Thomas Jefferson (June 20, 1920 – December 13, 1986) was an American

Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

trumpeter, strongly influenced by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Early life

Jefferson was born in

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in June 1920. He played drums and

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

while young before switching to

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

. Jefferson professional career began when he was 14, and played with Billie and De De Pierce.

Career

Jefferson played with

Papa Celestin Oscar Phillip Celestin (January 1, 1884 – December 15, 1954), better known by his stage name Papa Celestin, was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Life and career Celestin was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, to a Creole family, son o ...

's orchestra in 1936, as well as with New Orleans jazz musicians such as

Sidney Desvigne Sidney Desvigne (September 11, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played in a large number of noted 1910s and 1920s-era New Orleans Jazz ensembles, including Leonard Bechet's Silver Bell Band, the Maple Leaf Orchestr ...

and Armand "Jump" Jackson. In the 1950s, he worked with

Johnny St. Cyr Johnny St. Cyr () (April 17, 1890 – June 17, 1966) was an American jazz Banjo#Six-string banjos, banjoist and guitarist. He was one of the original pioneers of jazz music, playing banjo and guitar in the bands of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, J ...

Santo Pecora Santo Pecora (born Santo Joseph Pecoraro; March 21, 1902 – May 29, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist known for his longtime association with the New Orleans jazz scene. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Pecora changed ...

, and George Lewis. In 1966, Andrew Morgan recruited Jefferson to play lead trumpet for the

Young Tuxedo Brass Band The Young Tuxedo Brass Band is a brass band from New Orleans that was active after World War II. The Young Tuxedo Brass Band was founded in 1938 by John Casimir. Its name is a nod to the Tuxedo Brass Band of Papa Celestin, an ensemble in New O ...

. Subsequently, Jefferson led a jazz band which performed at the New Orleans jazz club Maison Bourbon. Jefferson recorded sparingly as a leader; sessions include dates for

Southland Records Southland Records is a record label in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States specializing in blues and jazz. Southland Records was founded in 1953 by Joe Mares, a clarinetist and younger brother of trumpeter Paul Mares. He created the label af ...

in the 1960s and Maison Bourbon Records in the 1970s. Jazz critic

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 ...

called Jefferson "one of the finest trumpeters in New Orleans during the 1950s and 1960s."

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

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 ...

Jefferson had a cameo as a jazz musician in the film ''

Hard Times Hard Times may refer to: Literature * ''Hard Times'' (novel), an 1854 novel by Charles Dickens * '' Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression'', a 1970 book by Studs Terkel Film and television * ''Hard Times'' (1915 film), a silen ...

'' (1975).

Death

Jefferson died in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, in December 1986.

Discography

As leader

*''New Orleans at Midnight'' (Southland Records, LP-229) **Reissued on

GHB Records Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year h ...

as GHB-129 *''New Orleans Creole Jazz Band Featuring Thomas Jefferson'' (Southland Records, LP-234) *''Dreaming Down the River to New Orleans'' (Southland Records, LP-238) *''Sleepy Time Down South'' (Maison Bourbon Records #1) *''Hello Dolly'' (Maison Bourbon Records #9) *''Thomas Jefferson From New Orleans'' (

Storyville Records Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appea ...

, SLP 131) **Includes material originally recorded for Southland Records, including several titles from Southland LP-229.

As sideman

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father Isidore, three of his brothers (including Louis), and ...

, ''Paul Barbarin's Bourbon Street Beat'' (Southland Records, LP-237) * Jim Robinson, ''Living New Orleans Jazz-1976'' (Smoky Mary Phonograph Company, SM 1976 J) **Appeared on 5 of 10 tracks. *

, ''Johnny St. Cyr And His Hot Five / Paul Barbarin And His Jazz Band'' (Southland Records, LP-212) **Appeared on tracks with Johnny St. Cyr only.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Thomas 1920 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American trumpeters 21st-century American trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Dixieland jazz musicians Dixieland trumpeters American male jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Chicago Southland Records artists