Sammy Price

Samuel Blythe Price, called Sam or Sammy, ( born October 6, 1908 in Honey Grove, Texas, † April 14, 1992 in New York City ) was an American jazz ( swing ), blues and boogie woogie pianist.

Price studied piano in Dallas and was at the beginning of his career, also a singer and dancer in the band of Alphonse Trent ( 1927 to 1930 ). He made in 1929 ( " Sammy Price and his Four Quarters " ) His first recording. He was then a few years in Kansas City and then in Chicago and Detroit. In 1938 he was the house pianist for Decca in New York, where he among other things, the blues singers Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Trixie Smith accompanied them. In the 1940s he was head of his own band " Texas Blusicians " (including with Don Stovall and Emmett Berry ) who received once with Lester Young. He also played regularly in the clubs of 52nd Street and in musicals. In 1948, he played the Nice Jazz Festival with Mezz Mezzrow. In 1951 he was back in Texas. In 1954 he was in New York and accompanied Mahalia Jackson and Jimmy Rushing. He also played a lot with rhythm and blues bands. 1955/6 he was with his own band on a European tour. After that, he was until 1967 the partner of Red Allen. He then played at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and the mid-1970s in New Orleans - oriented Crawdaddy Restaurant in New York, where he also eg appeared with Benny Goodman and Buddy Rich. Price remained active until shortly before his death as a musician.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Sam Price 1929-1941 ( Classics ) with Lester Young, Billy Taylor, JC Heard, Harold Doc West
• Barrelhouse and Blues ( Black Lion, 1969) with Sandy Brown
• European All Stars (Koch, 1990) with Oscar Klein