Roy Eldridge

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Roy David Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989) was a jazz trumpet player in the Swing era. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, resulted in him sometimes being seen as the link between Louis Armstrong-era swing music and Dizzy Gillespie-era bebop. Roy’s rhythmic power to swing a band was a dynamic trademark of the Swing Era.

Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His nickname was Little Jazz. Eldridge played in the bands of Fletcher Henderson, Gene Krupa and Artie Shaw before making records under his own name. He also played in Benny Goodman’s and Count Basie’s Orchestras, and co-led a band with Coleman Hawkins.
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  • smee85

    www.last.fm/music/Roy+Eldridge/+images/58269673

    February 2011

  • LondonLouis

    I've just been poking round Roy's entry on this site. I don't think it represents him at his peak in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It looks as though most of the available material comes from the 1950s. Those of you who are genuinely interested in great trumpet players, I would urge you to find his early work. It's much better than what you will find here.

    February 2009

  • LondonLouis

    Anyone coming to Roy cold should note that the version of "Little Jazz" on this site is vastly inferior to the very powerful original. You can find a full track version of "Let me Off Uptown" under Anita O'Day (this was a famous duet between them).

    February 2009

  • LondonLouis

    Roy was good. His reputation has suffered because he wasn't Louis (but who was) and, if I've got the chronology right, the BeBop revolution hit when he was in his prime - and he didn't make the transition.

    February 2009

  • F_Hole

    I'd just missed seeing "Little Jazz" at Jimmy Ryan's by the time I got to 54 St. in the '80s'. Roy had pretty much hung it up for regular appearances at Ryans. Damn! One of my all time fav trumpeters.

    January 2009

  • SYL2Oh

    Little Jazz had the revelation listening Armstrong.Being free of its influence, he sought paradoxically its path on the side of saxophonists!

    May 2008

  • weezescorcho

    amazing.

    September 2007

  • weezescorcho

    hi buyable

    March 2007
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