- Jimmy Yancey
Infobox Musical artist
Name = Jimmy Yancey
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = James Edwards Yancey
Alias = Jimmy Yancey
Born = birth date|1898|02|20
Died = death date and age|1951|09|17|1898|02|20Chicago ,Illinois ,USA
Origin = Chicago,Illinois
Instrument =piano
Voice_type =
Genre =Boogie-Woogie
Occupation =
Years_active =
Label = Atlantic
Associated_acts = Jimmy and Mama Yancey
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =James Edwards "Jimmy" Yancey (
February 20 ,1898 -September 17 ,1951 ) was anAfrican American pianist , composer, and lyricist, most noted for hispiano work in the boogie-woogie style.Yancey was born in
Chicago in (depending on the source) 1894, 1895, or 1898. His older brotherAlonzo Yancey was a pianist as well; their father was a guitarist. Yancey started performing as a singer in traveling shows during his childhood. He was a noted pianist by 1915 and influenced younger musicians like Meade "Lux" Lewis andAlbert Ammons .While he played in a boogie-woogie style, with a strong-repeated figure in the left hand and melodic decoration in the right hand, his playing was delicate and subtle, rather than hard driving. Part of Yancey's distinctive style was that he played in a variety of keys but always ended every song in E flat. These endings added a strangely satisfying dissonance to every performance.
Most of his recordings were of solo piano, but late in his career he also recorded with vocals by his wife,
Estelle Yancey , under the billing 'Jimmy and Mama Yancey'. They recorded the first album ever made byAtlantic Records .Throughout his life, Yancey kept a job as groundskeeper for the
Chicago White Sox .Yancey died of a diabetic stroke in Chicago on
September 17 ,1951 . He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.External links
* [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ag47gjlr86ia Jimmy Yancey] at
Allmusic
* [http://rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=215 Jimmy Yancey] at theRock and Roll Hall of Fame
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.