Edgar Melvin Sampson was a composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, arranger

Arranger

In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...

, saxophonist, and violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist. 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 started playing violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 at age six and picked up the saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 in high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

.

Born Edgar Melvin Sampson in 1907, Sampson started his professional career in 1924 with a violin piano duo with Joe Colman. Through the rest of the twenties and early thirties he played with many band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

s including those of Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....

 and Fletcher Henderson

Fletcher Henderson

James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...

. In 1933 he joined the Chick Webb

Chick Webb

William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...

 band. It is while with Webb that Sampson created his most enduring work as a composer, writing "Stompin' at the Savoy

Stompin' at the Savoy

"Stompin' at the Savoy" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the Savoy Ballroom.Although the song is credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, and Edgar Sampson, and the lyrics by Andy Razaf, in reality the music was written and arranged for Chick Webb's band by...

" and "Don't Be That Way". He left the Webb band in 1936 with a reputation as a composer and arranger that led to freelance work 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...

, Artie Shaw

Artie Shaw

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....

, Red Norvo

Red Norvo

Red Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments...

, Teddy Hill

Teddy Hill

Teddy Hill was a big band leader and the manager of Minton's Playhouse, a seminal jazz club in Harlem...

, Teddy Wilson

Teddy Wilson

Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in...

 and Chick Webb. He continued to play sax through the late forties and started his own band (1949-1951). In the late forties through the fifties he worked with Latin performers such as Marceino Guerra, Tito Rodriguez

Tito Rodriguez

Tito Rodríguez was a popular 1950s and 1960s Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He is known by many fans as "El Inolvidable" , a moniker based on his most popular interpretation, a song written by composer Julio Gutierrez.-Early years:Rodríguez , born in Santurce, Puerto Rico,...

 and Tito Puente

Tito Puente

Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...

as an arranger. He recorded one album under his own name, Swing Softly Sweet Sampson in 1956. Due to illness, he stopped working in the late sixties.

Compositions and arrangements

• "Dark Rapture" (Goodman, Benny - Sampson, Edgar - Kurtz, Manny)
• "If Dreams Come True" (Sampson, Edgar - Goodman, Benny - Mills, Irving)
• "Lullaby in Rhythm" (Sampson, Edgar - Goodman, Benny - Profit, Clarence - Hirsch, Walter)
• "Mambo Inn" (Bauzá, Mario - Sampson, Edgar - Woodlen, Bobby)
• "Stompin' at the Savoy" (Goodman, Benny - Webb, Chick - Sampson, Edgar - Razaf, Andy)
• "Hoopdee Whodee (Edgar Sampson)
• "I'll Be Back for More" (E. Sampson-C.Camero-S.Gallop)
• "Happy and Satisfied" (E. Sampson-W. Bishop)
• "Cool and Groovy" (Edgar Sampson)
• "Blue Lou" (Edgar Sampson-Irving Mills)
• "The Blues Made Me Feel This Way" (Edgar Sampson)
• "Light and Sweet" (Edgar Sampson-Bill Hardy)
• "The Sweetness of You" (Edgar Sampson
• "Don't Be That Way" (Edgar Sampson-B. Goodman M. Parish)

(Source: Liner notes from "Swing Softly Sweet Sampson" Coral Record CRL 57049 (1957)