Nanton, Tricky Sam

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Nanton, Tricky Sam

Nanton, Tricky Sam, jazz trombonist; b. N.Y., Feb. 1, 1904; d. San Francisco, July 20, 1946. He was best known for his expressive use of the plunger mute (“wa-wa”) and his solos often sound like a human voice. Both of his parents are from the West Indies. His first professional gig was with Cliff Jackson, and then he spent two years in pianist Earl Frazier’s Harmony Five, before rejoining Cliff Jackson’s Westerners in 1925. He then worked with Elmer Snowden before joining Duke Ellington in 1926. Otto Hardwicke gave him his nickname. Except for an absence due to pneumonia in October 1937, he remained with Duke until suffering a stroke in late 1945. He resumed working with Ellington (c. May 1946) and accompanied the band on a Calif, tour, but died on that tour at the Scragg’s Hotel.

—John Chilton,Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter

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