Wendell "Cassino" Simpson (July 22, 1909 – March 27, 1952) 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 ...

pianist, best known for his associations on the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

jazz scene. Simpson may have studied piano under

Zinky Cohn Zinky Cohn (August 18, 1908, Oakland, California – April 26, 1952, Chicago) was an American jazz pianist. Zinky Cohnat Allmusic Cohn played in Chicago in the late 1920s, including in Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra (1928–30); he record ...

. He first recorded in 1923 with Bernie Young, then recorded with the Moulin Rouge Orchestra in 1925. Following this he joined

Arthur Sims Sir Arthur Sims (27 July 1877 – 27 April 1969) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer, businessman and philanthropist. Early life Sims was born in 1877 in Lincolnshire, England, the second son of Samuel and Louisa Sims, who were farmers. In ...

's orchestra, recording with them in 1926. Sims died soon after, and Bernie Young took over as bandleader; Simpson remained in the ensemble until 1930. Concomitantly, he recorded with

Jabbo Smith Jabbo Smith (born Cladys Smith; December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was an American jazz musician, known for his virtuoso playing on the trumpet. Biography Smith was born in Pembroke, Georgia, United States. At the age of six he went into ...

's Rhythm Aces on his 1929

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

releases. From 1931 to 1933 he played with

Erskine Tate Erskine Tate (January 14, 1895, Memphis, Tennessee, – December 17, 1978, Chicago) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Biography Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his ...

, though he never recorded with him. He recorded as a leader under various names, with Jabbo Smith and

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

as sidemen. In 1933 he cut a few sides with Half Pint Jaxon, a

female impersonator An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males ...

. Soon after his recordings with Jaxon, Simpson apparently became mentally disturbed, and was institutionalized in 1935 in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

.Chilton 1985, p. 303 While there, he continued to play piano and

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

in a hospital dance band, and played bass drum in the hospital's marching band. He recorded solo piano numbers on the grounds of the hospital in the middle of the 1940s. Simpson was never released from the hospital, where he died in 1952.

Notes

References

* Cassino Simpsonat

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 ...

*Chilton, John (1985). ''Who's who of jazz: storyville to swing street''. Papermac. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Cassino 1909 births 1952 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians