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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTHOMAS, Joe (trumpet)(b Joseph Eli Thomas, 24 July 1909, Webster Groves, MO; d 6 August 1984, NYC) Trumpeter. He began at age 19 with bandleader Cecil Scott in 1928 and played all over the Midwest, then settled in New York in 1934, where his successful career included work with Fletcher Henderson (1934-37), Benny Carter (1939-40), Teddy Wilson's Sextet (1942-3) and many others. He was a favorite of Harry Lim, boss at the Keynote label, who recorded Joe as leader of an octet in 1946. He also recorded with Buck Clayton on Columbia (1954 and '55), Vic Dickenson on Atlantic (1958) Coleman Hawkins and Dickenson on Swingville (1960) and with Claude Hopkins and Buddy Tate on Swingville (1961). He was seen in Art Kane's famous 1958 photograph A Great Day In Harlem. |