Cootie Williams

Cootie Williams
Williams circa 1945-1955
Background information
Birth name	Charles Melvin Williams
Born	July 10, 1911(1911-07-10)
Died	September 15, 1985(1985-09-15) (aged 74)
Genres	Jazz, jump blues[1]
Instruments	Trumpet
Associated acts	Duke Ellington

Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues,^[1] and rhythm and blues trumpeter.

Biography

Born in Mobile, Alabama, United States, Williams began his professional career with the Young Family band, which included saxophonist Lester Young, when he was 14 years old.^[2] In 1928, he made his first recordings with pianist James P. Johnson in New York, where he also worked briefly in the bands of Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson.^[2] He rose to prominence as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, with which he performed from 1929 to 1940. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both freelance and with other Ellington sidemen. In 1940 he joined Benny Goodman's orchestra, then in 1941 formed his own orchestra, in which over the years he employed Charlie Parker, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bud Powell, Eddie Vinson, and other important young players.

In 1947, Williams wrote the song "Cowpox Boogie" while recuperating from a bout with smallpox. He contracted the disease from a vaccination he insisted all band members receive.^[3]

He began to play more rhythm and blues in the late 1940s. In the 1950s, he toured with small groups and fell into obscurity. In 1962, he rejoined Ellington and stayed with the orchestra until 1974, after Ellington's death. In 1975, he performed during the Super Bowl IX halftime show.

Cootie Williams was renowned for his growling "jungle" style trumpet playing (in the tradition of trumpeter Bubber Miley and trombonist Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton) and for his use of the plunger mute, and was reputed to have inspired Wynton Marsalis's use of it.^[4]

Williams also sang occasionally, a notable vocal collaboration with Ellington was the piece, Echoes of the Jungle.^[2]

Williams is a 1991 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Cootie Williams died in New York on September 15, 1985, at age 74.

Discography

• Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941-44 (Classics, 1995)
• Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1945-46 (Classics, 1999)
• Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1946-49 (Classics, 2000)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Robinson, J. Bradford (1994). "Williams, Cootie". In Barry Kernfeld. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 1290. 
3. ^ "The Laugh is on Maestro Cootie". The Afro American. 3 May 1947. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hB0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y_0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3012,3944977&dq=florence+mills&hl=en. Retrieved 28 November 2010. 
4. ^ email from Luigi Beverelli, Wynton Marsalis Enterprises, to Frank Paynter dated August 10, 2008.

External links

• Allmusic biography
• Cootie Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

Persondata
Name	Williams, Cootie
Alternative names
Short description	American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter
Date of birth	July 10, 1911
Place of birth	Mobile, Alabama, United States
Date of death	September 15, 1985
Place of death	New York, United States