Nationality: American
Born: 1899-1990
Education/Training: at 15 left home to attend the Tuskegee Institute, where he studied piano and composition, and participated in the band and choir; graduated from Horner Institute of Fine Arts, Kansas City; continued his studies at Chicago Musical College and American Conservatory of Music
Notable Compositions: Negro Folk Symphony, Talk About a Child that Do Love Jesus, King Jesus, Ezekiel Saw the Wheel
Assignments:
played 1st trombone in Chicago Civic Orchestra; served as music director of Ebeneezer Baptist Church; taught music at Kansas Vocational College and Lincoln High School; returned to Tuskegee Institute where he taught and directed the choir until 1956; later toured internationally as a guest conductor, often performing his own arrangements of spirituals
Curious Facts:
in Kansas City, played trombone in local jazz ensembles and on the Redpath Chautauqua Circuit; after moving to Chicago, played bass with Louis and Lillian Armstrong, Johnny Dodds and Earl Hines