JIMMIE LUNCEFORD

James Melvin Lunceford aka Jimmie Lunceford; leader, saxophone, arranger; born in Fulton MS on the 6th of June 1902, died on the 12th of July 1947, while on tour in Seaside, Oregon. Jimmie Lunceford will long be remembered as the leader of a powerful, swinging big band that rivaled on record, and exceeded in person, the orchestras of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. His band differed from many of the other big bands of the 1930s and 1940s in that Lunceford's group was noted less for its soloists (although they boasted several outstanding ones) than for its incomparable sax section and sterling ensemble work.  Additionally,  most bands of the period used a four-beat rhythm while the Lunceford orchestra also developed and added, a distinctive two-beat swing, often played at medium, eminently danceable tempos.  Finally, they pioneered (as an ensemble) playing slightly "behind the beat" which read more...