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Freddie Washington (January 20, 1887 – February 25, 1962, Los Angeles) was an American jazz pianist.

Life and career

Freddie Washington was born in Schulenburg, Texas on January 20, 1887. He joined the United States Army and was stationed in California with the 805th Pioneer Infantry in 1918-1919. He served as the band corporal in that unit. In 1921 he joined Kid Ory's band in Oakland, California. He recorded with Ory's band, and it is for his role in these sessions that he is primarily known.

Washington led his own band in the 1920s and 1930s, in addition to playing with Ed Garland and Paul Howard. In 1941, he was a pallbearer at the funeral of Jelly Roll Morton in Los Angeles. He recorded on Capitol Records in 1944 with Zutty Singleton, and performed with Kid Ory's band on a live broadcast of the wartime variety show The Orson Welles Almanac (July 12, 1944). Washington continued playing into the 1960s.

Washington died in Los Angeles on February 25, 1962.

References

1. ^ Barry Kernfeld (2001). "Washington, Freddie ". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J473500.
2. ^ "Bury Jelly Roll Morton on Coast". DownBeat. 8 (15): 13. August 1, 1941. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
3. "Radio Almanac". RadioGOLDINdex. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
4. "Orson Welles Almanac—Part 2". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2014-02-10.

Sources

• "Freddie Washington", Grove Jazz (online)
• John Chilton, Who's Who of Jazz

• 1887 births
• 1962 deaths
• American jazz pianists
• American male jazz pianists
• Musicians from Texas
• Jazz musicians from Texas