Lloyd Hunter
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Hunter was a trumpet
er and big band
leader from North Omaha, Nebraska
. He led band across the Midwest
from 1923 until his death. Hunter had also worked with Jessie Stone in Kansas City, Missouri
.
musician to organize a band in Omaha
, around 1915. Hunter's bands played regionally, filling high school
auditoriums, jitney ("Dime-a-Dance") halls, farm
buildings and amusement park
s throughout Nebraska
, Iowa
, Kansas
and South Dakota
from the 1920s through the 1950s.
s African American community of the Near North Side
of Omaha from the early 1920s through the big band
era.
In 1924, Hunter formed his first 6-piece band. In 1927 it become an 8-piece band with Lloyd Hunter on trumpet, Elmer Crumbley on trombone, Noble Floyd on clarinet and alto sax, Bob Welch
on trombone, tenor sax and bass sax; Burton Brewer on piano; Julius Alexander on banjo; Wallace Wright
on tuba, and; Amos Clayton on drums. As was usual, the band toured the area playing one night stands. By 1929, the band was heard on radio stations KGBZ in York, Nebraska
; KFAB
in Lincoln, Nebraska
; and WOW in Omaha.
He recorded only once, near the beginning of a ten-month national tour with then prominent blues singer Victoria Spivey
. The album, Sensational Mood, included Lloyd Hunter, Reuben Floyd, and George Lott or Ted Frank on trumpets; Elmer Crumbley or Joe Edwards on trombone; Horace "Noble" Floyd and Archie Watts on alto saxophones; Harold Arnold or Dick Lewis on tenor saxophone; George Madison, piano; Herbert Hannah, banjo; Robert Welch or Wallace Wright, bass, and Pete Woods or Jo Jones
on drums. It was recorded April 21, 1931 in New York. Originally issued on Vocalion 1621
.
The 12-piece band undertook a national tour that featured Spivey, who was married to Hunter's second trumpet Rueben Floyd at the time. The tour was less than successful, and by 1932 Hunter was back in Omaha, which would be his home base for the next 10 years. Later, drummer Johnny Otis
, singer Anna Mae Winburn
and saxophonist Preston Love
, were in the band.
The legendary Preston Love
, saxophonist, would get his start with Lloyd Hunter in the early 1920s, as well as Johnny Otis
on drums. While describing North Omaha's music scene, Love once suggested that Hunter relied on that community's talent for his own success. Anna Mae Winburn
was an early collaborator with Hunter.
Nat Towles
' band once out-played The Serenaders to make their own name in Omaha's music history. Hunter's band was also once the target of a "raid" by a major label attempting to construct their own version of Count Basie
's band, which was also formed after one-such raid.
.
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...
er and big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
leader from North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...
. He led band across the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
from 1923 until his death. Hunter had also worked with Jessie Stone in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Biography
Hunter was trained by Josiah Waddle, the first African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
musician to organize a band in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, around 1915. Hunter's bands played regionally, filling 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....
auditoriums, jitney ("Dime-a-Dance") halls, farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
buildings and amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s throughout Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
from the 1920s through the 1950s.
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders were one of several black territory bandTerritory band
Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, 6 or 7 nights a week at venues like VFW halls, Elks Lodges,...
s African American community of the Near North Side
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
of Omaha from the early 1920s through the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era.
In 1924, Hunter formed his first 6-piece band. In 1927 it become an 8-piece band with Lloyd Hunter on trumpet, Elmer Crumbley on trombone, Noble Floyd on clarinet and alto sax, Bob Welch
Bob Welch (musician)
Robert Lawrence "Bob" Welch, Jr. is a former member of Fleetwood Mac, who had a briefly successful solo career in the late 1970s. His singles included "Hot Love, Cold World", "Ebony Eyes", "Precious Love", and "Sentimental Lady"....
on trombone, tenor sax and bass sax; Burton Brewer on piano; Julius Alexander on banjo; Wallace Wright
Wallace Wright
Wallace S. Wright II is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at North Carolina....
on tuba, and; Amos Clayton on drums. As was usual, the band toured the area playing one night stands. By 1929, the band was heard on radio stations KGBZ in York, Nebraska
York, Nebraska
York is a city in York County, Nebraska, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,766. It is the county seat of York County. It is the home of York College and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.-Geography:...
; KFAB
KFAB
KFAB is a 50,000 watt clear channel news and talk radio station licensed to Omaha, Nebraska. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications. It provides a strong signal to most of eastern Nebraska during the day, and at least grade B coverage as far as Kansas City, Topeka, Sioux City and Des...
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
; and WOW in Omaha.
He recorded only once, near the beginning of a ten-month national tour with then prominent blues singer Victoria Spivey
Victoria Spivey
Victoria Spivey was an American blues singer and songwriter. She is best known for her recordings of "Dope Head Blues" and "Organ Grinder Blues", and Spivey variously worked with her sister, Addie "Sweet Pease" Spivey, and with Bob Dylan, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence...
. The album, Sensational Mood, included Lloyd Hunter, Reuben Floyd, and George Lott or Ted Frank on trumpets; Elmer Crumbley or Joe Edwards on trombone; Horace "Noble" Floyd and Archie Watts on alto saxophones; Harold Arnold or Dick Lewis on tenor saxophone; George Madison, piano; Herbert Hannah, banjo; Robert Welch or Wallace Wright, bass, and Pete Woods or Jo Jones
Jo Jones
Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
on drums. It was recorded April 21, 1931 in New York. Originally issued on Vocalion 1621
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
.
The 12-piece band undertook a national tour that featured Spivey, who was married to Hunter's second trumpet Rueben Floyd at the time. The tour was less than successful, and by 1932 Hunter was back in Omaha, which would be his home base for the next 10 years. Later, drummer Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
, singer Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn, née Darden was an African American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid 1930s...
and saxophonist Preston Love
Preston Love
Preston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
, were in the band.
Lloyd Hunter Orchestra
Born May 4, 1910The legendary Preston Love
Preston Love
Preston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
, saxophonist, would get his start with Lloyd Hunter in the early 1920s, as well as Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
on drums. While describing North Omaha's music scene, Love once suggested that Hunter relied on that community's talent for his own success. Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn, née Darden was an African American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid 1930s...
was an early collaborator with Hunter.
Nat Towles
Nat Towles
Nat Towles was an African American musician, jazz and big band leader popular in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, North Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois. He was also music educator in Austin, Texas...
' band once out-played The Serenaders to make their own name in Omaha's music history. Hunter's band was also once the target of a "raid" by a major label attempting to construct their own version of Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's band, which was also formed after one-such raid.
Legacy
Lloyd Hunter was recognized for his contributions to the North Omaha scene in 2005 when he was inducted in the Omaha Black Music Hall of FameOmaha Black Music Hall of Fame
The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or the OBMHoF, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to celebrate, document and honour the legacy of the many top vocalists and musicians whose musical careers began in the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebraska...
.