilton, p. 25
  19. ^ Chilton, pp. 32-34, 37
  20. ^ Chilton, pp. 39-40
  21. ^ Chilton 40-42
  22. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  23. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  24. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  25. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  26. ^ Oliphant, p. 343-44
  27. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  28. ^ Oliphant, p. 51-52
  29. ^ Lyttelton, p. 414
  30. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  31. ^ Balliett, p. 151
  32. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  33. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  34. ^ Oliphant, p. 326
  35. ^ Olipihant, pp. 304-305
  36. ^ Oliphant, p. 307.
  37. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  38. ^ Oliphant, p. 308
  39. ^ Schuller, qtd. in Oliphant, p. 308
  40. ^ Oliphant, p. 308
  41. ^ O'Day, p. 102-123
  42. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  43. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  44. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  45. ^ Obituary Norman Granz, retrieved 20 November 2008
  46. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  47. ^ Robinson, p. 692
  48. ^ Oliphant 326
  49. ^ Balliett, p. 151
  50. ^ "Gene Krupa Fined," Cleveland Gazette 3 Jan. 1942
  51. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  52. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  53. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge's Ambition"
  54. ^ Zirpolo, p. 54
  55. ^ Zirpolo, p. 55
  56. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge's Ambition"
  57. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  58. ^ Chilton, p. 10
  59. ^ Chilton, p. 11-12
  60. ^ Giddins, p. 69
  61. ^ Chilton, p. 14
  62. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  63. ^ Giddins, p. 69
  64. ^ Giddins, p. 70
  65. ^ Giddins, p. 71
  66. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead"
  67. ^ Giddins, p. 71
  68. ^ qtd. in Chilton, p. 1
  69. ^ Eldridge, qtd. in Chilton, p. 2
  70. ^ Robinson, p. 691
  71. ^ Giddins, p. 71
  72. ^ Balliett, p. 153
  73. ^ Oliphant, p. 388
  74. ^ Robinson, p. 692-93
  75. ^ Gillespie, qtd. in Giddins, p. 70
  76. ^ Eldridge, qtd. in Wilson, "Roy Eldridge's Ambition"
  77. ^ Eldridge, qtd. in Deveaux, p. 73
  78. ^ Wilson, "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades"
  79. ^ Schuller, qtd. in Oliphant, p. 242
  80. ^ Oliphant, p. 294
  81. ^ Deveaux, p. 66
  82. ^ Folds, qtd. in Chilton 3
  83. ^ Eldridge, qtd. in Wilson, "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades"
  84. ^ Jones, qtd. in Chilton, p. 30
  85. ^ Chilton 3
  86. ^ Bowen, qtd. in Chilton, p. 32
  87. ^ Balliett, p. 153
  88. ^ Chilton, p. 38
  89. ^ Balliett, p. 151

References

  • Balliett, Whitney. "Little Jazz." The New Yorker 61.43 (1985): pp. 151-59. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  • Chilton, John. Roy Eldridge, Little Jazz Giant. New York: Continuum, 2002. Print. ISBN 0-8264-5692-8.
  • Deveaux, Scott and Howard McGhee. "Jazz in the Forties." The Black Perspective in Music 15.1 (Spring 1987): 64-78. JSTOR. Web. Retrieved 14 Apr. 2012.
  • Lyttelton, Humphrey. The Best of Jazz. Robson Books, 1998. ISBN 1-86105-187-5.
  • Giddins, Gary. "The Excitable Roy Eldridge." Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the '80s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-19-503558-5.
  • "Gene Krupa Fined After Socking Manager for Refusal to Admit Colored Boy Roy Eldridge in Pa. Restaurant." Cleveland Gazette 3 Jan. 1942: 2. America's Historical Newspapers. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.
  • Obituary Norman Granz, The Independent, 25 November 2001. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  • O'Day, Anita and George Eels. High Times, Hard Times. New York: Limelight, 1981. ISBN 0-87910-118-0.
  • Oliphant, Dave: The Early Swing Era: 1930-1941. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. ISBN 0-313-30535-8.
  • Robinson, J. Bradford and Barry Kernfeld. "Eldridge, Roy." The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. New York: Grove, 2002. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
  • Schuller, Gunther. "Eldridge, (David) Roy ['Little Jazz']." Oxford Music Online. [1]. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  • Wilson, John S. "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead." New York Times 28 Feb. 1989: 7. Newspaper Source. Retrieved 14 Apr. 2012.
  • Wilson, John S. "Roy Eldridge's Ambition: 'To Outplay Anybody.'" New York Times 30 June 1981: C5. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Web. Retrieved 14 Apr. 2012.
  • Wilson, John S. "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades." New York Times 17 Oct. 1982: H25. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.
  • Zirpolo, Michael P. "Sitting in with Roy Eldridge at Jimmy Ryan's." The IAJRC Journal 42.2 (2009): 54. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature. Web. 14 Apr. 2012

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