The Savoy Sultans was the name of two related 20th-century 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 ...

ensembles.

Savoy Sultans (1937–1946)

The original Savoy Sultans were formed by saxophonist Al Cooper, and played at the

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

from 1937 to 1946. This small

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

ensemble comprised, at various times, Jack Chapman, Sam Massenberg, Dave Burns,

Jesse Drakes Jesse Drakes (22 October 1924 - 1 May 2010) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was born in New York City. Drakes hung out at Minton's Playhouse in his youth, and attended Juilliard in the 1940s. He played in the 1940s with Al Cooper's Savoy ...

and Pat Jenkins on trumpets; Skinny Brown, Rudy Williams, Ed McNeil, Lennie Simmons, Thomas Turrentine Sr. and George Kelly on saxophones; Cyril Haynes, piano;

Grachan Moncur II Grachan Moncur II (sometimes credited as Grachan Moncur, born September 2, 1915 – November 3, 1996) was an American jazz bassist with the Savoy Sultans. Early life Moncur was a multi-instrumentalist as a teenager, learning trombone, tuba, ...

on double bass; Alex "Razz" Mitchell on drums and vocalist Evelyn White. Opening at the

on Lenox Avenue,

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, on

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

in 1937,Sleevenotes for ''Stompin' at the Savoy'' (1964) DECCA DL4444 they recorded seven times with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

between 1938 and 1941. According to one reviewer,''The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz 1930–1945''
Gunther Schuller. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1989. their recorded legacy leaves much to be desired, although contemporary reports by musicians such as

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

gave the group high praise. They broke up in 1946.

Savoy Sultans (1974–early 1990s)

The name Savoy Sultans was resurrected by

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

in 1974 for a one-off concert, and was turned into a regular ensemble in 1979. He maintained the same instrumentation but added rhythm guitar. This group recorded for

Black & Blue Records Black & Blue Records was a record company and label founded in France in 1968 that specialized in blues and jazz. Black & Blue reissued music from small American labels before producing original releases. Some of these releases were by black mu ...

in 1979 and again with Stash Records in 1982 and 1983. Members included Francis Williams, Irv Stokes, Spanky Davis,

Norris Turney Norris Turney (September 8, 1921, Wilmington, Ohio, United States – January 17, 2001, Kettering, Ohio) was an American jazz flautist and saxophonist. Biography Turney began his career in the Midwest, playing in territory bands such as the Jete ...

, Howard E. Johnson, Bobby Watson, and Red Richards. George Kelly reprised his role in this later ensemble.

References

External links

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

, Savoy Sultansat

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 ...

{{Authority control Jazz ensembles from New York City