American jazz trumpeter (1915–1999)
Harry Edison
Edison in Paris, France, 1980
Born (1915-10-10 ) October 10, 1915Columbus, Ohio , U.S.Died July 27, 1999(1999-07-27) (aged 83) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Genres Jazz , swing Occupation(s) Musician Instrument(s) Trumpet Labels Pacific Jazz , Verve , Roulette , Riverside , Vee-Jay , Liberty , Sue , Black & Blue , Pablo , Storyville , Candid
Musical artist
Harry "Sweets " Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra .[1] His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician , whose muted trumpet can be heard backing singers, most notably Frank Sinatra .
Biography Edison was born in Columbus, Ohio , United States.[1] He spent his early childhood in Louisville , Kentucky, being introduced to music by an uncle. After moving back to Columbus at the age of twelve, the young Edison began playing the trumpet with local bands.[2]
In 1933, he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in Cleveland .[1] Afterwards, he played with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and Lucky Millinder .[1] In 1937, he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra.[1] His colleagues included Buck Clayton , Lester Young (who named him "Sweets"), Buddy Tate , Freddie Green , Jo Jones , and other original members of that famous band. Speaking in 1956 with Down Beat 's Don Freeman, Edison explained the origin of his nickname:
Well, this happened one day in March back in '37. All of us in the Basie band were sitting around the lobby of the Woodside Hotel in New York. It was snowing outside, and we were waiting for the bus to go on a tour of one-nighters. We were all like brothers in that band. I was kind of the baby of the band and took a lot of the ribbing. So this time Lester Young was joshing me about my 'sweet' style and he said: "We're going to call you 'Sweetie Pie.'" They did, too, for a few months. Then they shortened it to "Sweets." The nickname has kind of lasted a long time .[3]
"Sweets" Edison came to prominence as a soloist with the Basie Band and as an occasional composer/arranger for the band.[1] He also appeared in the 1944 film Jammin' the Blues .
Edison spent thirteen years with Basie until the band was temporarily disbanded in 1950. Edison thereafter pursued a varied career as leader of his own groups, traveling with Jazz at the Philharmonic and freelancing with other orchestras.[1] In the early 1950s, he settled on the West Coast and became a highly sought-after studio musician, making important contributions to recordings by such artists as Billie Holiday , Frank Sinatra , Nat King Cole , Billy Daniels , Margaret Whiting , Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald .[4] He worked closely with the arranger Nelson Riddle , who gave Edison a microphone that was separate from the rest of the trumpet section.[5] He made use of a Harmon mute to improvise his solos and obbligatos. In 1956, he recorded the first of three albums with Ben Webster .
According to the Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Seventies , Edison in the 1960s and 1970s continued to work in many orchestras on television shows, including Hollywood Palace and The Leslie Uggams Show , specials with Frank Sinatra; prominently featured on the sound track and in the sound track album of the film, Lady Sings the Blues . From 1973, Edison acted as Musical Director for Redd Foxx on theatre dates, at concerts, and in Las Vegas . He appeared frequently in Europe and Japan until shortly before his death. He was the Los Angeles Jazz Society's first Tribute Honoree.[6]
Edison died of prostate cancer at his home in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 83.[7]
Discography As leader/co-leader Buddy and Sweets (Norgran , 1955) with Buddy Rich Pres and Sweets (Norgran, 1955) with Lester Young Sweets (Clef , 1956)Gee, Baby Ain't I Good to You (Verve , 1957) with Ben Webster Jazz Giants '58 (Verve, 1958) with Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan Going for Myself (Verve, 1958) with Lester Young The Swinger (Verve, 1958)Mr. Swing (Verve, 1958 [1960])Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton (Verve, 1958) with Buck Clayton Sweetenings (Roulette , 1958)Patented by Edison (Roulette, 1960)Together (Roulette, 1961) with Joe Williams Jawbreakers (Riverside , 1962) with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Wanted to Do One Together (Columbia , 1962) with Ben Webster "Sweets" for the Sweet (Sue , 1964)Sweets for the Sweet Taste of Love (Vee-Jay , 1964)When Lights are Low (Liberty , 1966)The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner (Pablo , 1974) with Big Joe Turner , Dizzy Gillespie , Roy Eldridge and Clark Terry Oscar Peterson and Harry Edison (Pablo, 1974) with Oscar Peterson Oscar Peterson and the Trumpet Kings – Jousts (Pablo, 1974) with Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge and Clark TerryEdison's Lights (Pablo, 1976)Simply Sweets (Pablo, 1978) with Eddie "Lockjaw" DavisJust Friends (Pablo, 1978 [1980]) with John Haley Sims Meeting in Stockholm (Beaver Records, 1985) with Claes CronaOscar Peterson + Harry Edison + Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (Pablo, 1986) with Oscar Peterson and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson For My Pals (Pablo, 1988)As sideman With Count Basie With Harry Belafonte With Louie Bellson With Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims With Ray Bryant With Hoagy Carmichael With Benny Carter
With James Carter With Dolo Coker With Nat King Cole With Clifford Coulter With Bing Crosby and Buddy Bregman With Sammy Davis Jr With Billy Eckstine With Duke Ellington with Johnny Hodges With Herb Ellis With Ella Fitzgerald With Gil Fuller With Dizzy Gillespie With Jimmy Giuffre With Al Grey
