He was a trumpeter and flugelhorn player born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi who began playing the trumpet when he was young.
1952 saw him relocated to Chicago where he studied at the Cosmopolitan School of Music and from 1957 he worked as a freelance musician with artists such as Billy Williams and Red Saunders. Moving on to New York in 1960 he stayed there for year and then relocated once more to Los Angeles, where he would become resident. He performed and recorded with many of the big bands of the day led by Charlie Mingus, Gerald Wilson and Oliver Nelson and also the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and at the same time he was becoming well known in the recording studios and also as a jazz instructor.
He performed with many artists along the way and some of these include Israel Baker, George Bohannon, Neil Diamond, The Gap Band , Herbie Hancock, Carole King and Thelonius Monk.
Albums he appeared on during his career are many but they include Monk’s Blues and This is Jazz Vol. 5 by Thelonius Monk, Natural Woman: The Ode Collection (1968-1976) by Carole King, Beautiful Noise by Neil Diamond , It Only Takes a Minute by Tavares, Fourever by The Four Tops, Southern Winds by Maria Muldaur, This Will Be by Natalie Cole, Way Back Home and Priceless Jazz by The Crusaders, Keep Movin’ On by Sam Cooke, Whisper In Your Ear by The Whispers, Rockit by Herbie Hancock, The Gap Band and the soundtracks of Grease, The Only Game in Town and Friday.
He died in Los Angeles, California, in 1998 when he was 64 years old.
The Gap Band recordings
Baby Baba Boogie (Lonnie Simmons/Charlie Wilson )
Mercury MER 37(UK 45)
Here he is playing trumpet on “I Wanna Testify”…
Sources: