Editing Roy Eldridge (section)

=== Career ===

==== Early career and traveling bands ====
Eldridge led and played in a number of bands during his early years, moving extensively throughout the American [[Midwest]].<ref>[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/08689 Eldridge, (David) Roy in Oxford Music Online] Gunther Schuller, ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved March 26, 2012.</ref> He absorbed the influence of saxophonists [[Benny Carter]] and [[Coleman Hawkins]], setting himself the task of learning Hawkins's 1926 solo on "The Stampede" (by [[Fletcher Henderson]]'s Orchestra) in developing an equivalent trumpet style.<ref>Lyttelton, p. 410.</ref>

Eldridge left home after being expelled from high school in ninth grade, joining a traveling show at the age of sixteen; the show soon folded, however, and he was left in [[Youngstown, Ohio]].<ref>Chilton, pp. 12–13.</ref> He was then picked up by the "Greater Sheesley Carnival," but returned to Pittsburgh after witnessing acts of racism in [[Cumberland, Maryland]] that significantly disturbed him.<ref>Chilton, pp. 14–16.</ref> Eldridge soon found work leading a small band in the traveling "Rock Dinah" show,<ref>Chilton, p. 16.</ref> his performance therein leading swing-era bandleader [[Count Basie]] to recall young Roy Eldridge as "the greatest trumpet I'd ever heard in my life."<ref>Basie, quoted in Chilton, p. 18.</ref> Eldridge continued playing with similar traveling groups until returning home to Pittsburgh at the age of 17.<ref>Chilton, p. 22.</ref>

At the age of 20, Eldridge led a band in Pittsburgh, billed as "Roy Elliott and his Palais Royal Orchestra",<ref name="Balliett, p. 151">Balliett, p. 151.</ref> the agent intentionally changing Eldridge's name because "he thought it more classy."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Chilton, p. 22.</ref> Roy left this position to try out for the orchestra of [[Horace Henderson]], younger brother of famed New York City bandleader [[Fletcher Henderson]], and joined the ensemble, generally referred to as The Fletcher Henderson Stompers, Under the Direction of Horace Henderson.<ref>Chilton, p. 25.</ref> Eldridge then played with a number of other territory bands, staying for a short while in Detroit before joining [[Speed Webb]]'s band which, having garnered a degree of movie publicity, began a tour of the Midwest.<ref>Chilton, pp. 32–34, 37.</ref> Many of the members of Webb's band, annoyed by the leader's lack of dedication, left to form a practically identical group with Eldridge as bandleader.<ref>Chilton, pp. 39–40.</ref> The ensemble was short-lived, and Eldridge soon moved to [[Milwaukee]], where he took part in a celebrated [[cutting contest]] with trumpet player [[Jabbo Smith|Cladys "Jabbo" Smith]], with whom he later became good friends.<ref>Chilton, pp. 40–42.</ref>

==== New York and Chicago ====
Eldridge moved to New York in November 1930, playing in various bands in the early 1930s, including a number of [[Harlem]] dance bands with [[Cecil Scott]], [[Elmer Snowden]], [[Charlie Johnson (bandleader)|Charlie Johnson]], and [[Teddy Hill]].<ref name=Robinson691>Robinson, p. 691.</ref> It was during this time that Eldridge received his nickname, 'Little Jazz', from Ellington saxophonist [[Otto Hardwick]], who was amused by the incongruity between Eldridge's raucous playing and his short stature.<ref name=Wilson>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/28/obituaries/roy-eldridge-78-jazz-trumpeter-known-for-intense-style-is-dead.html |title=Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead |first=John S. |last=Wilson |author-link=John S. Wilson (music critic) |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 28, 1989}}</ref> At this time, Eldridge was also making records and radio broadcasts under his own name. He laid down his first recorded solos with Teddy Hill in 1935, which gained almost immediate popularity.<ref name=Robinson691 /> For a brief time, he also led his own band at the reputed Famous Door nightclub.<ref name=Robinson691 /> Eldridge recorded a number of small group sides with singer [[Billie Holiday]] in July 1935, including "[[What a Little Moonlight Can Do]]" and "[[Miss Brown to You]]", employing a [[Dixieland]]-influenced improvisation style.<ref>Oliphant, pp. 343–44.</ref> In October 1935, Eldridge joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, playing lead trumpet and occasionally singing.<ref name=Robinson691 /> Until he left the group in early September 1936, Eldridge was Henderson's featured soloist, his talent highlighted by such numbers as "Christopher Columbus" and "Blue Lou."<ref>Oliphant, pp. 51–52.</ref> His rhythmic power to swing a band was a dynamic trademark of the jazz of the time. It has been said that "from the mid-Thirties onwards, he had superseded [[Louis Armstrong]] as the exemplar of modern 'hot' trumpet playing".<ref>Lyttelton, p. 414.</ref>

In the fall of 1936, Eldridge moved to Chicago to form an octet with older brother Joe Eldridge playing saxophone and [[arranging]]. The ensemble boasted nightly broadcasts and made recordings that featured his extended solos, including "[[After You've Gone (song)|After You've Gone]]" and "Wabash Stomp."<ref name=Robinson691 /> Eldridge, fed up with the racism he had encountered in the music industry, quit playing in 1938 to study radio engineering.<ref name="Balliett, p. 151"/> He was back to playing in 1939, when he formed a ten-piece band that gained a residency at New York's Arcadia Ballroom.<ref name=Robinson691 />