With Woody Herman With Billie Holiday With Red Holloway Live at the Floating Jazz Festival (Chiaroscuro, 1997)With Milt Jackson With Illinois Jacquet With Budd Johnson With Jo Jones
With Quincy Jones With Barney Kessel With Carole King With B.B. King With Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich With Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross With Modern Jazz Quartet With The Pointer Sisters With Paul Quinichette
With Buddy Rich With Shorty Rogers With Frank Sinatra Swing Easy! (Capitol, 1954)In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol, 1955)Songs for Swingin' Lovers (Capitol, 1956)Close to You (Capitol, 1957)A Swingin' Affair (Capitol, 1957)Only the Lonely (Capitol, 1958)Nice 'n' Easy (Capitol, 1960)Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (Capitol, 1961)Sinatra & Company (Reprise, 1971)Some Nice Things I've Missed (Reprise, 1974)With Frank Sinatra and Count Basie With Mel Tormé With Sarah Vaughan With Lester Young With Nancy Wilson With Joe Williams With Teddy Wilson With various artists References External links
Members 1951–1960 Dance Session (1952–54, Clef)Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (with Joe Williams ) (1955, Clef)April in Paris (1955–56, Verve)The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (with Joe Williams ) (1956, Verve)Basie in London (live) (1956, Verve)One O'Clock Jump (with Joe Williams and Ella Fitzgerald ) (1957, Verve)Count Basie at Newport (live) (1957, Verve)E = MC² (1958, Roulette)Basie Plays Hefti (1958, Roulette)No Count Sarah (with Sarah Vaughan ) (1958, EmArcy)Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959, Roulette)Welcome to the Club (Uncredited) (Nat King Cole ) (1959, Capitol)In Person! (with Tony Bennett ) (1959, Columbia)Chairman of the Board (1959, Roulette)Strike Up the Band (with Tony Bennett ) (1959, Roulette)Basie/Eckstine Incorporated (with Billy Eckstine ) (1959, Roulette)Everyday I Have the Blues (with Joe Williams ) (1959, Roulette)The Count Basie Story (1960, Roulette)I Gotta Right to Swing (Uncredited) (Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1960, Decca)1961–1970 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (with Duke Ellington ) (1961, Columbia)The Legend (1961, Roulette)Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan (with Sarah Vaughan ) (1961, Roulette)Basie at Birdland (live) (1961, Roulette)Easin' It (1962, Roulette)Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (with Frank Sinatra ) (1962, Reprise)On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (1963, Verve)Li'l Ol' Groovemaker...Basie! (1963, Verve)This Time by Basie! (1963, Verve)Ella and Basie! (with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1963, Verve)Basie Land (1964, Verve)It Might as Well Be Swing (with Frank Sinatra ) (1964, Reprise)Basie Picks the Winners (1965, Verve)Our Shining Hour (with Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1965, Verve)Arthur Prysock and Count Basie (with Arthur Prysock ) (1965, Verve)Basie's Beatle Bag (1965, Verve)Broadway Basie's...Way (1966, Command)Basie Meets Bond (1966, United Artists)Hollywood...Basie's Way (1966, Command)Sinatra at the Sands (live, with Frank Sinatra ) (1966, Reprise)Basie's Beat (1967, Verve)Half a Sixpence (1967, Dot)The Board of Directors (with The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)The Board of Directors Annual Report (with The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)Basie Straight Ahead (1969, Dot)Standing Ovation (1969, Dot)Afrique (1970, RCA Victor)Basie on the Beatles (1970, Happy Tiger )1971–1980 Have A Nice Day (1971, Daybreak)Bing 'n' Basie (with Bing Crosby ) (1972, Daybreak)Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (live) (1972, Pablo)The Bosses (with Big Joe Turner ) (1973, Pablo)Basie Big Band (1975, Pablo)Fun Time (1975, Pablo)I Told You So (1976, Pablo)Prime Time (1977, Pablo)Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)Live in Japan '78 (live) (1978, Pablo)On the Road (1979, Pablo)Digital III at Montreux (live) (1979, Pablo)A Classy Pair (with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)A Perfect Match (live, with Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)Kansas City Shout (1980, Pablo)1981–1990 Warm Breeze (1981, Pablo)Send in the Clowns (Sarah Vaughan ) (1981, Pablo)Farmer's Market Barbecue (1982, Pablo)88 Basie Street (1983, Pablo)Me and You (1983, Pablo)Fancy Pants (final album with Count Basie ) (1983, Pablo)Long Live the Chief (1987, Denon)Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra (live, with Diane Schuur ) (1987, GRP)The Legend, the Legacy (1990, Denon)1991–2000 The George Benson Big Boss Band featuring The Count Basie Orchestra (1991, Warner Bros.)The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco (1992, Telarc)Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra (1993, Telarc)Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: The Count Basie Orchestra (1997, Blue Jackel)At Long Last (with Rosemary Clooney ) (1998, Concord)Count Plays Duke (1998, MAMA)Swing Shift (1999, MAMA)2001–present Small-group sessions Basie Jam (1973, Pablo)For the First Time (1974, Pablo)Basie & Zoot (with Zoot Sims ) (1975, Pablo)For the Second Time (1975, Pablo)Basie Jam 2 (1976, Pablo)Basie Jam 3 (1976, Pablo)Kansas City 5 (1977, Pablo)The Gifted Ones (with Dizzy Gillespie ) (1977, Pablo)Basie Jam: Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)Satch and Josh...Again (with Oscar Peterson ) (1977, Pablo)Night Rider (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)Yessir, That's My Baby (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)Kansas City 7 (1980, Pablo)Kansas City 6 (1981, Pablo)Mostly Blues...and Some Others (1983, Pablo)
International National Artists Other