Chu Berry

Leon " Chu " Berry ( * September 13, 1910 in Wheeling, West Virginia; † October 31, 1941 in Conneaut, Ohio ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer of Swing.

Life and work

Berry attended Lincoln High School in Wheeling and West Virginia State College in Charleston. To the music he came through his half-sister, the pianist was in a jazz trio, and learned at college saxophone after hearing Coleman Hawkins. After he appeared with his sister at dance festivals in high school, he played in a 15 - piece band in Wheeling and a college band in Charleston. In the summer of 1928 he returned to Ohio Valley and played in the formation Perry's Broadway Buddies. In 1929 he got his first professional engagement when he played in the band of Sammy Stewart in Columbus and Chicago. During this time he first came to New York and witnessed the local jazz scene. He moved from the old to the tenor saxophone and worked around 1931 with the tenor saxophonist Cecil Scott and drummer Kaiser Marshall.

In the band of Benny Carter Berry 1932-33 was to act as a star soloist with Charlie Johnson in 1933, with Teddy Hill 1934-36, and then in Fletcher Henderson ( 1936-37 ). For Henderson, he wrote with Andy Razaf the song " Christopher Columbus ", ended up with the Andy Kirk, Louis "King Garcia ", Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson hits. From the summer of 1937, he was until his death in a traffic accident a member of the band of Cab Calloway and worked part-time with own formations. Of lasting musical interest from his early career are particularly Berry's solos with Teddy Hill, where he is on many recordings yielded a highly fertile contest of ideas with the young trumpeter Roy Eldridge. The collaboration with Cab Calloway produced some "classic" recordings, such as the ballad " I Do not Stand a Ghost of a Chance ". As a session musician Chu Berry also worked on recordings by Spike Hughes and His Negro Orchestra (1933 ), Bessie Smith ( 1933), The Chocolate Dandies (1933 ), Mildred Bailey ( 1935-38 ), Teddy Wilson ( 1935-38 ), Billie Holiday (1938 /39), Wingy Manone (1938 /39) and Lionel Hampton ( 1939) with. Early forties, he replaced shortly Herschel Evans at the Count Basie band.

Appreciation

Chu Berry's game resembled Coleman Hawkins; therefore he quickly caught in the jazz scene of attention and was the mid-1930s as a serious competitor of Hawkins. After several years, his game was independent and approached the to of Lester Young himself.

In particular, in his game in Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Orchestra set new standards Berry for the band. Starting from his idol Coleman Hawkins, he developed his own style. He was Hawkins equal in harmonic finesse; extraordinarily referred to his sense of swing and drive. His strength was the game in fast tempos; he decreed it a remarkable breath control.

Berry is one of the musicians as Budd Johnson, Ben Webster and Lester Young, who in the time from 1934 to 1939 - were considered masters of their instrument - during which the saxophone pioneer Coleman Hawkins worked in Europe. Berry's game and its played at a fast pace solos influenced younger musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker; the latter named his first son Leon in memory of Chu Berry. Chu Berry was also involved in the jam sessions at Minton 's Playhouse.

His music

Among his most important titles

• Spike Hughes fanfare and How Come You Do Me
• With the Chocolate Dandies: I Never Knew and Krazy Kapers
• With Red Allen: Rosetta
• With Mildred Bailey: When Day Is Done and Someday Sweetheart
• With Teddy Wilson: 24 Hours a day (1935 ), Warming Up and Blues in C Sharp Minor (1936 )
• With Fletcher Henderson: Christopher Columbus, Blue Lou, Stealin ' Apples, Jangled Nerves, Jimtown Blues and You Can Depend On Me
• With Gene Krupa: I Hope Gabriel Likes my Music (1936 )
• With Count Basie: Lady Be Good ( 1939)
• With Cab Calloway: Comin 'On With The Come On and Ghost Of A Chance ( 1940)

As well as his own recordings of Limehouse Blues and Indiana ( 1937), 46 West 52 and Sittin ' In ( 1938)

Disco Graphical Notes

• Blowing Up A Breeze ( Topaz, 1937-1941 )
• Chu Berry 1937-1941 ( Classics )
• Classics In Swing - Chu Berry / Ben Webster ( Commodore Records, 1938, 1941)
• The Indispensable Fletcher Henderson (RCA Victor, 1927-1936 )
• The Indispensable Lionel Hampton, Vol 3/4 ( RCA, 1939)
• The Indispensable Coleman Hawkins ( RCA, 1927-1956 )
• Classic Chu Berry - Columbia and Victor Sessions ( Mosaic, 7 CDs - 1933-1941 )

Collection

• Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions (1933-1941) - ( Mosaic - 2007) - 7 CDs with Benny Carter, Max Kaminsky, Teddy Wilson, Lawrence Lucie, Sid Catlett, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Buck Washington, Billy Taylor, Bessie Smith, Roy Eldridge, Bill Coleman, Dicky Wells, Russell Procope, Teddy Hill, Richard Fullbright, Bill Beason, Henry Red Allen, Cecil Scott, Horace Henderson, John Kirby, Putney Dandridge, Mildred Bailey, Red Norvo, Benny Morton, Cozy Cole, Billie Holiday, Jess Stacy, Gene Krupa, Helen Ward, Buster Bailey, Fletcher Henderson, Omer Simeon, Emmett Berry, JC Higginbotham, Hilton Jefferson, Hot Lips Page, Cab Calloway, Doc Cheatham, Claude Jones, Walter Foots Thomas, Milt Hinton, Keg Johnson, Danny Barker, Pee Wee Russell, Hank D' Amico, Dave Tough, Wingy Manone, Joe Marsala, Charlie Shavers, Tyree Glenn, Al Casey, Lionel Hampton, Clyde Hart, Ziggy Elman, Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster