Ollie Powers
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2014) |
Ollie Powers (1890 – April 14, 1928) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist.[1]
Biography[edit]
Ollie Powell[2] was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.[1]
Louis Armstrong remembered him as a solo entertainer at the Dreamland Cabaret, where he sung Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do" in a powerful, but high and sweet voice.[3] Powers helped Armstrong land a job there before Armstrong left for New York City to play with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra.[4]
One of his ensembles, named Ollie Powers' Harmony Syncopators, recorded for Paramount Records in 1923. The label released two tracks; "Jazzbo Jenkins" and "Play That Thing." The latter track was recorded four times by the band.[5] From 1926 onwards, he performed with the clarinet player and sometimes bandleader, Jimmie Noone, until shortly before Powers death.[1]
Powers died of diabetes in April 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[1] During the funeral at Liberty Congregational Church, Armstrong played "Going Home" from Dvořák's New World Symphony.[6]
Both of the Paramount tracks were released in November 2013 on the compilation album, The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Vol. 1 (1917-1927).[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Eugene Chadbourne. "Ollie Powers : Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
- ^ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 134.
- ^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ^ "Ollie Powers' Harmony Syncopators". Red Hot Jazz Archive. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- ^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 290–91. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
- ^ "The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Vol. 1 (1917-1927) : Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
External links[edit]
- Ollie Powers discography at Discogs
- Ollie Powers’ Harmony Syncopators Red Hot Jazz Archive
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1890 births
- 1928 deaths
- American jazz drummers
- American jazz singers
- Deaths from diabetes in the United States
- Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky
- 20th-century American singers
- Singers from Kentucky
- Jazz musicians from Kentucky
- 20th-century American drummers
- American male drummers
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians