Wheeler, (E. B.) De Priest

Wheeler, (E. B.) De Priest, early jazz trombonist; b. Kansas City, Mo., March 1, 1903; d. Jamaica, Queens, N.Y., April 10, 1998. He played trumpet and mellophone in The Knights of Pythias Band while attending Lincoln H.S. in Kansas City, journeyed to St. Louis with the Knights of Pythias Band in 1917. He returned to Kansas City, worked in a local dance hall for a year, then in 1918 played in the resident band at the Chauffeur’s Club in St. Louis. He was with Dave Lewis’s Jazz Boys in Kansas City, then toured with a circus band until 1922. He joined Wilson Robinson’s Syncopators in St. Louis (1923) and toured the Pantages Circuit from Chicago to Calif, with that band. The band settled in N.Y. early in 1925 and were renamed The Cotton Club Orch.; subsequently they worked under the leadership of violinist Andrew Freer until his death in 1927. Later on the group became known as The Missourians, and from 1930 worked as Cab Calloway’s Band. Wheeler remained with Cab Calloway until January 1940 (including a trip to Europe in 1934). He worked for the postal authorities for many years, but continued to play part-time with bands and orchestras through the 1950s.

Discography

Harlem in the Twenties, Vol. 1 (1929). CAB CALLOWAY: Cab Calloway and the Missourians (1929); 1930-1931 (1930); 1931-1932 (1931); 1932 (1932); On Film (1934-1950) (1934); 1937-1938 (1937); 1938-1939 (1938). “At the Clam-Bake Carnival” (1938); “Ratamacue” (1939); “Utt da Zay” (The Tailor’s Song) (1939); “I’m Now Prepared to Tell the World It’s You” (1932); “The Ghost of Smoky Joe: Fox Trot” (1939); “Down Hearted Blues” (1931); “You Can’t Stop Me from Lovin’ You” (1931); “Riverboat Shuffle” (1925); “Trylon Swing” (1939); “I Ain’t Gettin’ Nowhere Fast” (1939); “Moon at Sea” (1937); “Mama I Wanna Make Rhythm” (1937); Cab Calloway and His Orchestra (1943); Minnie the Moodier (1989); Cab Calloway, Featuring Chuck Berry (1993); Jumpin’ Jive (1996); Original Historic Recordings (1996); His Best Recordings (1996); 1930-1939 (1997); Keep That Hi- De-Hi in Your Soul (1999); Jive formation Please: 1938-141 (1999); Best of the Big Bands, Vol. 2 (1999); Masterpieces, Vol. 12- Original (1999).

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