That's Some High School Band

[clinthopson]

I was just listening to an interview with Forestsorn "Chico" Hamilton from the IAJE on WBGO.

It reminded me of the contempraries of Chico who attended Jefferson High School in L.A., Marshall and Ernie Royal, Charles Mingus, Dexter Gordon and Buddy Collette.

Can anyone else think of any other high school who had this many greats together?

[Chris D]

The Austin Gang

[Chris D]

And these guys weren't all there at the same time, but Walter Dyett had THE program at Chicago's DuSable High School.

Walter Henri Dyett (1901–1969) was an American violinist and music educator. As musical director at Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School in Chicago, he trained many students who went on to become well-known musicians.

After studying music at University of California, Berkeley Dyett moved to Chicago, where he worked in vaudeville orchestras and directed an Army band, after which he was known as Captain Dyett. In 1931 he became assistant musical director at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, then moved to the new DuSable High School as musical director.

His program at DuSable quickly acquired an excellent reputation, in particular through an annual revue "Hi Jinks," which he staged to raise money for the program, and attracted the best high school musicians in Chicago. Among the successful musicians who studied in Dyett's program are:

Gene Ammons
Wilbur Campbell
Sonny Cohn
Nat King Cole
Jerome Cooper
Richard Davis
Bo Diddley
Dorothy Donegan
Von Freeman
John Gilmore
Johnny Griffin
Eddie Harris
Johnny Hartman
Milt Hinton (at Phillips)
Fred Hopkins
Joseph Jarman
Leroy Jenkins
Clifford Jordan
Walter Perkins
Julian Priester
Wilbur Ware
Dinah Washington
Redd Foxx was also a student in this program.

Dyett was known for his discerning ear and strict discipline, for encouraging his students to study and play music of all types instead of concentrating on just one, for his ability to motivate his students to succeed, for being a mentor to graduated students, for insisting that all students take private instruction (which he often arranged at low cost), for the thoroughness of his program, and above all for a vast store of musical knowledge which he could draw on to provide new advice to students whenever he met them. He is commemorated by Walter H. Dyett Academic Center, a Chicago public school. Dyett School has grades seven through twelve.

[John P. Cooper]

How about college aggregations?

Most of Jimmie Lunceford's key guys came from one school....name escaping me right now.

Erskine Hawkins and His 'Bama State Collegians. Kind of says it all right there.

[graypencil]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

How about college aggregations?

Most of Jimmie Lunceford's key guys came from one school....name escaping me right now.

Erskine Hawkins and His 'Bama State Collegians. Kind of says it all right there.

If I remember correctly, Les Browns first band was basically formed from his college band, the Duke Blue Devils.

[Jazzooo]

Well, you wouldn't recognize most of the names, and I doubt you'd allow us to qualify as 'greats,' but my high school band (Crawford High in San Diego) had Nathan East on bass, Hollis Gentry lll on tenor, Cory Homnick on alto, Carl evans Jr on piano and me on drums. We were the envy of every high school and jr college in Southern CA between '71 and '73--I can't remember a festival where we didn't obliterate the competition at least once, and several of them each year. Good times, confidence building to be sure. We had a terrific teacher, Dennis Foster, who eventually relocated to the Pacific Northwest.

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by graypencil

If I remember correctly, Les Browns first band was basically formed from his college band, the Duke Blue Devils.

Yeah yeah yeah...that's right.

[Leon Harris]

Originally Posted by Chris D

And these guys weren't all there at the same time, but Walter Dyett had THE program at Chicago's DuSable High School.

Walter Henri Dyett (1901–1969) was an American violinist and music educator. As musical director at Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School in Chicago, he trained many students who went on to become well-known musicians.

After studying music at University of California, Berkeley Dyett moved to Chicago, where he worked in vaudeville orchestras and directed an Army band, after which he was known as Captain Dyett. In 1931 he became assistant musical director at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, then moved to the new DuSable High School as musical director.

His program at DuSable quickly acquired an excellent reputation, in particular through an annual revue "Hi Jinks," which he staged to raise money for the program, and attracted the best high school musicians in Chicago. Among the successful musicians who studied in Dyett's program are:

Gene Ammons
Wilbur Campbell
Sonny Cohn
Nat King Cole
Jerome Cooper
Richard Davis
Bo Diddley
Dorothy Donegan
Von Freeman
John Gilmore
Johnny Griffin
Eddie Harris
Johnny Hartman
Milt Hinton (at Phillips)
Fred Hopkins
Joseph Jarman
Leroy Jenkins
Clifford Jordan
Walter Perkins
Julian Priester
Wilbur Ware
Dinah Washington
Redd Foxx was also a student in this program.

Dyett was known for his discerning ear and strict discipline, for encouraging his students to study and play music of all types instead of concentrating on just one, for his ability to motivate his students to succeed, for being a mentor to graduated students, for insisting that all students take private instruction (which he often arranged at low cost), for the thoroughness of his program, and above all for a vast store of musical knowledge which he could draw on to provide new advice to students whenever he met them. He is commemorated by Walter H. Dyett Academic Center, a Chicago public school. Dyett School has grades seven through twelve.

All my reference books are packed away, but I believe we may add to this list:

Oscar Brashear
Edwin Daugherty
Red Holloway
John Jenkins
Harold Ousley
Pat Patrick




Leon Harris