Skeets Tolbert

Campbell Aurelius "Skeets" Tolbert (February 14, 1909, Calhoun Falls, South Carolina - November 30, 2000, Houston, Texas) was an American jazz clarinetist, alto saxophonist, vocalist, composer and bandleader. He acquired nickname "Skeets" which was short for "Mosquito."Tolbert grew up in Lincolntown, North Carolina, and studied at Johnson C. Smith University. Though Tolbert never had a standard to his credit, he composed and arranged a great number of tunes that would become hits for others, notably Nat King Cole. He has 42 tracks over two albums to his credit as well and more that he has credit for in part. Red Richards who played piano and sang with Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing said of Tolbert that he "could play" and was an original, that he didn't copy Louis Jordan. Of the band he said they were a strong, good sounding band. Of the music he said they were a "nice style band" that could play for dancing.

He played in Dave Taylor's "Taylor's Dixieland Orchestra (Serenaders)" from 1929, with his first known recording in 1931, as a vocalist and on alto sax. In 1934 he moved to New York City, where he played with Charlie Alexander before joining the house band at the New York night club, the Savoy Ballroom. In 1936 he played with Fats Waller, primarily alto sax, this time was clearly highly influential on Tolberts own style of writing and arranging. He played in a band with athlete Jesse Owens in 1937. He next joined Snub Mosley's band and kept it going after Mosley left the group.

Freddie Green, Kenny Clarke, Red Richards, Otis Hicks (later "Lightnin Slim"), Carl "Tatti" Smith, Lem Johnson, Buddy Johnson, Theodore Carpenter, Leonard Hawkins Harry Prather, Clarence Easter, all played with Tolbert in the band, which recorded in 1939 under the name Tolbert's Gentlemen of Swing. Babe Hines appears on the Vol 1 collection, Yack Taylor on the second, both were featured female vocalists. Tolbert made a point in his recordings to have women sing basically solo blues ballads on at least a few songs in each album recorded. Rarely did he use a single male lead and favored a call and response style leader/chorus. He uses elements of 20's, Vaudeville, style in many of his tunes, primarily minor blues, but some with a more darker, lyrical, style. None of his songs ever charted or became "standards" but were more intended for dancing in nightclubs and living rooms. Bold in his writing style, Tolbert was influenced by Fats Waller. In his tune, "Baby You're A Fine Piece of Meat," he uses the line, "you got... the right size feet", a reference to Waller's "Your feets too big." Tolbert also emulated Waller's style of writing odd tunes such as that one, "The Stuff's Out," "Papa's In Bed With His Britches On," others with somewhat silly lyrics. Tolbert recorded with this ensemble for three years for Decca Records, which at the time also published Louis Jordan. Tolbert's style evoked many eras of blues, vaudeville, and jazz fusion.

Personnel

Skeets Tolbert

Composer, Saxophone, Clarinet, Vocals. He sings on tunes such as "Razz Ma Tazz" and "No No Baby I Can't Go For You."

Charles "Red" Richards

Piano, Vocals. Red Richards was one of the finest singers of the group, a very distinct smooth falsetto voice. He went on to a fine career playing piano and singing.

Otis "Lightnin' Slim" Hicks

Saxophone, Vocals. Hicks provided harmony in the chorus ensemble that marks most of Tolberts works. As Lightnin' Slim Hicks made quite a few blues records.

Baby Hines

Vocals. Hines sings two songs on the Vol 1 collection, "I've Lost My Head Over You" and "This Is The End." She has a very classical sounding voice that makes her blues singing quite extraordinary, she has a great tremolo in her voice that's haunting and quite emotional. These stand as the only two songs she ever recorded.

Babe Wallace

Vocals. He sings several tracks on both albums including "Baby, You're A Fine Piece of Meat," on Vol 1 and "Git It," on Vol 2.

Lem Johnson

Saxophone, Clarinet, Vocalist. Johnson sings most of the lead parts on the first album, notable tunes include "Stuff's Out," and "Railroad Blues."

Buddy Johnson

String Bass, piano. Tolbert is credited with composing several hits for Buddy Johnson on his own, "Stop Pretendin'" and "Please, Mr. Johnson."

Freddie Green

Guitar. Green started out with Count Basie and had a good career after. He's credited with establishing the prominent role of the rhythm guitar in jazz ensembles.

Carl "Tatti" Smith

Trumpet. Another player that came to Tolbert by way of Count Basie and helped to define Tolbert's horn section as being one of the best in his time.

Leonard Hawkins

Trumpet. Hawkins was featured in the Soundies and his playing stands out as some of the finest.

Arthur Trappier

Having played drums throughout the 20's and 30's with many big name acts he collaborated with Skeets on at least the tracks with Baby Hines.

Lupe Cartiero

Wrote and sang "Corn Pone" for a Soundie Tolbert produced, it became one of the best known tunes he did. She can be heard here singing her classic "Corn Pone."

Yack Taylor

A Delta Blues style singer who could pull off jazz as well, sings on Tolbert's second album. She started with Sammy Price singing hard-core blues songs such as "Knockin Myself Out," a tune interpreted to be about smoking marijuana, giving her the proponent label, and "My Nightmare Jockey." She later sang with Louis Jordan on "Hard Lovin Blues." With Tolbert she was most noted for "Those Draftin Blues," a serious tune with the focus on the draft during WWII. Taylor had a blues wail that was noteworthy, with the chorus ensemble of the rest of the men in the group she presents a great contrast, particularly on the tune "Ride On."

New York Club Scene

Tolbert played at a club called the Famous Door in New York for $75/week, he also played aside the bar at the "Queens Terrace" in Astoria Queens, New York, the same club Jackie Gleason got started playing in when he broke into the music business. In a 1995 interview with Eddie Detmeyer, Red Richards noted that the band at the Queen's Terrace would frequently get called to play in the "big room," for bigger acts including Jackie Gleason because "Skeets knew the music." Tolbert could play the music of anyone from Louis Jordan to the just emerging Nat King Cole, whose career he helped launch. Cole used Tolbert's number "Hit that Jive Jack," and had huge success with it. Tolbert arranged and composed a number of tunes for Cole, Count Basie, Louis Jordan, all reaching more success than Tolbert ever did. Most of his gigs were "tough jobs" according to Richards because he was so good but always remained in the background, never really gaining fame or even enough money to live which is why he left to pursue teaching.

Soundies

Tolbert got into the film business with a series of shorts known as "Soundies." In 1944 the ensemble recorded four sound films of the tunes "No No Baby", "'Tis You Babe", "Blitzkrieg Bombardier", and "Corn Pone." All of those became Soundies, with Lupe Cartiero singing the tune she wrote, Corn Pone. Here's that Soundie.

Sun-Tan Sweeties

Tolbert used four dancers, likely from Fritz Pollard’s Sun Tan Studios in Harlem. They may have been former members of The Zanzibeauts – dancers who performed at the Club Zanzibar who appear without credit in many soundies. The women also sang choruses to tunes on stage while Tolbert and band were in the orchestra pit.

Tolbert completed studies at Columbia University in 1946 and broke up the group to take a job in Charlotte, North Carolina as a high school music teacher. He became a faculty member at Texas Southern University in Houston in 1948. Later in his life he worked for the American Federation of Musicians, Local 65-699 and owned Pied Piper Music store. Tolbert lived to be 91 years old.

Skeets Tolbert and His Gentlemen of Rhythm Vol I 1931-1940

Skeets Tolbert and His Gentlemen of Rhythm Vol II 1940-42