Mosley, Snub (Lawrence Leo)
Mosley, Snub (Lawrence Leo)
Mosley, Snub (Lawrence Leo), jazz trombonist, slide saxophonist, singer, leader, composer; b. Little Rock, Ark., Dec. 29, 1905; d. N.Y., July 21, 1981. He studied music in Cincinnati. He first played with Eugene Crook, then joined Alphonse Trent, playing with him from 1926 until 1933. On Trent’s only recording date of 1933, Mosley’s playing, though poorly recorded, is astonishing for its speed and bravura. He worked with Claude Hopkins (1934–36), Fats Waller (1935), and Louis Armstrong (1937). Mosley formed his first band in 1936; from 1938, he led his own band regularly. He designed a slide saxophone, which he played to great visual effect; in 1940, he recorded a song celebrating the instrument, “The Man with the Funny Little Horn” which became his nickname. Mosley led the first allblack USO troupe in 1945, featuring blues singer Alberta Hunter. He continued to perform and record from the 1950s through the 1970s, primarily in the N.Y. area, and also made several European tours. He also co-authored the tune “Pretty Eyed Baby” with pianist Mary Lou Williams.
Discography
’Deed I Do (1942); Snub Mosley Live at the Pizza Express (1978).
—John Chilton,Who’s Who of Jazz /Lewis Porter