Wilbur C. Sweatman (1882 – 1961) was an African-American ragtime and dixieland jazz composer, bandleader, and clarinetist. His older sister Eva was responsible for much of Wilbur Sweatman's early music training, teaching him to play piano. Later Sweatman would become a self-taught violinist, and then taking up the clarinet. Over the years he would also learn to play trombone, bass clarinet and organ. Wilbur Sweatman's professional music career began in the late 1890s when, still a teenager, he toured with circus bands, first with Professor Clark Smith's Pickaninny Band from Kansas City, then with the P.G. Lowery Band. By 1901 he had become the youngest orchestra leader in America by fronting the Forepaugh and Sells Circus band. Sweatman briefly played with the bands of W.C. Handy and Mahara's Minstrels before organizing his own dance band in Minneapolis, Minnesota by late 1902. It was there that Sweatman made his first recordings on phonograph cylinders in 1903 for the Metropolitan Music Store. He wrote a number of rags, 1911's Down Home Rag being the most commercially successful. The song was recorded by multiple bands in America and Europe. Sweatman moved to New York in 1913, touring widely. He was one of the few black solo acts to appear regularly on the major white vaudeville circuits. Around this time he became close friends with Scott Joplin; Joplin's will would name Sweatman as executor of his estate. In December 1916, Sweatman recorded for minor label Emerson Records, including his own "Down Home Rag". Some historians consider these recordings among the earliest examples of jazz on record. Taking note of the commercial success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band and the Original Creole Orchestra, Sweatman abruptly changed his sextet's sound and instrumentation in early 1917. Sweatman's band consisted of five saxophonists and himself on clarinet, a combo which soon signed with Pathé. They recorded rags, as well as some of the hit songs of the day. Sweatman was the first African American to make recordings labeled as "Jass" and "Jazz". In 1918, Sweatman landed with major label Columbia Records, where he would enjoy a meteroic success with a wide variety of songs under his own name. However, by 1920, sales were on the wane, perhaps reflecting the ephemeral interest in his novelty style of jazz, and the growing popularity of syncopated big bands such as Columbia's own Ted Lewis. Sweatman continued to ply his somewhat dated style in live appearances throughout the Northeast. Several notable musicians passed through his band, including Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, and Cozy Cole. Sweatman also continued to record for such labels as Gennett, Edison, Grey Gull, and Victor. Sweatman frequently played at the well known Harlem club Connie's Inn. He continued playing in New York through the 1940s and early 1950s, but increasingly concentrated his efforts on the music publishing business and talent booking. This great record was made in 1925.
Category
🎵
Music