Fred Beckett
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (August 2015) |
Fred Lee Beckett (January 23, 1917 – January 30, 1946) was an American jazz trombonist known for his work with the Lionel Hampton Big Band and other jazz groups.
Beckett was born in 1917 in Nettleton, Mississippi and learned to play trombone in his high school band.[1]
Career[edit]
Beckett's professional career began in Kansas City in the 1930s, and soon after he landed a job with Eddie Johnson's Crackerjacks in St. Louis, Missouri. He played with Duke Wright, Tommy Douglas, Buster Smith, and Andy Kirk over the next few years, as well as time in a territory band with Prince Stewart and a gig in Omaha, Nebraska with Nat Towles. Later in the decade he played with Harlan Leonard.[2] Beckett's musical style has been described as flexible and legato.[1]
In the early 1940s, Beckett played with Lionel Hampton, performing behind vocalists like Dinah Washington.[3] He served in the Army during World War II, where he contracted tuberculosis. He died of the illness in 1946 at the age of 28.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Fred Beckett: A Modern Jazz Trombonist – Commander Trombone". Retrieved 2021-07-16.
- ^ "Fred Beckett | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- ^ "Fred Beckett". SoundHound. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- Fred Beckett profile, Allmusic.com; accessed August 13, 2015.
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- 1917 births
- 1946 deaths
- American jazz trombonists
- American male trombonists
- 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis
- 20th-century trombonists
- People from Nettleton, Mississippi
- Jazz musicians from Mississippi
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians
- Tuberculosis deaths in Missouri
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- Military personnel from Mississippi
- American jazz trombonist stubs