Only one U.S. president came close to becoming a jazz musician. Bill Clinton has often humorously stated that, while playing the tenor-sax as a teenager, he realized that he was never going to be another John Coltrane so he decided to pursue another field. He actually has appeared on a CD, playing “Summertime” and “My Funny Valentine” at a 1994 club in Prague. But beyond its novelty aspect, it did not make much of an impression.
The “real” Abraham Lincoln often bragged that he could not carry a tune and George Washington also did not have any musical talent. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson was an accomplished violinist who could play classical music and popular country and Scottish songs of the era.
So what does that have to do with jazz? Unlike most of today’s politicians, Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln are considered American heroes and, at least in the early 1900s, it was not unusual for parents to name their children after them. The result is that jazz history includes trumpeter Thomas Jefferson and trombonists George Washington and Abe Lincoln, none of whom were related to the presidents but each of whom had significant careers.
There was also a jazz organist named Jimmy Carter, several lesser-known musicians named John Adams, and drummers Booker T. Washington (who played with Williamson’s Beale Street Frolic Orchestra in 1927 and recorded with Lil Armstrong in 1961) and Christopher Columbus (who worked with Louis Jordan during 1945-51 and organist Wild Bill Davis) but, alas, no jazz musicians named Millard Fillmore or Richard Nixon.
George Washington is the least known of the three “president jazz musicians,” none of whom ever recorded together. Washington was born on Oct. 18, 1907, in Brunswick, Georgia, growing up in Jacksonville, Florida. He began playing trombone when he was ten and in 1922 studied at Edward Waters College. Washington played in Florida with clarinetist Eagle Eye Shields before moving to Philadelphia in 1925 where he worked with a band led by J.W. Pepper. He soon moved to New York where he performed with Broadway Jones, pianist Luckey Roberts, Dave Alford (1927), Arthur Gibbs (1927-28), Charlie Johnson, and Vernon Andrade. Washington made his first recordings in 1927, soloing briefly on two songs with Fowler’s Favorites, a group led by pianist Lemuel Fowler. From 1929 he can be heard in brief spots with Charlie Johnson and Clarence Williams including with the latter on “Zonky” and “You’ve Got To Be Modernistic.”
Washington worked with Don Redman (1931) and most significantly the Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1932-36 including recording “Kokey Joe”). He can be seen in the Elmer Snowden short Smash Your Baggage, he recorded with Benny Carter and Spike Hughes, is featured on three numbers from a Red Allen session (1935), and worked with Fletcher Henderson briefly in 1937.
The trombonist was a member of the Louis Armstrong Big Band during 1937-43 but, since J.C. Higginbotham was the orchestra’s trombone soloist through 1940, Washington was rarely featured. However he is prominent on an Armstrong Soundie short, singing with Satch on “Swinging On Nothing.” After leaving Armstrong, Washington settled on the West Coast, worked with Fletcher Henderson (1944), played in the trombone section of a variety of big bands, appeared on a record date with Count Basie (1947), and had a long association with Johnny Otis that lasted until 1958, performing in his r&b-oriented bands. While George Washington worked with clarinetist Joe Darensbourg in 1960 and remained active for a time as a trombonist and arranger, nothing is known about his later activities, when he passed away, or whether he ever told a lie.
Abe Lincoln, who was born several months before Washington on Mar. 29, 1907, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had a more prominent career, recording over a 54-year period. His dad played cornet and, after a very brief period on that instrument, Lincoln began taking lessons from his father on trombone when he was five. Ten years later he first performed in public, playing in his brother’s band. When he was 18 in 1925, Lincoln began playing with dance bands and became a session musician in New York. His first recordings were from that year with Ace Brigode’s 14 Virginians, the Vagabonds, the Varsity Eight, and the University Six. In 1926 he replaced Tommy Dorsey with the California Ramblers and was on many sessions with the Ramblers and their various small groups during 1926-27. Even at that early stage, Lincoln was considered an excellent trombonist as both technically and as a jazz soloist.
After unrecorded periods with Roger Wolfe Kahn and Paul Whiteman, Lincoln was a member of the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra during 1934-39, a steady if low-profile job. In 1937 he appeared on a few sessions with Bing Crosby and in 1939 he moved to Hollywood where he became a studio musician and continued his contributions to some of Crosby’s recordings. During 1943-44, Lincoln was part of the short-lived Eddie Miller Big Band. With the Dixieland revival in full swing, he was in great demand on the West Coast. Lincoln recorded with Wingy Manone (including the original version of “The Tailgate Ramble”), and appeared on albums by the Rampart Street Paraders, Bobby Hackett (Coast Concert which found him playing next to his idol Jack Teagarden), Bob Crosby’s big band, Bob Scobey, Red Nichols, Pete Kelly’s Hot Seven, Pete Fountain, and a series led by Matty Matlock. He also played his trombone on the soundtracks of Woody Woodpecker cartoons.
In the 1960s Abe Lincoln continued freelancing, working with the Village Stompers, Wild Bill Davison and Clancy Hayes. He was one of many all-stars featured as part of the jam sessions released by the Blue Angel label during 1968-69. Other than an obscure live album with Abe Most in 1979, his recording career was over after 1969. He was largely semi-retired during his final 25 years except for special appearances. Unlike President Abe Lincoln who only lived to be 56, trombonist Abe Lincoln (who passed away on June 8, 2000) made it to the age of 93.
Despite his talents as both a trumpeter and a singer on a series of rewarding recordings, Thomas Jefferson never quite gained the fame that he deserved. He was born in Chicago on June 20, 1920, playing drums and French horn before switching permanently to trumpet. Reversing the usual New Orleans-to-Chicago pilgrimage, he moved to New Orleans as a teenager and at 14 was playing with Billie and De De Pierce, followed by Oscar “Papa” Celestin’s Tuxedo Orchestra (1936), Sidney Desvigne and Armand “Jump” Jackson. Despite his early start, Jefferson did not record until he was in his thirties.
Thomas Jefferson’s obvious musical role model, both instrumentally and vocally, was Louis Armstrong although he had his own sound within the musical world of Armstrong, developing a gentler style of his own. He appeared on four songs in 1950 that were issued on collector’s labels, recorded in sextets led by drummer Freddie Kohlman during 1952-53, and was featured on four songs in a sextet led by clarinetist Raymond Burke in late-1953, taking his first two vocals on the latter session. In 1955 he was on a few additional selections with Kohlman and starred on sessions headed by guitarist Johnny St. Cyr and trombonist Santo Pecora. His excellent technique (unlike some other New Orleans trumpeters, he was never out of tune), melodic and swinging style, and easy-going singing on traditional standards still sound fresh and inviting today.
Thomas Jefferson toured with the George Lewis band in 1956 and 1958 while staying based in New Orleans. In 1960 he led his first sessions, being showcased as the only horn in a quintet on two highly recommended albums: Thomas Jefferson with the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band 1961 and Monk Hazel’s Band 1960 (GHB 129) and New Orleans At Midnight (Southland 229). He also was one of the main stars on albums led by clarinetist Raymond Burke, drummer Paul Barbarin, tuba player Chink Martin, trombonist Bob Havens, and pianist-singer Sweet Emma Barrett, plus a record with the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band. Most of those sets were made originally for the Southland label and have been reissued by GHB. The all-star outing Dreaming Down The River To New Orleans (GHB 138) is particularly rewarding.
After all of that activity, Jefferson was largely off records for the next decade although he remained active in New Orleans. He played with the Young Tuxedo Brass Band starting in 1966 and led his own group which performed regularly at a local club, the Maison Bourbon. His best later recording was made in 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark for the Storyville label (Thomas Jefferson’s International Jazz Band) which found him playing and singing in an unchanged style with clarinetist Sammy Rimington and some excellent Scandinavian musicians. There are also other albums recorded during his European tours of 1974-75. While he gradually faded, he still sounds fine on his final recordings from 1985, made with Rimington in Sweden. Thomas Jefferson passed away on Dec. 13, 1986 at the age of 66, 17 years younger than President Jefferson.
It is a pity that no one thought of matching together the three “president jazzmen” on a record date in the 1950s. It is doubtful that any future jazz musicians will be named after the current president, but one can certainly celebrate the musical legacies of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abe Lincoln.
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
