Leon Alexander Anthony Abbey (May 7, 1900 – September 1975) 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 ...

violinist and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

Biography

He was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

on May 7, 1900, to Luther James Robert Abbey and Eva Lee Alexander. He started his career in 1920 as a classical violinist with the orchestra of

J. Rosamond Johnson John Rosamond Johnson (August 11, 1873 – November 11, 1954; usually referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson) was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he had much of his career in New York C ...

. Five years later, he recorded with

Clara Smith Clara Smith (March 13, 1894 – February 2, 1935) was an American classic female blues singer, billed as the "Queen of the Moaners", although she had a lighter and sweeter voice than many of her contemporaries. Clara Smith was not related to ...

on "If You Only Knowed" and "You Better Keep the Home Fires Burning". In 1926, he led the Savoy Bearcats and toured with the band the next year in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. For a decade, he toured throughout Europe and performed in India two times. He led a band with blues singer

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. In Chicago he led a trio until 1964. His sideman during his career included Fletcher Allen,

Emile Christian Emile Joseph Christian (April 20, 1895 – December 3, 1973), sometimes spelled Emil Christian, was an American early jazz trombonist; he also played cornet and string bass. He also wrote a number of tunes, including "Meet Me at the Green Goose" ...

, Bill Coleman,

Peter DuConge Peter DuConge (1902-1966) was an American jazz reedist, active in the early New Orleans jazz scene. DuConge was raised in a musical family. His father was a journeyman barber, and had a bass, singing voice. His mother, Daniska, was a soprano. Sh ...

, and

Crickett Smith William Crickett Smith (February 8, 1881 – August 30, 1944) was an American ragtime, blues and jazz cornetist and trumpeter. Career Little is known of Smith's early life, though he was born in Emporia, Kansas, the child of Tennessee Exoduste ...

. He recorded ''Jazz and Hot Dance in Denmark'' (

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, 1938) an album as a leader, in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was also issued under the name ''Whoa Babe''. He died in September 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Leon 1900 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American violinists American jazz bandleaders American big band bandleaders American jazz violinists American male violinists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Savoy Bearcats members