Browse Items (67 total)
- Collection: Birmingham Jazz: Photo Collection
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Arthur Doyle (2)
Free jazz saxophonist Arthur Doyle, Birmingham, Alabama, 2000.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Photo by Craig Legg, courtesy Craig Legg.
Bo Berry at The Jaybird, 2017
Trumpeter Collins "Bo" Berry at The Jaybird, Birmingham, Alabama, December 16, 2017. Photo by Roger Stephenson.
Rickey Powell at The Jaybird, 2017
Singer Rickey Powell at The Jaybird, Birmingham, Alabama, December 16, 2017. Photo by Roger Stephenson.
Frank Adams
Frank Adams, 1978
Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931
Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931. Band director John T. “Fess” Whatley at far right.
Industrial High School Band, 1920s
Bandleader John T. "Fess" Whatley stands at far left in the center row. Many of Whatley's students would go on to professional careers as jazz musicians.
"Fess" Whatley and Black AFM Delegates, 1937
John T. “Fess” Whatley with other Black delegates to the 42nd annual convention of the American Federations of Musicians, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937. Barred from participating in Birmingham’s white musicians’ union, Whatley co-founded Local 733 for…
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, 1940s
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, c. 1940s.
Industrial High School Printing Department Card
Industrial High School Printing Department, undated business card. Best remembered for his profound musical influence, “Fess” Whatley officially worked at Industrial / Parker High School not as bandmaster but as printing instructor. For years, his…
John T. "Fess" Whatley, 1968
John T. “Fess” Whatley (1885 – 1972), Birmingham’s legendary “Maker of Musicians,” 1968. From 1917 into the 1950s, Whatley’s music program at Industrial / Parker High School produced numerous professional musicians, many of whom performed in the…
Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Hawkins (1914 – 1993), publicity photo, c. 1939. The Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, begun at Alabama State Teachers’ College as the ‘Bama State Collegians, developed into one of Black America’s leading dance bands. Nearly all the band’s members…
Sammy Lowe
Sammy Lowe (1918-1993), trumpeter and arranger, Erskine Hawkins Orchestra.
Paul Bascomb Photo Postcard
Paul Bascomb postcard, stamped 1965. Caption on back of card: “PAUL BASCOMB … Born in Birmingham, Ala. Attended Alabama State College and originated the ‘Bama State Collegians’ Band and the famous Erskine Hawkins Band. His brother, Dud Bascomb, is a…
Wilbur "Dud" Bascomb
Wilbur “Dud” Bascomb (1916-1972), trumpeter with the ‘Bama State Collegians / Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. Bascomb's solo on the 1939 Erskine Hawkins hit "Tuxedo Junction" was closely studied and faithfully reproduced by a generation of up-and-coming…
Jimmy Mitchell, Saxophonist and Singer
Jimmy Mitchell (aka Jimmy Mitchelle), saxophonist and vocalist with with the ‘Bama State Collegians / Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. 1940s Publicity photo.
J. B. Sims
J. B. “Jay” Sims. As a student at Alabama State, Sims served as the original singer and emcee of the ‘Bama State Collegians, performing in the frenetic “wildman” style of Cab Calloway; after graduation, he returned to his hometown of Birmingham,…
Richard "Dickie" Harris
Trombonist Richard “Dickie” Harris, undated photo. Harris’s credits include work with the Erskine Hawkins and Lucky Millinder orchestras, Sarah Vaughn, Illinois Jaquet, James Brown, and Sam Cooke.
Leatha Lowe
Leatha Lowe at piano. Along with her brothers J. L. and Sammy, Leatha Lowe belonged to one of Black Birmingham’s most prominent musical families. A classically trained pianist, Leatha taught private piano lessons in her home to numerous Birmingham…
Alton "Snooky" Davenport
Drummer Alton “Snooky” Davenport. Davenport studied music at Tuskegee Institute, performed in Fess Whatley’s Birmingham orchestra, and during the Second World War directed the 334th ASF Band at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served as bandmaster at…
Frank Adams and Female Impersonator
Frank Adams, saxophone, backs a female impersonator at Birmingham’s 2728 Club, 1950s.