Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) 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 ...

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.

Biography

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Young Family band, which included saxophonist

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

. According to Williams he acquired his nickname as a boy when his father took him to a band concert. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and he replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie." 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. Williams rose to prominence as a member of

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 ...

's orchestra when the band was playing at the Cotton Club, with which he first performed from 1929 to 1940. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both freelance and with other Ellington sidemen. Williams was renowned for his "jungle"-style trumpet playing (in the manner of Ellington's earlier trumpeter Bubber Miley and trombonist Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton) and for his use of the plunger mute. He also sang occasionally, a notable instrumental feature being in the Ellington piece "Echoes of the Jungle". For him, Duke Ellington wrote ''Concerto for Cootie,'' which when lyrics were added became " Do Nothing till You Hear from Me". He was also the soloist in other Ellington compositions, such as " Echoes of Harlem", " Harlem Air Shaft", and the religious piece "The Shepherd Who Watches Over the Night Flock", which was dedicated to the Rev. John Gensel. In 1940, Williams joined

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

's orchestra, a highly publicized move that caused quite a stir at the time (commemorated by Raymond Scott with the song "When Cootie Left the Duke"), then in 1941 formed his own orchestra, in which over the years he employed

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Bud Powell, Eddie Vinson, and other 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. By the late 1940s, Williams had fallen into obscurity, having had to reduce his band numbers and finally to disband. In the 1950s, he began to play more rhythm and blues, toured with small groups, and played in the Savoy Ballroom. In the late 1950s, he formed a small jazz group and recorded a number of albums with Rex Stewart, as well as his own album, ''Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' (1958). 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. He was a 1991 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Death

Williams died in

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 ...

on September 15, 1985, at the age of 74 from a kidney ailment. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City.

Discography

As leader

* '' Cootie Williams and His Orchestra 1941–1944'' (

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 ...

, 1995) --earliest solo recordings * '' The Big Challenge'' (Jazztone, 1957) * '' Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Around Midnight'' (Jaro, 1959) * ''Cootie'' (Decca, 1959) * '' Porgy & Bess Revisited'' (Warner Bros., 1959) * ''Do Nothing Till You Hear from ... Cootie'' (Warwick, 1960) * '' The Solid Trumpet of Cootie Williams'' (Moodsville, 1962)

As sideman

, '' All Star Road Band Volume 2'' (Doctor Jazz, 1985) * Joya Sherrill, '' Joya Sherrill Sings Duke'' (20th Century Fox, 1965)

References

External links

Allmusic biography AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

*
Cootie Williams recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
Official website of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Cootie 1911 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicians African-American musicians American jazz trumpeters American male jazz musicians American male trumpeters American rhythm and blues musicians American jazz bandleaders American big band bandleaders Duke Ellington Orchestra members Jazz musicians from Alabama Jump blues musicians Musicians from Mobile, Alabama New York blues musicians RCA Victor artists Rhythm and blues trumpeters Swing trumpeters Vocalion Records artists