Cootie Williams, one of the finest trumpeters of the 1930s, expanded upon the role originally formed by
Bubber Miley with
Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Renowned for his work with the plunger mute,
Cootie was also a fine soloist when playing open. Starting as a teenager,
Cootie Williams played with a variety of local bands in the South, coming to New York with Alonzo Ross' Syncopators. He played for a short time with the orchestras of
Chick Webb and
Fletcher Henderson (recording with the latter), before joining
Duke Ellington as
Miley's replacement in February 1929. He was a fixture with
Duke's band during the next 11 years, not only recording many classics with
Ellington (including "Echoes of Harlem" and "Concerto for Cootie"), but leading some of his own sessions and recording with
Lionel Hampton,
Teddy Wilson, and
Billie Holiday, in addition to being a guest at
Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938. His decision to leave
Ellington and join
Goodman's orchestra in 1940 was considered a major event in the jazz world. During his year with B.G.,
Williams was well-featured with both the big band and
Goodman's sextet. The following year he became a bandleader, heading his own orchestra which, at times in the 1940s, featured such up-and-coming players as pianist
Bud Powell, tenorman
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, altoist/singer
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and even
Charlie Parker.
Although he had a hit (thanks to
Willis Jackson's honking tenor) on "Gator," by 1948
Cootie had cut his group back to a sextet. Playing R&B-oriented music, he worked steadily at the Savoy, but by the 1950s was drifting into obscurity. However, in 1962, after a 22-year absence,
Cootie Williams rejoined
Duke Ellington, staying even beyond
Duke's death in 1974 as a featured soloist. By then his solos were much simpler and more primitive than earlier (gone was the
Louis Armstrong-inspired bravado), but
Cootie remained the master with the plunger mute. He was semi-retired during his final decade, taking a final solo in 1978 on a
Teresa Brewer record, and posthumously serving as an inspiration for
Wynton Marsalis' own plunger playing. ~ Scott Yanow