Jeter-Pillars Orchestra was an American jazz troupe, led by altoist James Jeter and tenor-saxophonist Hayes Pillars.

Career

Jeter and Pillars were previously members of Alphonso Trent's big band. After that outfit split in 1933 they formed the group, which subsequently became the house band at the Club Plantation in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, their home base for the next decade. Most of the Jeter-Pillars band served as musicians during

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 ...

, several recruited into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

by Len Bowden, who also had a band in St. Louis prior to the war. Joining the Navy in September 1942 were James Cannady, guitarist and arranger for Jeter-Pilars; Roy Torian, a trombonist who had been treasurer of the Musicians Equity Association in St. Louis, the "race sub-local of the American Federation of Musicians"; Merrill Tarrant, trumpet; Sykes Smith, trumpet; and Charles Pillars, saxophone, who with his brother, Hayes Pillar, was co-leader of Jeter-Pilars. Elbert Claybrook, trumpet, had also been with Jeter-Pillars but had taken a job at Scullin Steel Mills prior to enlisting. All were sent to

Camp Robert Smalls Camp Robert Smalls was a United States Naval training facility, created pursuant to an order signed April 21, 1942, by Frank Knox, then Secretary of the Navy, for the purpose of training African-American seamen at a time when the USN was still ...

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 ...

, for basic training. Charles Pillars, Torian, Cannady, Smith, and Tarrant remained at Camp Smalls as players in the Ships Company A Band, which also included players from civilian bands led by

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

Charlie Spivak Charlie Spivak (c. February 17, 1904 – March 1, 1982) was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s. Early life According to his immigration record, Sender Spivakovsky was born around 1904 in the village ...

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the Railway Mania, railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a ...

, the Carolina Cotton Pickers,

Don Albert Albert Dominique, better known as Don Albert (August 5, 1908, New Orleans – January 1980, San Antonio, Texas) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Albert's uncle was Natty Dominique. He got his start playing in parade brass bands in N ...

, and

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

, among others."Willie Smith of Lunceford Crew Is among Others Starred Here." ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'', May 15, 1943: p. 19 The Jeter-Pillars Orchestra served as a training ground for up-and-coming jazz players including trumpeters

Harry "Sweets" Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backi ...

and Peanuts Holland, bassist

Jimmy Blanton James Blanton (October 5, 1918 – July 30, 1942) was an American jazz double bassist. Blanton is credited with being the originator of more complex pizzicato and arco bass solos in a jazz context than previous bassists. Nicknamed "Jimmie," Blant ...

, drummers

Jo Jones Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...

Sid Catlett Sidney "Big Sid" Catlett (January 17, 1910 – March 25, 1951) was an American jazz drummer. Catlett was one of the most versatile drummers of his era, adapting with the changing music scene as bebop emerged. Early life Catlett was born in Eva ...

and

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

, guitarist

Floyd Smith Floyd Smith may refer to: * Floyd Smith (ice hockey) (born 1935), Canadian ice hockey centre and coach * Floyd E. Smith (1912–1989), American labor union leader *Floyd Smith (musician) (1917–1982), American jazz guitarist and record producer ...

, tenor-saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, and alto saxophonist

Chris Woods Christopher Charles Eric Woods (born 14 November 1959) is an English football coach and former professional footballer, who is goalkeeping coach for the Scotland national team. As a player, he was a goalkeeper (association football), goalke ...

. In the late 1940s, the group toured the Far East for the USO, before breaking up. The Jeter-Pillars Orchestra recorded four sides for

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pi ...

in 1937. The recordings were: * "Lazy Rhythm" (their theme song) * "I Like Pie, I Like Cake" * "

Make Believe Make believe, also known as pretend play or imaginative play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and cre ...

" * "I'll Always Be In Love With You"

References

External links

* Jazz ensembles from Missouri Musical groups established in 1933 Musical groups disestablished in the 1940s 1933 establishments in Missouri 1940s disestablishments in Missouri {{jazz-stub

Career

References

Further reading

External links