Edgar Battle
Edgar "Puddinghead" Battle (October 3, 1907 – February 6, 1977) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger.[1] He performed on trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and keyboard.[1]
Battle was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States,[1] into a musical family; his mother played guitar, and his father, bass and piano. He started out on trumpet, playing with and as a teenager. He formed his own band, the Dixie Serenaders, in 1921, while he was a student at Morris Brown University, and changed the name to Dixie Ramblers a few years later. Around this time he also played with Eddie Heywood, Sr., and toured with the 101 Ranch traveling show. In the 1920s he worked with , Andy Kirk, Blanche Calloway, , and Willie Bryant.[1] He moved to New York City in the early 1930s and did short stints with Benny Carter and Sam Wooding, before joining George White's ensemble on Broadway. Over time he began doing more work as a studio musician and arranger, writing charts for Cab Calloway, Paul Whiteman, Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Rudy Vallee, and Count Basie.[1]
During World War II, Battle held a position as an electrician in a shipyard, concomitantly running a big band with Shirley Clay. In the 1950s, he founded , and continued to play in big bands part-time through the 1960s. Among his numerous jazz compositions are the pieces "Topsy"[1] (co-composed with Eddie Durham) and "Doggin' Around" (with Herschel Evans).[2]
Edgar Battle died in New York in February 1977, at the age of 69.[3]
See also[]
References[]
- Footnotes
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ "Revised Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ Daniels, Douglas Henry (14 August 2006). "One O'clock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils". Beacon Press. p. 244. Retrieved August 14, 2021 – via Google Books.
- General references
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- 1907 births
- 1977 deaths
- American jazz trumpeters
- American male trumpeters
- American jazz trombonists
- Male trombonists
- American jazz saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
- 20th-century American musicians
- 20th-century saxophonists
- 20th-century trumpeters
- 20th-century trombonists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians