Sonny White
Sonny White ( born November 17, 1917 in Panama City, Panama, † April 28, 1971 in New York; actually Ellerton Oswald ) was an American jazz pianist.
Sonny White played the mid-1930s in Jesse Stone's band. Later he worked with Willie Bryant, Benny Carter, Sidney Bechet, Teddy Hill and Frankie Newton. From 1939 he was a sideman of Billie Holiday; he participated in their legendary recordings for the label Commodore Records, as in " Strange Fruit " and " Some Other Spring". According to Holidays he had written the song with Abel Meeropol, but this was not the case. According to the biographer Donald Clarke Holiday- he was also briefly engaged to Lady Day. In the 1940s he played in the bands of Artie Shaw, Benny Carter, Big Joe Turner, Lena Horne, Dexter Gordon ( 1944-46 ) and Hot Lips Page (1947). In the 1950s, White worked with Harvey Davis and then to 1964 with Wilbur De Paris. In the 1960s he was largely employed as a freelance musician and recorded with Eddie Barefield (1968). Shortly before his death he was still working with Jonah Jones.
Collection
- The Complete Master Jazz Piano Series with Earl Hines, Claude Hopkins, Cliff Jackson, Keith Dunham, Sonny White, Jay McShann, Teddy Wilson, Cliff Smalls, Sir Charles Thompson, Gloria Hearn & Ram Ramirez - (1969-1974) - ( Mosaic - 1990) - 6 LPs, 4 CDs
Links / sources
- Sonny White in the all music guide
- Sonny White at Discogs (English)