James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.

Early life

Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The farm was owned by his father, James. His mother was Idella ("Ida") Shumpert of Oklahoma City, an organist of "more than average ability". Seven months after James Melvin was born, the family moved to Oklahoma City. The family next moved to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

where Lunceford attended high school and studied music under Wilberforce J. Whiteman, father of

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

, whose band was soon to acquire a national reputation. As a child in Denver, he learned several instruments. After high school, Lunceford continued his studies at Fisk University. In 1922, he played alto saxophone in a local band led by the violinist George Morrison which included Andy Kirk, another musician destined for fame as a bandleader.

Career

In 1927, while an athletic instructor at Manassas High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, Lunceford organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Under the new name, the band started its professional career in 1929, and made its first recordings in 1930. Lunceford was the first public high school band director in Memphis. After a period of touring, in 1934 the band accepted a booking at the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

nightclub The Cotton Club for their revue "Cotton Club Parade" starring Adelaide Hall. The Cotton Club had already featured

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

, who won their first widespread fame from their inventive shows for the Cotton Club's all-white patrons. With their tight musicianship and the often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics, Lunceford's orchestra made an ideal band for the club, and Lunceford's reputation began to steadily grow. Jimmie Lunceford's band differed from other great bands of the time because it was better known for its ensemble than for its solo work. Additionally, he was known for using a two-beat rhythm, called the Lunceford two-beat, as opposed to the standard four-beat rhythm. This distinctive "Lunceford style" was largely the result of the imaginative arrangements by trumpeter Sy Oliver, which set high standards for dance-band arrangers of the time. Though not well known as a musician, Lunceford knew how to play several instruments and was even featured on flute in "Liza". Comedy and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

played a distinct part in Lunceford's presentation. Songs such as "Rhythm Is Our Business" (featured in a 1937

musical short A musical short, also known as a musical short film or musical featurette, is a short film that features musical performances, often with little to no surrounding narrative. It can be traced back to the earliest days of sound films, reaching ...

with Myra Johnson (Taylor) on vocals), "I'm Nuts about Screwy Music", "I Want the Waiter (With the Water)", and "Four or Five Times" displayed a playful sense of swing, often through clever arrangements by trumpeter Sy Oliver and bizarre lyrics. Lunceford's stage shows often included costumes, skits, and obvious jabs at mainstream white bands, such as Paul Whiteman's and

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racing, hydroplane racer whose unique "sweet jazz" style remained popular with audiences for nearly five decade ...

's. Despite the band's comic veneer, Lunceford always maintained professionalism in the music befitting a former teacher; this professionalism paid off and during the apex of swing in the 1930s, the Orchestra was considered the equal of

's, Earl Hines' or

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

's. This precision can be heard in such pieces as "Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam)", "Lunceford Special", "For Dancers Only", "Uptown Blues", and "Stratosphere". The band's noted saxophone section was led by alto sax player Willie Smith. Lunceford often used a

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

baton to lead his band. The orchestra began recording for the Decca label and later signed with the Columbia subsidiary Vocalion in 1938. They toured Europe extensively in 1937, but had to cancel a second tour in 1939 because of the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Columbia dropped Lunceford in 1940 because of flagging sales. (Oliver departed the group before the scheduled European tour to take a position as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey). Lunceford returned to the Decca label. The orchestra appeared in the 1941 movie ''

Blues in the Night "Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun wi ...

''. Lunceford's band was hired to play at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles on September 26, 1940 and again on June 26, 1947, by Leon Hefflin Sr. Most of Lunceford's sidemen were underpaid and left for better paying bands, leading to the band's decline.

Death

After playing McElroy's Ballroom in Portland, Lunceford and his orchestra were in Seaside, Oregon, to play at The Bungalow dance hall on July 12, 1947. Before the performance Lunceford collapsed during an autograph session at a local record store. He died while being taken by ambulance to the Seaside hospital. Lunceford was 45. Dr. Alton Alderman performed an autopsy in nearby Astoria, Oregon, and concluded that Lunceford died of coronary occlusion. Lunceford had complained about an aching leg as they arrived in Seaside, and had been suffering with high blood pressure for a while, and had recently complained about not feeling well. Allegations and rumors circulated that he had been poisoned by a restaurant owner, who was unhappy at having to serve a "Negro" in his establishment.Myers, Mark (July 20, 2011). "Swing's Forgotten King". ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

Legacy

Band members, such as Eddie Wilcox and Joe Thomas, kept the band going for a time but finally had to break up the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra in 1949. In 1999, band-leader Robert Veen and a team of musicians set out to acquire permission to use the original band charts and arrangements of the Jimmie Lunceford canon. "The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra" officially debuted in July 2005 at the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. The festival moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival was founded by Bro. Ronald Cortez Herd II (aka 'R2C2H2 Tha Artivist') in 2007 with the aim of increasing recognition of Lunceford's contribution to jazz, particularly in Memphis, Tennessee. The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Awards were created by the festival to honor exceptional musicians with Memphis ties as well as those who have dedicated their careers to excellence in music and music education. Lunceford's music continues to have an impact. Most recently the tune "Rhythm Is Our Business" was included as a track on the compilation set '' Memphis Jazz Box'' in 2004 in honor of Lunceford's close ties to Memphis. On July 19, 2009, a brass note was dedicated to Lunceford on the Beale Street Walk of Fame in Memphis.

