- Edgar Battle
Edgar "Puddinghead" Battle (October 3, 1907,
Atlanta, Georgia - February 6, 1977,New York City ) was an Americanjazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. He performed on trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and keyboard.Battle was born into a musical family; his mother played guitar, and his father, bass and piano. He started out on trumpet, playing with
J. Neal Montgomery andHarvey Quiggs as a teenager. He formed his own band, the Dixie Serenaders, in 1921, while he was a student atMorris Brown University , and changed the name to Dixie Ramblers a few years later. Around this time he also played with Eddie Heywood, Sr., and toured with the101 Ranch traveling show. In the 1920s he worked withGene Coy ,Andy Kirk ,Blanche Calloway ,Ira Coffey , andWillie Bryant . He moved toNew York City in the early 1930s and did short stints withBenny Carter andSam Wooding before joiningGeorge White 's ensemble on Broadway. Over time he began doing more work as a studio musician and arranger, writing charts forCab Calloway ,Paul Whiteman ,Fats Waller ,Earl Hines ,Rudy Vallee , andCount Basie .During
World War II Battle held a position as anelectrician in ashipyard , concomitantly running abig band withShirley Clay . In the 1950s he foundedCosmopolitan Records , and continued to play in big bands part time through the 1960s. Among his numerous jazz compositions is the piece "Topsy".References
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Eugene Chadbourne , [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fbfrxqrgld0e~T1 Edgar Battle] atAllmusic
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