Harry Edison

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Harry Edison
Edison in Paris, France, 1980
Edison in Paris, France, 1980
Background information
Born(1915-10-10)October 10, 1915
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJuly 27, 1999(1999-07-27) (aged 83)
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
GenresJazz, swing
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsTrumpet
LabelsPacific Jazz, Verve, Roulette, Riverside, Vee-Jay, Liberty, Sue, Black & Blue, Pablo, Storyville, Candid
Associated actsCount Basie Orchestra, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ben Webster, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Oscar Peterson

Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra.[1] His greatest impact was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backing singers, most notably Frank Sinatra.

Biography[]

Edison was born in Columbus, Ohio, United States.[1] He spent his early childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, being introduced to music by an uncle. After moving back to Columbus at the age of twelve, the young Edison began playing the trumpet with local bands.[2]

In 1933, he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in Cleveland.[1] Afterwards, he played with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and Lucky Millinder.[1] In 1937, he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra.[1] His colleagues included Buck Clayton, Lester Young (who named him "Sweets"), Buddy Tate, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, and other original members of that famous band. In a 2003 interview for the National Museum of American History, drummer Elvin Jones explained the origin of Edison's nickname: "Sweets had so many lady friends, he was such a handsome man. He had all these girls all over him all the time, that's why they called him Sweets."[3]

"Sweets" Edison came to prominence as a soloist with the Basie Band and as an occasional composer/arranger for the band.[1] He also appeared in the 1944 film Jammin' the Blues.

Edison spent thirteen years with Basie until the band was temporarily disbanded in 1950. Edison thereafter pursued a varied career as leader of his own groups, traveling with Jazz at the Philharmonic and freelancing with other orchestras.[1] In the early 1950s, he settled on the West Coast and became a highly sought-after studio musician, making important contributions to recordings by such artists as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Billy Daniels, Margaret Whiting, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald.[4] He worked with closely with the arranger Nelson Riddle, who gave Edison a mike that was separate from the rest of the trumpet section.[5] He made use of a Harmon mute to improvise his solos and obbligatos. In 1956, he recorded the first of three albums with Ben Webster.

According to the Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies, Edison in the 1960s and 1970s continued to work in many orchestras on television shows, including Hollywood Palace and The Leslie Uggams Show, specials with Frank Sinatra; prominently featured on the sound track and in the sound track album of the film, Lady Sings the Blues. From 1973, Edison acted as Musical Director for Redd Foxx on theatre dates, at concerts, and in Las Vegas. He appeared frequently in Europe and Japan until shortly before his death. As the Los Angeles Jazz Society (LAJS) first Tribute Honoree, "Sweets" will always have a special place in the hearts of jazz fans.[6]

Edison died of prostate cancer at his home in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 83.[7]

Discography[]

As leader/co-leader[]

As sideman[]

With Count Basie
With Harry Belafonte
With Louis Bellson
With Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims
With Ray Bryant
  • Madison Time (Columbia, 1960)
  • Dancing the Big Twist (Columbia, 1961)
With Hoagy Carmichael
  • Hoagy Sings Carmichael (Pacific Jazz, 1956)

With Benny Carter

  • Wonderland (Pablo, 1976 [1986])
  • Elegy in Blue (MusicMasters, 1994)
With James Carter
With Dolo Coker
With Nat King Cole
  • After Midnight (Capitol, 1957)
With Clifford Coulter
With Bing Crosby and Buddy Bregman
  • Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (Verve, 1956)
With Sammy Davis Jr
With Billy Eckstine
With Duke Ellington with Johnny Hodges
  • Side by Side (Verve, 1959)
  • Back to Back (Verve, 1959)
With Herb Ellis
With Ella Fitzgerald
  • Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956, Verve)
  • Get Happy! (1959, Verve)
  • Hello, Love (1960, Verve)
  • Whisper Not (1967, Verve)
  • 30 by Ella (1968, Capitol)
  • Ella Loves Cole (1972, Capitol)
  • Fine and Mellow (1974, Pablo)
  • All That Jazz (1989, Pablo)
With Gil Fuller
With Dizzy Gillespie
  • Jazz Recital (Norgran, 1955)
With Jimmy Giuffre
  • The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic, 1956)

With Al Grey

With Woody Herman
  • Songs for Hip Lovers (Verve, 1957)
With Billie Holiday
  • Music for Torching (Norgran, 1955)
  • Velvet Mood (Clef, 1956)
  • Lady Sings the Blues (Clef, 1956)
  • Body and Soul (Verve, 1957)
  • Songs for Distingué Lovers (Verve, 1957)
  • All or Nothing at All (Verve, 1958)
With Red Holloway
  • Live at the Floating Jazz Festival (Chiaroscuro, 1997)
With Milt Jackson
  • Memphis Jackson (Impulse!, 1969)
With Illinois Jacquet
With Budd Johnson
  • Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (Riverside, 1960)

With Jo Jones

With Quincy Jones
With Barney Kessel
With Carole King
With B.B. King
  • Live at the Apollo (1991)
With Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich
  • Krupa and Rich (Clef, 1956)
With Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross
  • The Hottest New Group in Jazz (Columbia, 1960)
With Modern Jazz Quartet
With The Pointer Sisters

With Paul Quinichette

With Buddy Rich
With Shorty Rogers
  • Shorty Rogers Courts the Count (RCA Victor, 1954)
  • Martians Come Back! (Atlantic, 1955 [1956])
  • Way Up There (Atlantic, 1955 [1957])
  • Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers (RCA Victor, 1957)
With Frank Sinatra
With Frank Sinatra and Count Basie
  • It Might as Well Be Swing (Reprise, 1964)
  • Sinatra at the Sands (Reprise, 1966)
With Mel Tormé
With Sarah Vaughan
  • Dreamy (Roulette, 1960)
  • The Divine One (Roulette, 1961)
With Lester Young
With Nancy Wilson
  • The Sound of Nancy Wilson (Capitol, 1968)
With Joe Williams
With Teddy Wilson
With various artists

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 117/8. ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
  2. ^ Reisser, Jean-Michel (June 22, 2009). "An interview with, a biography of, albums and CDs by the legendary jazz trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison". Cosmopolis.ch. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013.
  3. ^ "National Museum of American History" (PDF). Smithsonian Jazz. November 30, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Harry Edison". The Independent. July 29, 1999. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Ratliff, Ben (July 29, 1999). "Harry (Sweets) Edison, 83, Trumpeter for Basie Band, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Harry "Sweets" Edison, 1983 and 1992". Los Angeles Jazz Society. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  7. ^ Ratliff, Ben (July 29, 1999). "Harry (Sweets) Edison, 83, Trumpeter for Basie Band, Dies". The New York Times.

External links[]

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