Walter Dyett
Encyclopedia
Walter Henri Dyett was an American violinist and music educator. As musical director at DuSable High School
in Chicago
, he trained many students who went on to become well-known musicians.
Dyett moved to Chicago
, where he worked in vaudeville
orchestra
s and directed an Army band, after which he was known as Captain Dyett. In 1931 he became assistant musical director and later musical director at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, and in 1935 moved to DuSable High School when it opened (see: http://schools.cuip.net/dyett/index.php?p=walter). He earned his B.M. degree at VanderCook College of Music
(Chicago) in 1938, and his M.M. degree at the Chicago Musical College in 1942.
Dyett was known for his discerning ear and strict discipline, for encouraging his students to study and play music of all types instead of concentrating on just one, for his ability to motivate his students to succeed, for being a mentor to graduated students, for insisting that all students take private instruction (which he often arranged at low cost), for the thoroughness of his program, and above all for a vast store of musical knowledge which he could draw on to provide new advice to students whenever he met them.
Homer Brown Jr.
Redd Foxx
was also a student in this program.
Dyett is commemorated by Walter H. Dyett High School, a Chicago public school.
DuSable High School
DuSable High School was a public high school in Chicago opened in the Bronzeville neighborhood in 1934. It was named after Chicago's first permanent non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. DuSable was built to accommodate the growing Phillips High School in the 1930s. The campus was...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, he trained many students who went on to become well-known musicians.
Career
After studying pre-medical courses at University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Dyett moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he worked in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s and directed an Army band, after which he was known as Captain Dyett. In 1931 he became assistant musical director and later musical director at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, and in 1935 moved to DuSable High School when it opened (see: http://schools.cuip.net/dyett/index.php?p=walter). He earned his B.M. degree at VanderCook College of Music
Vandercook College of Music
VanderCook College of Music is a private, liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, and is the only college in the country solely specializing in the training of music educators. Students may pursue a Bachelor of Music in Education , Master of Music in Education , and Master of Music in Education...
(Chicago) in 1938, and his M.M. degree at the Chicago Musical College in 1942.
DuSable High School
His program at DuSable quickly acquired an excellent reputation, in particular through an annual revue "Hi Jinks," which he staged to raise money for the program, and attracted the best high school musicians in Chicago.Dyett was known for his discerning ear and strict discipline, for encouraging his students to study and play music of all types instead of concentrating on just one, for his ability to motivate his students to succeed, for being a mentor to graduated students, for insisting that all students take private instruction (which he often arranged at low cost), for the thoroughness of his program, and above all for a vast store of musical knowledge which he could draw on to provide new advice to students whenever he met them.
Students
Among the musicians who studied in Dyett's program are:- Gene AmmonsGene AmmonsEugene "Jug" Ammons also known as "The Boss," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons.-Biography:...
- Ronnie BoykinsRonnie BoykinsRonnie Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.-Biography:He joined the Arkestra during the Chicago...
- Oscar BrashearOscar BrashearOscar Brashear is an American jazz trumpeter and session musician.After studying at DuSable High School he worked briefly with Woody Herman before going on to join Count Basie '68-9, returning to freelance in Chicago with Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon and James Moody...
- Wilbur Campbell
- Sonny CohnSonny CohnGeorge T. "Sonny" Cohn was an American jazz trumpeter.After working for fifteen years with Red Saunders , he went on to spend another 24 years in Count Basie's trumpet section .-Biography:...
- Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
- Jerome CooperJerome CooperJerome Cooper is an American free jazz musician. Known as a multi-dimensional drummer, Cooper plays balafon, chirimia and electronic tonal activator in addition to trap drums....
- Richard Davis
- Bo DiddleyBo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
- Dorothy DoneganDorothy DoneganDorothy Donegan was an American classically trained jazz pianist primarily known for performing in the stride piano and boogie-woogie style. She also played bop, swing jazz, and classical music.-Life and career:...
- Von FreemanVon FreemanEarle Lavon Freeman Sr. is an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He is the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.-Biography:...
- John GilmoreJohn Gilmore (musician)John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
- Johnny GriffinJohnny GriffinJohn Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
- Eddie HarrisEddie HarrisEddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ...
- Johnny HartmanJohnny HartmanJohn Maurice Hartman was an American bass jazz singer who specialized in ballads and earned critical acclaim, though he was never widely known. He recorded a well-known collaboration with the saxophonist John Coltrane in 1963 called John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, and was briefly a member of...
- Milt HintonMilt HintonMilton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
(at Phillips) - Fred HopkinsFred HopkinsFred Hopkins was a Chicago double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was a member of the avant garde jazz trio Air and David Murray's Low Class Conspiracy; he frequently worked with the cellist Diedre Murray...
- Joseph JarmanJoseph JarmanJoseph Jarman , is a jazz musician, composer and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He is perhaps best known as one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Early life:Jarman grew up in Chicago, Illinois...
- Leroy Jenkins
- Clifford JordanClifford JordanClifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
- Claude McLinClaude McLinClaude McLin was a jazz tenor saxophonist.A graduate of DuSable High School, he was in a "baby band" with Johnny Griffin and Wilbur Campbell in the spring of 1944....
- Pat Patrick
- Walter Perkins
- Julian PriesterJulian PriesterJulian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
- Wilbur WareWilbur WareWilbur Ware was an American jazz double-bassist known for his hard bop percussive style.Born in Chicago, Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. In the 1950s, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco...
- Dinah WashingtonDinah WashingtonDinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
Homer Brown Jr.
Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
was also a student in this program.
Dyett is commemorated by Walter H. Dyett High School, a Chicago public school.