Campbell Aurelius "Skeets" Tolbert (February 14, 1909, Calhoun Falls, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 - November 30, 2000, Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

) was an American 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...

 clarinetist, alto saxophonist, and bandleader.

Tolbert grew up in Lincolntown, North Carolina, and studied at Johnson C. Smith University

Johnson C. Smith University

Johnson C. Smith University is a private, co-ed, four-year liberal arts institution of higher learning located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. JCSU is also a historically black college...

. He played in Dave Taylor's Dixie Serenaders from 1929, recording with them in 1931. In 1934 he moved to 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...

, where he played with Charlie Alexander

Charlie Alexander

Charlie Alexander was an American jazz pianist from Cincinnati, Ohio.Alexander played in theater orchestras accompanying silent films in the early 1920s. Later that decade he moved to Chicago and found work touring with the band of J. Rosamund Johnson...

 before joining the house band at the Savoy Ballroom

Savoy Ballroom

The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....

. In 1936 he played with Fats Waller

Fats Waller

Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...

, then joined a band fronted by Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 athlete Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...

 in 1937. Shortly afterwards he joined Snub Mosley

Snub Mosley

Lawrence Leo "Snub" Mosley was an American jazz trombonist.-Biography:...

's band and took control of it after Mosley's departure. Freddie Green

Freddie Green

Frederick William "Freddie" Green was an American swing jazz guitarist. He was especially noted for his sophisticated rhythm guitar in big band settings, particularly for the Count Basie orchestra, where he was part of the "All-American Rhythm Section" with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and...

, Kenny Clarke

Kenny Clarke

Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...

, Red Richards

Red Richards

Charles Coleridge "Red" Richards was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:...

, Otis Hicks, Carl Smith

Carl Smith (country musician)

Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...

 and Lem Johnson

Lem Johnson

Lemuel Charles "Lem" Johnson was an American jazz saxophonist who played both tenor and soprano saxophones.Johnson was born in Oklahoma City. He played clarinet in local ensembles in the 1920s and picked up saxophone in 1928, playing with Walter Page's Blue Devils...

 all played in the band, which recorded in 1939 under the name Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing. Tolbert recorded with this ensemble for three years for Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

. In 1944 the ensemble recorded four sound films of the tunes "No No Baby", "'Tis You Babe", "Blitzkrieg Bombardier", and "Corn Pone".

Tolbert completed studies at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1946 and broke up the group to take a job in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 as a high school music teacher. He became a faculty member at Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....

 in Houston in 1948. Later in his life he worked for the American Federation of Musicians

American Federation of Musicians

The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...

, Local 65-699 and owned Pied Piper Music store.