Discography

* "Chickasaw Stomp'"/"Memphis Rag" (Columbia W-145.373/4) - recorded Memphis, December 13, 1927 *"In Dat Mornin'"/"Sweet Rhythm" ( Victor V-38141) - recorded Memphis, June 6, 1930 *"Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass"/"While Love Lasts" (test pressings for Columbia, not released until 1967 on LP) - recorded New York, May 15, 1933 *"Jazznocracy"/"Chillun, Get Up" (Victor 24522) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934 *"White Heat"/"Leaving Me" (Victor 24586) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934 *"Breakfast Ball"/"Here Goes (A Fool)" (Victor 24601) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934 *"Swingin' Uptown"/"Remember When" (Victor 24669) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934,

Decca recordings

* ''For Dancers Only (A Collection of His Most Famous Records)'' (78rpm 4-disc album set/8 songs/ Decca #A-664: 1949; original 10" LP issue/8 songs/Decca #DL-5393: 1952) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #3- Jimmie Lunceford 1: Rhythm Is Our Business (1934-1935)'' (LP: Decca #79237, 1968; LP reissue: MCA #1302, 1980) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #6- Jimmie Lunceford 2: Harlem Shout (1935-1936)'' (LP: Decca #79238, 1968; LP reissue: MCA #1305, 1980) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #8- Jimmie Lunceford 3: For Dancers Only (1936-1937)'' (LP: Decca #79239, 1968; LP reissue: MCA #1307, 1980) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #15- Jimmie Lunceford 4: Blues In The Night (1938-1942)'' (LP: Decca #79240, 1968; LP reissue: MCA #1314, 1980) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #21- Jimmie Lunceford 5: Jimmie's Legacy (1934-1937)'' (LP: MCA #1320, 1980) * ''Jazz Heritage Series #22- Jimmie Lunceford 6: The Last Sparks (1941-1944)'' (LP: MCA #1321, 1980) * ''Stomp It Off'' (1934-1935) (CD: GRP #608, 1992) * ''For Dancers Only'' (1935-1937) (CD: GRP #645, 1994) * ''Swingsation: Jimmie Lunceford'' (1935-1938) (CD: GRP #9923, 1998) * ''The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions'' (1934-1938, 1941-1945) (

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

#MD7-250, 2014) 7-CD box set

Columbia recordings

*''Lunceford Special'' (1939-1940) (78rpm 4-disc album set/8 songs/ Columbia #C-175: 1948; original 10" LP issue/8 songs/Columbia #GL-104: 1952; first LP issue/12 songs/Columbia #CL-634: 1956; expanded LP reissue/16 songs/Columbia #CL-2715 and #CS-9515: 1967; CD release/22 songs/Sony Legacy #CK-65647: 2001)

Majestic recordings

*''Margie'' (1946-1947) (LP and CD release/13 songs/ Savoy Jazz #SJL-1209: 1989)

The Chronological Classics series

Apart from live recordings and alternate takes, every recording by Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra is included in this ten-volume series from the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

reissue label: *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1930-1934'' (#501, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1934-1935'' (#505, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1935-1937'' (#510, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1937-1939'' (#520 ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1939'' (#532, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1939-1940'' (#565, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1940-1941'' (#622, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1941-1945'' (#862, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra 1945-1947'' (#1082, ) *''The Chronological Jimmie Lunceford's Orchestra 1948-1949'' (#1151, ) The last album (''1948-1949'') was recorded after Lunceford's death by his long-time band under the joint-direction of Eddie Wilcox (his piano player) and Joe Thomas (his tenor sax player/vocalist).

The Masters of Jazz series

An eight-volume series from the Masters of Jazz imprint on French Média 7 and Musisoft attempted the same chronological traverse under the direction of Bruno Théol, Christian Bonnet, Jacques Lubin and Lionel Risler, released 1991 thru 2000: *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 1: 1927-1934'' (#MJCD 12, 3356571001227) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 2: 1934'' (#MJCD 18, 3356571001821) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 3: 1935-1936'' (#MJCD 57, 3356571005720) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 4: 1936-1937'' (#MJCD 71, 3356571007120) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 5: 1937-1939'' (#MJCD 84, 3356571009424) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 6: Jan. to Aug. 1939'' (#MJCD 98, 33565710009827) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 7: Sep. 1939 to Feb. 1940'' (#MJCD 147, 3356571014722) *''Jimmie Lunceford vol. 8: May 1940 to Apr. 1940'' (#MJCD 160, 3356571016023)

CD reissue compilations

* ''Rhythm Is Our Business: The Great Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra'' (rec. 1933-1940, ASV/Living Era, 1992) successively covering both the Decca and Columbia periods. * ''It's the Way That You Swing It: The Hits of Jimmie Lunceford'' (

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

, 2002) 2-CD set * ''Jukebox Hits 1935-1947'' ( Acrobat, 2005) * ''Quadromania: Jimmie Lunceford – Life Is Fine'' (rec. 1935-1945, Membran/Quadromania Jazz, 2006) 4-CD box set * ''Strictly Lunceford'' ( Proper, 2007) 4-CD box set * ''The Jimmie Lunceford Collection 1930-47'' (Fabulous/Acrobat, 2014) 2-CD set

References

External links

Jimmie Lunceford recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunceford, Jimmie 1902 births 1947 deaths African-American saxophonists American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders American jazz flautists American big band bandleaders Fisk University alumni Musicians from Denver People from Fulton, Mississippi Swing bandleaders Swing saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Mississippi Brunswick Records artists Columbia Records artists Decca Records artists Majestic Records artists RCA Victor artists Jazz musicians from Colorado 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members