Pee Wee Russell › Similar Artists

Red Nichols - 100% match to Pee Wee Russell

Ernest Loring Nichols, 8 May 1905, Ogden, Utah, USA, d. 28 June 1965, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Taught by his father, cornettist Nichols quickly became a highly accomplished performer. Strongly influenced by early white jazz bands, and in particular by Bix Beiderbecke, he moved to New York in the early 20s and was soon one of the busiest musicians in town. He recorded hundreds Read more

Muggsy Spanier - 94% match to Pee Wee Russell

Francis Joseph Spanier, 9 November 1901, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 12 February 1967, Sausalito, California, USA. Spanier began playing cornet while barely in his teens and within a couple of years was a professional musician. His first job was with Elmer Schoebel. By the end of the 20s he had established a reputation mostly in and around Chicago and had been hired by Ted Le Read more

Eddie Condon - 80% match to Pee Wee Russell

Albert Edwin Condon, 16 November 1905, Goodland, Indiana, USA, d. 4 July 1973, New York City, USA. After working in local bands, guitarist and banjoist Condon moved to Chicago in the early 20s. He quickly associated himself with the very finest young white musicians based there: Bix Beiderbecke, Frank Teschemacher, Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman, Dave Tough and other members Read more

Luis Russell - 75% match to Pee Wee Russell

6 August 1902, Careening Clay, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, d. 11 December 1963. After playing various instruments in his homeland, Russell moved to New Orleans in 1919 and thereafter played piano in local saloons and clubs. In the early 20s he played with Albert Nicholas among others, and also led bands. He played with King Oliver in Chicago in 1925 and in 1927 became leader of Read more

Bunny Berigan - 68% match to Pee Wee Russell

Rowland Bernart Berigan, 2 November 1908, Hilbert, Calumet, Wisconsin, USA, d. 2 June 1942, New York City, New York, USA. One of the outstanding trumpeters of the swing era, Berigan was heavily influenced by Louis Armstrong and at his best played with much of his idol’s attack and zest. In the early 30s he worked with numerous bands, including those of Paul Whiteman, Fr Read more

Casa Loma Orchestra - 67% match to Pee Wee Russell

Canadian tycoon Sir Henry Pellatt had delusions of grandeur similar to those exhibited by William Randolph Hearst. Pellatt’s equivalent to Hearst’s castle at San Simeon was Casa Loma, a house he built near Toronto. In 1929 a group of musicians, originally controlled by contractor Jean Goldkette and working as the Orange Blossoms, mainly in Canada, decided to strike ou Read more

Teddy Wilson - 65% match to Pee Wee Russell

Theodore Shaw Wilson, 24 November 1912, Austin, Texas, USA, d. 31 July 1986, New Britain, Connecticut, USA. Born into a middle-class family, Wilson grew up in Tuskegee where his parents moved to take up teaching posts at the university. He studied violin and piano at Tuskegee and later extended his studies at college in Alabama. In 1929, by now concentrating on piano, he bec Read more

Jack Teagarden - 63% match to Pee Wee Russell

Weldon Leo Teagarden, 29 August 1905, Vernon, Texas, USA, d. 15 January 1964, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. One of the giants of jazz, Teagarden began playing trombone and singing in and around his home-town, encouraged by his mother, Helen Teagarden, a pianist. From his early teens he was playing professionally, touring with various bands, notably that led by Peck Kelley. He Read more

Bud Freeman - 61% match to Pee Wee Russell

Lawrence Freeman, 3 April 1906, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 15 March 1991, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Freeman’s early career found him in company with Jimmy McPartland, Frank Teschemacher and other members of the Austin High School Gang. Having set out playing the C-melody saxophone, Freeman switched to tenor in 1925 and quickly established a reputation on that instrument a Read more

McKinney's Cotton Pickers - 59% match to Pee Wee Russell

Originally formed shortly after the end of World War I by drummer Bill McKinney (17 September 1895, Cynthiana, Kentucky, USA, d. 14 October 1969, Cynthiana, Kentucky, USA), the band adopted their name in 1926. By this time McKinney was manager, having hired Cuba Austin to replace himself on the drums. Although geared towards harmless hokum, novelty songs and other aspects of Read more

Johnny Dodds - 57% match to Pee Wee Russell

12 April 1892, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 8 August 1940, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Dodds did not begin playing clarinet until he was aged 17, but in taking lessons from Lorenzo Tio ensured that his late start did not hamper his career. In the years before World War I he played with Kid Ory and Fate Marable, mostly in his home town, and also worked with a minstrel show whe Read more

Larry Clinton - 57% match to Pee Wee Russell

James P. Johnson - 53% match to Pee Wee Russell

James Price Johnson, 1 February 1894, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, d. 17 November 1955, New York City, New York, USA. Taught piano by his mother, Johnson assimilated a wide range of musical styles. In the years following his family’s relocation to New York, he continued his studies and by his late teens was working in clubs in the Hell’s Kitchen district. Johnso Read more

Erskine Hawkins - 52% match to Pee Wee Russell

Fletcher Henderson - 50% match to Pee Wee Russell

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, 18 December 1897, Cuthbert, Georgia, USA, d. 28 December 1952, New York City, New York, USA. One of the most important figures in the development of big band music, in the early 30s Henderson set the standards by which early big band jazz was measured. He did this through a combination of selecting leading jazz players for his band and, together Read more