Jefferson, Maceo B.
Jefferson, Maceo B.
Jefferson, Maceo B., jazz guitarist, banjo; b. Beaufort, S.C., c. 1898; d. Bridgeport, Conn., June 15, 1974. Jefferson did his first professional work with pianist Frank Clarke in Norfolk, Va. When he moved to N.Y., he played with Wilbur Sweatman (1923) and various other bands before sailing to Europe with the Plantation Orch. in 1926. Jefferson remained in Europe through the early 1930s, working with Arthur Briggs, including a period accompanying Louis Armstrong (1934). He returned to the U.S. briefly, then back to Europe (1937). While there, he was imprisoned by the Nazis and held at the Compiegne concentration camp until late 1944. Jefferson visited N.Y. in the 1960s, then moved to Bridgeport, Conn., where he devoted considerable time to composing.
—John Chilton/Lewis Porter