Lester Rallingston "Shad" Collins (June 27, 1910 – June 6, 1978) was an American jazz trumpet player, composer and arranger, who played in several leading bands between the 1930s and 1950s, including those led by

Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...

, Benny Carter, Count Basie, Lester Young,

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

and Sam "The Man" Taylor.

Life and career

Born in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

, United States, the son of a clergyman, he acquired the nickname of "Shad" in his teens, and by the late 1920s had joined

Charlie Dixon Charlie Dixon may refer to: * Charlie Dixon (musician) (1898–1940), jazz banjoist * Charlie Dixon (English footballer, born 1891) (1891 – after 1926), Darlington, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool full back * Charlie Dixon (English footballer, born ...

's band. He also performed with pianist Eddie White, before joining

's band in 1931. In the mid-1930s he played in

Teddy Hill Teddy Hill (December 7, 1909 in Birmingham, Alabama – May 19, 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American big band leader and the manager of Minton's Playhouse, a seminal jazz club in Harlem. He played a variety of instruments, including dru ...

's band, with whom he toured in Britain and Europe, before joining the Count Basie Orchestra. Biography by Eugene Chadbourne
AllMusic He performed in Basie's band at the '' From Spirituals to Swing'' concerts in New York City in 1938 and 1939.''From Spirituals to Swing'', liner notes, Definitive Records CD reissue, 2001 He also worked in the late 1930s in bands led by Benny Carter, Lester Young and Don Redman, among others. In 1941, he replaced

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 improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

's band, and remained with Calloway until 1943 and again between 1944 and 1946. He also worked and recorded in the 1940s with Oran "Hot Lips" Page. In the 1950s, he played in Jimmy Rushing's band, and with Sam "The Man" Taylor, when he developed a style more suited to the rhythm and blues music then popular. He worked more on a part-time basis during the 1960s. Collins was also known as a composer and arranger, responsible for the frequently recorded tune "Rock-a-Bye Basie" among others. Shad Collins died in June 1978, at the age of 67.

Discography

* Count Basie, ''The Count Swings Out'' (Coral, 1959) * Count Basie, '' The Original American Decca Recordings'' (GRP, 1992) *

, ''This Is Hep'' (Proper, 2008) * Benny Carter, ''The Music Master'' (Proper, 2006) * Vic Dickenson, ''Nice Work'' (Vanguard, 1999) *

, '' The Complete RCA Victor Recordings'' (Bluebird, 1995) * Coleman Hawkins, ''The Essential Sides Remastered'' (JSP, 2006) * Billie Holiday, ''Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do'' (CBS, 1975) *

Spike Hughes Patrick Cairns "Spike" Hughes (19 October 1908 – 2 February 1987) was a British musician, composer and arranger involved in the worlds of classical music and jazz. He has been called Britain's earliest jazz composer. Later in his career, he ...

, ''Spike Hughes and His All American Orchestra'' (London, 1956) * Sam Price, ''1929–1941'' (Classics, 1993) * Paul Quinichette, Jo Jones, Shad Collins, '' Basie Reunion'' (Prestige, 1958) * Paul Quinchette, '' Like Basie!'' (United Artists, 1959) * Paul Quinichette, Buck Clayton, Shad Collins, '' For Basie'' (Prestige Swingville, 1963) * Dicky Wells, ''Dicky Wells in Paris'' (His Master's Voice, 1955)

References

External links

Discography at Allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Shad 1910 births 1978 deaths People from Elizabeth, New Jersey American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Bebop trumpeters 20th-century American composers 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians The Cab Calloway Orchestra members 20th-century jazz composers