Harry Sweets Edison

The Classic Albums Collection Harry Sweets Edison

Born 10th October 1915 in Columbus, Ohio, Harry Edison and his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky while he was a young child. Introduced to the trumpet by his uncle, he honed his skill on the instrument upon his family's return to Columbus when Harry was 12, and he began playing with local bands soon thereafter. His professional career started in 1933 when he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra, his first step to becoming one of the most sought after players of his generation. In 1937 he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra where his colleagues included Buck Clayton and Lester Young - indeed it was Young who first nick-named the young musician "Sweets". In a 2003 interview, drummer Elvin Jones explained the origin of the nickname, "Sweets" had so many lady friends; he was such a handsome man. He had all these girls all over him all the time, that's why they called him 'Sweets". Wanted To Do One Together (Columbia, 1962 - later re-issued as Ben and Sweets) was Harry's third and final collaboration with his old chum, sax-man Ben Webster, and turned out to be Edison's last record for more than a decade while he concentrated on film and TV work and also touring relentlessly. Harry Edison continued to record and to perform throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still played live dates during the '90s, but sadly the great man passed on at the age of 83 during 1999, upon which the Los Angeles Jazz Society said, "Sweets will always have a special place in the hearts of jazz fans", a statement that remains as accurate today as it did almost two decades ago. This 4CD collection brings together Harry Edison's finest and most acclaimed albums from across the early to mid-period of his lengthy career, and in doing so allows jazz fans to sample his best work while marvelling at his trademark use of repeated single notes - a technique no other trumpeter in history has managed to use to such great effect.