==== With Gene Krupa's Orchestra ====
In April 1941, after receiving many offers from white swing bands, Eldridge joined [[Gene Krupa]]'s Orchestra, and was successfully featured with rookie singer [[Anita O'Day]].<ref name=Robinson692>Robinson, p. 692.</ref> In accepting this position, Eldridge became one of the first black musicians to become a permanent member of a white big band.<ref name="Oliphant, p. 326">Oliphant, p. 326.</ref> Eldridge was critical in changing the course of Krupa's big band from pop-oriented "[[schmaltz]]" to jazz.<ref>Olipihant, pp. 304–305.</ref> The group's cover of [[Jimmy Dorsey]]'s "[[Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)|Green Eyes]]," previously an entirely orchestral work, was transformed into jazz via Eldridge's playing; critic Dave Oliphant notes that Eldridge "lift[ed]" the tune "to a higher level of intensity."<ref>Oliphant, p. 307.</ref> Eldridge and O'Day were featured in a number of recordings, including the novelty hit "Let Me Off Uptown" and "Knock Me a Kiss".<ref name=Wilson />

One of Eldridge's best known recorded solos is on a rendition of [[Hoagy Carmichael]]'s tune, [[Rockin' Chair (1929 song)|"Rockin' Chair"]], arranged by [[Benny Carter]] as something like a concerto for Eldridge.<ref name=Oliphant308>Oliphant, p. 308.</ref> Jazz historian [[Gunther Schuller]] referred to Eldridge's solo on "Rockin' Chair" as "a strong and at times tremendously moving performance", although he disapproved of the "opening and closing [[cadenza]]s, the latter unforgivably aping the corniest of operatic cadenza traditions."<ref>Schuller, quoted in Oliphant, p. 308.</ref> Critic and author Dave Oliphant describes Eldridge's unique tone on "Rockin' Chair" as "a raspy, buzzy tone, which enormously heightens his playing's intensity, emotionally and dynamically" and writes that it "was also meant to hurt a little, to be disturbing, to express unfathomable stress."<ref name=Oliphant308 />

After complaints from Eldridge that O'Day was upstaging him, the band broke up when Krupa was jailed for marijuana possession in July 1943.<ref>O'Day, pp. 102–123.</ref>

==== Touring, freelancing, and small group work ====
After leaving Krupa's band, Eldridge freelanced in New York during 1943 before joining [[Artie Shaw]]'s band in 1944. Owing to racial incidents that he faced while playing in Shaw's band, he left in October 1945 to form a big band,<ref name=Robinson692 /> but this eventually proved financially unsuccessful, and Eldridge returned to small group work.<ref name=Robinson692 />

In the postwar years, he became part of the group which toured under the [[Jazz at the Philharmonic]] banner.<ref name=Robinson692 /> and became one of the stalwarts of the tours. The JATP's organiser [[Norman Granz]] said that Roy Eldridge typified the spirit of jazz. "Every time he's on he does the best he can, no matter what the conditions are. And Roy is so intense about everything, so that it's far more important to him to dare, to try to achieve a particular peak, even if he falls on his ass in the attempt, than it is to play safe. That's what jazz is all about."<ref>Quoted in Steve Voce, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100423125846/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/norman-granz-729533.html Obituary Norman Granz], ''The Independent'', November 26, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2008.</ref>

Eldridge moved to [[Paris]], France, in 1950 while on tour with [[Benny Goodman]], before returning to New York in 1951 to lead a band at the [[Birdland (jazz club)|Birdland]] jazz club. He additionally performed from 1952 until the early 1960s in small groups with [[Coleman Hawkins]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and [[Earl Hines]] among others, and also began to record for Granz at this time.<ref name=Robinson692 /> By 1956, his recordings were showcased on national radio networks by [[Ben Selvin]] as part of the [[RCA Thesaurus]] transcriptions library.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iwoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Ben+Selvin+RCA+Thesaurus&pg=PA39 The Billboard Music-Radio - "Thesaurus in Pact for Granz Transcriptions" 18 August 1956 p. 39 Ben Selvin RCA Thesaurus on Google Books.com]</ref> Eldridge also toured with Ella Fitzgerald from late 1963 until March 1965 and with Count Basie from July until September 1966 before returning to freelance playing and touring at festivals.<ref name=Robinson692 />

In 1960, Eldridge participated, alongside [[Abbey Lincoln]], [[Charles Mingus]], [[Eric Dolphy]], [[Kenny Dorham]] and others, in recordings by the [[Jazz Artists Guild]], a short-lived grouping formed by Mingus and [[Max Roach]] as a reaction to the perceived commercialism of the Newport Festival.<ref>Referred to in the liner notes of the LP by [[Nat Hentoff]], [http://www.elusivedisc.com/JAZZ-ARTISTS-GUILD-NEWPORT-REBELS-180g-LP/productinfo/PPRLP9022/ quoted here:]</ref> These resulted in the ''Newport Jazz Rebels'' LP.

==== Racial barriers ====
As the featured soloist in Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa's bands, Eldridge was something of an exception, as black musicians in the 1930s were not allowed to appear in public with white bands.<ref name="Oliphant, p. 326"/> Artie Shaw commented on the difficulty Roy had in his band, noting that "Droves of people would ask him for his autograph at the end of the night, but later, on the bus, he wouldn't be able to get off and buy a hamburger with the guys in the band."<ref name="Balliett, p. 151"/> Krupa, on at least one occasion, spent several hours in jail and paid fines for starting a fistfight with a restaurant manager who refused to let Eldridge eat with the rest of the band.<ref>"Gene Krupa Fined", ''Cleveland Gazette'', January 3, 1942.</ref>