Benton E. "Benny" Peyton (July 20, 1888;
January 24, 1965) 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 ...
drummer.
Peyton went with
Will Marion Cook
William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an African-American composer, pianist, orchestrator, lyricist, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music ...
's
Southern Syncopated Orchestra
Southern Syncopated Orchestra (SSO), established first in the U.S. as the New York Syncopated Orchestra, was an early jazz group known for bringing Black musicians to the UK. The group was founded by Will Marion Cook. Members of the group include ...
to Europe in 1919 and remained there, forming his own group in London, the Jazz Kings, out of members of Cook's orchestra. The group recorded two sides for
in 1920 which were never issued; they also held a residence at the
Hammersmith Palais
The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be built ...
in 1921. Peyton led his own band (Benny Peyton’s Musical Aces) across Europe well into the 1930s, with
June Cole,
Big Boy Goudie and
Tommy Ladnier among his sidemen. He toured the
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
with
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...
and
Frank Withers ''(né'' Frank Douglas Withers; 1880–1952), and in 1935 played with
Joe Turner and
Adelaide Hall
Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death. Early in her career, she was a major figure in the Harlem Ren ...
in
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
.
In 1939 Peyton moved back to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where he became active as an
AFM union member. He continued playing professionally into the 1950s.
References
*
Eugene Chadbourne
Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic.
Life and career
Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar wh ...
,
Benny Peytonat
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
*"Benny Peyton". ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''.
External links
Howard Rye, "The Jazz Kings and Other Spin-Off Groups" ''Black Music Research Journal'', Volume 30, Number 1, Spring 2010, pp. 85–92 , 10.1353/bmr.2010.0001
American jazz drummers
American jazz bandleaders
1965 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
American male drummers
1888 births
Drummers from Washington, D.C.
{{US-jazz-drummer-stub