Curtis J. Mosby (July 7, 1895 (or 1892) in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

– June 25, 1957 in San Francisco) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and businessman.

Biography

Mosby toured with the Tennessee Ten in the 1910s, and also led his own ensemble in Chicago. He then moved to California early in the 1920s, where he opened a

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sol ...

and then toured with

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith ( Robinson; May 26, 1891 – August or September 16, 1946) was an American singer. As a vaudeville singer, she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the first African-American a ...

. He also led a band called the Blue Blowers in California and appeared with them in the 1929 film '' Music Hath Harms''. He took an extended residency in 1924 at Solomon's Dance Pavilion in Los Angeles; this ensemble recorded privately, and some of these cuts have survived. The band recorded for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1927, and included Jake Porter, Les Hite, and

Henry Starr Henry Starr (December 2, 1873 – February 22, 1921) was an American outlaw of the frontier and an actor of the silent film era. Biography Early life Starr's parents were Mary Scott Starr and George Starr. Distantly related to Sam Starr, hus ...

as sidemen. In 1927 they played at the Bronx Palm Gardens and in 1928 at the Lincoln Theater. Mosby opened his own nightclub, the Apex, in 1928, and his band appeared in the films ''Thunderbolt'' and

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

's ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

'' the next year. Late in 1929 a police raid shut the club down, but he reopened after an acquittal soon after. He opened another club in San Francisco at the end of 1930. He went bankrupt in 1931, and moved to San Francisco. Over the course of the 1930s he opened several clubs, not all of them successful, along the California coastline; musicians who appeared in his bands included Lawrence Brown,

Marshal Royal Marshal Walton Royal Jr. (December 5, 1912 – May 8, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist best known for his work with Count Basie, with whose band he played for nearly twenty years. Early life and education Marshal Royal ...

, Wilbert Baranco, Baron Moorehead, and

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

. Mosby and Leon Hefflin Sr. financed and produced the ''Sweet N' Hot'' musical featuring

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Carmen Jones'' (1954). Dandridge had a ...

and a cast of 50, at the Mayan theatre in Los Angeles in 1944. He also eventually has his 15 piece band as part of the production after reviews made suggestion. It successfully runs nightly for eleven weeks. His successful Club Alabam featured

Harlan Leonard Harlan Leonard (July 2, 1905 – November 10, 1983) was an American jazz bandleader and clarinetist from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Leonard was born in Kansas City in 1905. A professional musician from the age of 17, he joined Bennie ...

in 1943,

Roy Milton Roy Bunny Milton (July 31, 1907 – September 18, 1983) was an American R&B and jump blues singer, drummer and bandleader. Career Milton's grandmother was Chickasaw. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and grew up on an Indian reservation bef ...

in 1944, and

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...

in 1945, all in succession. He was jailed for

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

from 1947 to 1949 and lost control of his clubs; after serving his time, he reopened some of them and then permanently moved to San Francisco. In 1947, Leon Hefflin Sr. took over Club Alabam and renamed it the Congo Club. He declared bankruptcy in the late 1940s, but he had hidden the part ownership of Club Alabam and other assets from the creditors and bankruptcy court. As a result he served a short prison term.

References

;Footnotes ;General references * Curtis Mosbyat

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*Howard Rye, "Curtis Mosby". '' Grove Jazz'' online. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosby, Curtis 1890s births 1957 deaths American jazz drummers American jazz bandleaders Jazz musicians from Missouri 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Drummers from Missouri