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James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford (June 6, 1902–July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader of the swing era.
Lunceford was born in Fulton, Mississippi, but attended school in Denver and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Fisk University. In 1927, while teaching high school in Memphis, Tennessee, he organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when it began touring. The orchestra made its first recording in 1930. After a period of touring, the band accepted a booking at the prestigious Harlem nightclub, The Cotton Club in 1933. The Cotton Club had already featured Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, who won their first widespread fame from their inventive shows for the Cotton Club's all-white patrons. Lunceford's orchestra, with their tight musicianship and often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics made an ideal band for the club, and Lunceford's reputation began to steadily grow.
Comedy and vaudeville played a distinct part in Lunceford's presentation. Songs such as "Rhythm Is Our Business", "I'm Nuts about Screwy Music", "I Want the Waiter (With the Water)", and "Four or Five Times" displayed a playful sense of swing, often through clever arrangements by Sy Oliver and bizarre lyrics. Lunceford's stage shows often included costumes, skits, and obvious jabs at mainstream white jazz bands, such as Paul Whiteman's and Guy Lombardo's.
Despite the band's comic veneer, Lunceford always maintained professionalism in the music befitting a former teacher; this professionalism paid off and during the apex of swing in the 1930s, the Orchestra was considered the equal of Duke Ellington's, Earl Hines' or Count Basie's. This precision can be heard in such pieces as "Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam)", "Lunceford Special", "For Dancers Only", "Uptown Blues", and "Stratosphere". Arranger and trumpeter Sy Oliver gave the orchestra its trademark two-beat rhythm. The band's noted saxophone section was lead by alto sax player Willie Smith. Lunceford often used a conducting baton to lead his band.
The Orchestra began recording for the Decca label and later signed with the Columbia subsidiary Vocalion in 1938. They toured Europe extensively in 1937, but had to cancel a second tour in 1939 because of the outbreak of World War II. Columbia dropped Lunceford in 1940 because of flagging sales (Oliver departed the group before the scheduled European tour to take a position as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey). Lunceford returned to the Decca label.
The orchestra appeared in the 1941 movie Blues in the Night.
In 1947, while playing in Seaside, Oregon, Lunceford collapsed and died from cardiac arrest during an autograph session. Allegations and rumors circulated that Jimmie had been poisoned by a fish-restaurant owner who was unhappy at having to serve a "Negro" in his establishment.
Band members, notably Eddie Wilcox and Joe Thomas kept the band going for a time but finally had to break up the J.L.O. in 1949.
For 50 years the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra was a mere memory, until 1999, when Dutch-born sax-man and "Aces of Syncopation" band-leader, Robert Veen, and a passionate team of dedicated musicians and set out to acquire permission to use the original band charts and arrangements of the Jimmie Lunceford canon. They reconstituted the band and secured the rights to be the ONLY band/organization entitled to use the Lunceford name and continue Jimmie's legacy. It was the beginning of a long hard struggle and it took nearly 6 years before the band was finally, officially, up and running: "The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra".
The first official debut of the reformed/reborn J.L.L.O. took place in July 2005 at the North Sea Jazz Festival. A series of smaller concerts followed in which the band polished its repertoire and concentrated on "showmanship" as well as reconstructing and rehearsing the original Lunceford Orchestra material.
In February 2007 the J.L.L.O. performed a mini-version of their brand new show, "A Night At The Cotton Club", at Amsterdam's fabled Paradiso Club. The full 3-hour show, including EMCee, dancers and vocalists, was set for September 22nd, 2007 at the 10th Annual Jazz Op Tilt Festival in Giessenburg, Netherlands.
In the meantime the JLLO added to and consolidated its membership, rehearsed like crazy, and recorded 16-tracks for the "Rhythm Is Our Business" CD that will accompany the 2007-2008 European tour.
The current [2007] line-up features band members: Robert Veen, Leo van Oostrom, David Lukacs, Hans Bosch, Ronald Jansen Heijtmajer, Marcel Reys, Ellister van der Molen, Joep Habraken, Andy Bruce, Arend Huisman, Lex van Wel, Mike Goetz, Cok van Vuuren, Joep Lumeij, Brooks Tegler, along with The Peeters Sisters, The Lindy Hop Dancers, & American-born "Crooner" Mr. Shai [pronounced 'Shy'] Shahar.
The Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra has always been a bit difficult to evaluate. Contemporary observers rated Lunceford's big band at the top with Duke Ellington and Count Basie but, when judging the music solely on their records (and not taking into account their visual show, appearance and showmanship), Lunceford's ensemble has to be placed on the second tier. His orchestra lacked any really classic soloists (altoist Willie Smith and trombonist Trummy Young came the closest) and a large portion of the band's repertoire either featured the dated vocals of Dan Grissom or were pleasant novelties. And yet, the well-rehearsed ensembles were very impressive, some of the arrangements (particularly those of Sy Oliver) were quite original and the use of glee-club vocalists and short concise solos were pleasing and often memorable. Plus Lunceford's was the first orchestra to feature high-note trumpeters (starting with Tommy Stevenson in 1934) and had a strong influence on the early Stan Kenton Orchestra.
Although he was trained on several instruments and was featured on flute on "Liza" in the 1940s, Jimmie Lunceford was much more significant as a bandleader than as a musician. While teaching music at Manassa High School in Memphis in 1927, Lunceford organized a student band called the Chickasaw Syncopators, recording two songs that year and a pair in 1930. After leaving Memphis, the band (known by then as the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra) played in Cleveland and Buffalo and cut two songs in 1933 that were not issued until decades later. 1934 was the breakthrough year. The orchestra made a strong impression playing at New York's Cotton Club, waxed a few notable songs for Victor and then started recording regularly for Decca. Their tight ensembles and colorful shows made them a major attraction throughout the remainder of the swing era. Among their many hits were "Rhythm Is Our Business," "Four or Five Times," "Swanee River," "Charmaine," "My Blue Heaven," "Organ Grinder's Swing," "Ain't She Sweet," "For Dancers Only," "'Tain't What You Do, It's the Way That Cha Do It," "Uptown Blues" and "Lunceford Special." The stars of the band included arranger Sy Oliver (on trumpet and vocals), Willie Smith, Trummy Young (who had a hit with "Margie") and tenor saxophonist Joe Thomas.
In 1939 it was a major blow when Tommy Dorsey lured Sy Oliver away (although trumpeters Gerald Wilson and Snooky Young were important new additions). Unfortunately Lunceford underpaid most of his sidemen, not thinking to reward them for their loyalty in the lean years. In 1942 Willie Smith was one of several key players who left for better-paying jobs elsewhere and the orchestra gradually declined. Jimmie Lunceford was still a popular bandleader in 1947 when he suddenly collapsed; rumors have persisted that he was poisoned by a racist restaurant owner who was very reluctant about feeding his band. After Lunceford's death, pianist/arranger Ed Wilcox and Joe Thomas tried to keep the orchestra together but in 1949 the band permanently broke up.
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