Fred Guy
Fred " Freddie " Guy ( * May 23, 1897 in Burke, Georgia, † December 22, 1971 in Chicago, Illinois ) was an American jazz guitarist and banjo player of the Swing.
Life and work
Fred Guy grew up in New York. He began his career as a guitarist and banjo player in Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra; in 1925 he became a member of Duke Ellington 's Washingtonians, where he replaced Elmer Snowden. Guy played over twenty years in Duke Ellington orchestras, including the era of the Cotton Club. At first he only played banjo; in 1933 he switched to guitar, as the rhythm section of the bands in jazz changed greatly. He played Gibson banjo and acoustic guitar models Gibson L-5 and L - seventh Ellington praised in his memoirs Guys reason and his good conduct; he was one of the few members of the band, he took it home and brought together with his family.
In Ellington's early title East St. Louis Toodle -Oo is heard Fred Guy; also in Black and Tan Fantasy. However, he never appeared as a soloist in appearance; therefore, his game is often difficult to hear on the acoustic guitar on recordings. Fred Guy makes an appearance in the movie Black Beauty with the Duke Ellington Orchestra; he also worked at his concert in Fargo, North Dakota in 1940. After leaving Ellington's band in 1947, his place was not filled. He began working as a manager of a ballroom in Chicago and died there in 1971 at the age of 74 years committed suicide.
Links / sources
- Fred Guy biography by Scott Yanow at All Music guide
Literature and sources
- James Lincoln Collier Duke Ellington. Ullsteinhaus, Berlin, 1999. ISBN 3-548-35839- X
- Richard Cook & Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th Edition. Penguin, London, 2002. ISBN 0-14-017949-6
- Maurice Summerfield: The Jazz Guitar - Its evolution and its players (English). Ashley Mark Publishing, 1978. ISBN 0-9506224-1-9