Charlie Shavers


Charles James Shavers was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He was also an arranger and composer, and one of his compositions, "Undecided", is a jazz standard.
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Career

Shavers's father, a distant relative of Fats Navarro, was from the Shavers family of Key West, Florida. Charlie Shavers was a cousin of heavyweight boxer Earnie Shavers. Born in New York City, he took up piano and banjo before switching to trumpet. In the mid-1930s, he performed with Tiny Bradshaw and Lucky Millinder. In 1935, he played in the trumpet section with Dizzy Gillespie and Carl (Bama) Warwick in Frankie Fairfax's Campus Club Orchestra. In 1936, he joined John Kirby's Sextet as trumpet soloist and arranger. He was only 16, but gave his birth date as 1917 to avoid child labor laws; many biographies still list this date.
Shavers's arrangements and solos helped make the band one of the most commercially successful and imitated of its day. In 1937, he performed with Midge Williams and her Jazz Jesters. In 1944, he began playing sessions in Raymond Scott's CBS staff orchestra. In 1945, he left John Kirby's band to join Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra, with whom he toured and recorded, off and on, until Dorsey's death in 1956. In 1949, he sang and played the hit "The Hucklebuck" with the Dorsey Orchestra. He can be seen as a member of Dorsey's Orchestra on numerous "Stage Show" telecasts for CBS, including early Elvis Presley appearances. During this time he also continued to play at CBS; he also appeared with the Metronome All-Stars, and made a number of recordings as trumpet soloist with Billie Holiday. From 1953 to 1954, he worked with Benny Goodman and toured Europe with Norman Granz's popular Jazz at the Philharmonic series. He formed his own band with Terry Gibbs and Louie Bellson.
Shavers died from throat cancer in New York in 1971 at the age of 50. His friend Louis Armstrong died while Shavers was on his deathbed, and his last request was that his trumpet mouthpiece be buried with Armstrong.

Discography

As leader

Horn o' Plenty Gershwin, Shavers and Strings The Most Intimate The Complete Charlie Shavers with Maxine Sullivan Trumpets All Out with Art Farmer, Ernie Royal, Emmet Baker, Harold Baker Hawk Eyes with Coleman Hawkins, Tiny Grimes Blue Stompin' with Hal Singer Charlie Digs Paree

As sideman

With Fred AstaireThe Astaire Story No. 1 The Astaire Story No. 2 The Astaire Story No. 3 The Astaire Story No. 4
With Count BasieThe Count! Count Basie and His Band That Swings the Blues Basie Rides Again A Portrait of an Orchestra
With Louis BellsonLouis Bellson Quintet The Driving Louis Bellson The Hawk Talks Let's Call It Swing Drummer's Holiday
With Tommy DorseyTommy Dorsey Tribute to Dorsey Vol. 2 Tommy Dorsey's Greatest Band This Is Tommy Dorsey and His Greatest Band Volume 1
With Lionel HamptonStardust Lionel Hampton with the Just Jazz All Stars Gene Norman Presents Just Jazz
With Coleman HawkinsThe Hawk in Flight The Hawk in Hi Fi Hawk Eyes Rainbow Mist
With Billie HolidayAn Evening with Billie Holiday Lady Sings the Blues Solitude The Unforgettable Lady Day The Mellow Side of Billie Holiday
With Charlie VenturaAn Evening with Mary Ann McCall and Charlie Ventura Jumping with Ventura Charlie Ventura's Carnegie Hall Concert East of Suez
With others