The genesis of this work occurred in 2010 when Steven Bowie dreamt that he was in a book store with Cootie Williams. When he asked the trumpeter what he was looking at, he was told that it was a biography of Williams that Bowie had written. 15 years later, despite the author having a day job for most of the time and some health problems, Concerto for Cootie has been published, and the results are quite definitive.
Cootie Williams (1911-85) will always be best known for his expertise with the plunger mute and his two long periods (1929-40 and 1962-74) with Duke Ellington. However during his 22-year “vacation,” after a year with Benny Goodman, Williams was primarily a bandleader. In addition, he was more versatile than merely building on Bubber Miley’s successes with mutes with Ellington. When playing open solos, Williams’ main inspiration was Louis Armstrong who was his musical hero. And, as Bowie relates during this definitive book, Williams (particularly in the 1940s) was rated as one of the top trumpeters in jazz, usually placing in the top five in magazine polls. He was always very distinctive and forceful in his playing. But strangely enough, until now, there has not been a book written about his life and music.
Steven Bowie’s Cootie Williams biography holds one’s interest throughout with colorful and often little-known anecdotes that cover the trumpeter’s entire life, accessible summaries of Williams’ recordings, and very readable text. Along the way one learns about the trumpeter’s father who was a gambler who had successes and failures, Cootie’s pre-Ellington period which included a stint with Fletcher Henderson, his rivalry with cornetist Rex Stewart who he felt Ellington did not need to hire for his orchestra, Benny Goodman’s very high opinion of his playing and their long-time friendship, and his big band of 1942-47 which was for a time was quite successful.
During the 1948-61 period Williams often led a combo that featured an r&b-ish saxophonist and for years was based at the Savoy Ballroom. His versatility found him playing music that fell between r&b and rock & roll while still being a star whenever he was featured in swing settings. Despite being recognized by then as a historic figure and still playing in his prime, he was in danger of slipping away into obscurity even though he was only in his forties. That changed when he rejoined Ellington although he was a bit bitter about being a sideman again.
Among the many topics discussed from his later years are the real reasons that Ray Nance left the Ellington orchestra, Williams’ personality which found him alternating between being grumpy and cheering on younger players, the turbulent relationship that he had with fellow trumpeter Cat Anderson, what it was like to be constantly on the road with the Ellington orchestra, his opinions of Duke Ellington (mostly being a loyal admirer but occasionally becoming abrasive), his important role with the band when Mercer Ellington became its leader after Duke’s death, and his last gigs.
![JazzAffair](https://syncopatedtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ffair2026-SQ.jpg" "JazzAffair")
There is much more to the book, which gradually moves forward through the years while occasionally pausing to dig into a specific topic. To say that Steven Bowie did a lot of research would be an understatement as one can see from the 48 pages of notes that are near the end of the book. He dug into the archives of African-American newspapers and magazines of the period in addition to more conventional sources and also interviewed every musician and associate of the trumpeter who was still around. Also included is a discography of all of Cootie Williams’ sessions as a leader and sideman other than his dates with the Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman (although I wish that he had supplied information on the records that include the music), and lists of his compositions and awards.
Released earlier as a companion to this biography was one of the very best reissues of 2024, a four-CD set titled Concerto for Cootie: Selected Recordings 1928-62 that was put out by the Acrobat Music label and expertly compiled by Steven Bowie. Be sure to get that comprehensive collection in addition to this highly recommended biography. Your admiration of the great trumpeter and fascinating personality is certain to greatly increase.
Concerto for Cootie:
The Life and Times of Cootie Williams
by Steven C. Bowie
Hardcover: 456 pages, 79 b&w illus.; $120.00
ISBN: 9781496859433
Paperback: 456 pages, 79 b&w illus.: $35.00
ISBN: 9781496859440
University Press Of Mississippi
www.upress.state.ms.us
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.
