Charlie Shavers
Encyclopedia
Charles James Shavers known as Charlie Shavers, was an American swing
era jazz
trumpet
player who played at one time or another with Dizzy Gillespie
, Roy Eldridge
, Johnny Dodds
, Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet
, Midge Williams
and Billie Holiday
. He was also an arranger and composer, and one of his compositions, "Undecided", is a jazz standard.
Charlie Shavers' father (a distant relative of Fats Navarro
) was from the prominent Shavers family of Key West, Florida
, and Charlie was a cousin of heavyweight boxer Earnie Shavers
. Born in New York City
, he originally took up the piano
and banjo
before switching to trumpet. In the mid-thirties, he performed with Tiny Bradshaw
and Lucky Millinder
. In 1936 he joined John Kirby
's Sextet as trumpet soloist and arranger (he was only 16 but gave his birthdate as 1917 in order to avoid child labor laws - many biographies still list this date). His arrangements and solos with this band contributed greatly towards making it one of the most commercially successful and widely imitated bands of its day. In 1937 he was performing with Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters
. In 1944 he began playing sessions in Raymond Scott
's CBS staff orchestra. In 1945 he left John Kirby
's band to join Tommy Dorsey
's Orchestra, with whom he toured and recorded, off and on, until 1953. During this time he continued to play sessions at CBS, played with the Metronome All-Stars
, and made a number of recordings as trumpet soloist with Billie Holiday. From 1953 to 1954 he worked with Benny Goodman
, and toured Europe with Norman Granz
's popular Jazz at the Philharmonic
series, where he was always a crowd favorite. He went on to form his own band with Terry Gibbs
and Louie Bellson
.
Charlie Shavers died from throat cancer in New York in 1971 at the age of 50. His friend Louis Armstrong
died while Shavers was on his deathbed, and his last request was that his trumpet mouthpiece be buried with Armstrong in his coffin.
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
era jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
player who played at one time or another with Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, Johnny Dodds
Johnny Dodds
Johnny Dodds was an American New Orleans based jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Lovie Austin and Louis Armstrong. Dodds was also the older brother of drummer Warren "Baby"...
, Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
, Midge Williams
Midge Williams
Midge Williams was an African American swing and jazz vocalist during the 1930s and 1940s. Although not as famous as other jazz recording artists, Williams was a respected singer and her group, Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters, made several well-received recordings during the late 1930s.-Early...
and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. He was also an arranger and composer, and one of his compositions, "Undecided", is a jazz standard.
Charlie Shavers' father (a distant relative of Fats Navarro
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown.-Life:Navarro was born in Key West, Florida, to Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage...
) was from the prominent Shavers family of Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, and Charlie was a cousin of heavyweight boxer Earnie Shavers
Earnie Shavers
Earnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer and is widely considered along with George Foreman as the hardest punchers of all time...
. Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he originally took up the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
before switching to trumpet. In the mid-thirties, he performed with Tiny Bradshaw
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron C. Bradshaw was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer from Youngstown, Ohio.-Early years:...
and Lucky Millinder
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder was an American rhythm and blues and swing bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical taste made his bands successful...
. In 1936 he joined John Kirby
John Kirby (musician)
John Kirby , was a jazz double-bassist who also played trombone and tuba.-Background:Kirby may have been born in Winchester, Virginia, although other sources say he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, orphaned, and adopted. Kirby hit New York at 17, but after his trombone got stolen, he switched to...
's Sextet as trumpet soloist and arranger (he was only 16 but gave his birthdate as 1917 in order to avoid child labor laws - many biographies still list this date). His arrangements and solos with this band contributed greatly towards making it one of the most commercially successful and widely imitated bands of its day. In 1937 he was performing with Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters
Midge Williams
Midge Williams was an African American swing and jazz vocalist during the 1930s and 1940s. Although not as famous as other jazz recording artists, Williams was a respected singer and her group, Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters, made several well-received recordings during the late 1930s.-Early...
. In 1944 he began playing sessions in Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
's CBS staff orchestra. In 1945 he left John Kirby
John Kirby (musician)
John Kirby , was a jazz double-bassist who also played trombone and tuba.-Background:Kirby may have been born in Winchester, Virginia, although other sources say he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, orphaned, and adopted. Kirby hit New York at 17, but after his trombone got stolen, he switched to...
's band to join Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
's Orchestra, with whom he toured and recorded, off and on, until 1953. During this time he continued to play sessions at CBS, played with the Metronome All-Stars
Metronome All-Stars
The Metronome All-Stars were a collection of jazz musicians assembled for studio recordings by Metronome Magazine, based on its readers' polls. The studio sessions were held in the years 1939-42, 1946-53, and 1956, and typically consisted of two tracks which allowed each participant a chance to...
, and made a number of recordings as trumpet soloist with Billie Holiday. From 1953 to 1954 he worked with Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, and toured Europe with Norman Granz
Norman Granz
Norman Granz was an American jazz music impresario and producer.Granz was a fundamental figure in American jazz, especially from about 1947 to 1960...
's popular Jazz at the Philharmonic
Jazz at the Philharmonic
Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP, was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz....
series, where he was always a crowd favorite. He went on to form his own band with Terry Gibbs
Terry Gibbs
Terry Gibbs is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader.He has performed and/or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Louie Bellson, Charlie Shavers, Mel Tormé, Buddy DeFranco, and others...
and Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
.
Charlie Shavers died from throat cancer in New York in 1971 at the age of 50. His friend Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
died while Shavers was on his deathbed, and his last request was that his trumpet mouthpiece be buried with Armstrong in his coffin.
Discography
- JATP: The Trumpet Battle 1952 (with Roy EldridgeRoy EldridgeRoy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
) - Horn o'Plenty (Bethlehem), 1954
- The Most Intimate (Bethlehem), 1955
- Shavers, Gershwin, and Strings (Bethlehem), 1955
- We Dig Cole (Jass), 1958
- Charlie Digs Paree (MGM), 1959
- Charlie Digs Dixie (MGM), 1959
- Girl of My dreams (Everest), 1959
- Here Comes Charlie (Everest), 1960
- Like Charlie (Everest), 1960
- Swing along (Sesac), 1961
- Swingin' with Charlie (Sesac), 1961
- Here's Charlie (Sesac), 1961
- The Music from Milk and Honey (Everest) (with Wild Bill DavisWild Bill DavisWild Bill Davis was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis.Davis was born in Glasgow, Missouri...
), 1961 - Live at the London House (Hep), 1962
- Excitement Unlimited (Capitol), 1963
- At le Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris (Everest), 1964
- The Last Session (Black and Blue), 1970
External links
- Charlie Shavers at Verve Music Group