Ladnier, Tommy (originally, Ladner, Thomas)

Ladnier, Tommy (originally, Ladner, Thomas), early jazz trumpeter; b. Florenceville, La., May 28, 1900; d. N.Y., June 4, 1939. Ladnier had trumpet instruction from Bunk Johnson. He moved to Chicago c. 1917, working with various small bands through 1923 (except for a brief stint in St. Louis c. 1921), and then joined King Oliver in late 1924. In spring 1925, Sam Wooding brought Ladnier to N.Y., and he subsequently sailed to Europe to join the band that June. A year later, he left Wooding in Berlin and journeyed into Poland as a member of the Louis Douglas Revue. By early August 1926, he had arrived back in N.Y., working in saxophonist Billy Fowler’s Orch. That October, he joined Fletcher Henderson, remaining with him throughout 1927. He rejoined Wooding in early 1928 and sailed to Europe again with the group in June. He left Wooding in Nice (early 1929), working primarily in Paris through 1930 with various bands. In summer 1930, he joined Noble Sissle, playing in Paris, London (late 1930), N.Y. (1931), and Paris again (spring 1931). He returned to the U.S., and worked accompanying the Berry Brothers’ dancing act. In fall 1932, he joined with Sidney Bechet to form the New Orleans Feetwarmers, playing in the N.Y. area. After they disbanded in the spring of 1933, Ladnier and Bechet worked in their own “Southern Tailor” shop in N.Y; Ladnier shined shoes. When Bechet rejoined Noble Sissle in 1934, Ladnier left N.Y. He gigged for a while with his own group in the greater N.Y. area. In late 1938, through the efforts of famous jazz critic Hugues Panassie, Lanier was rediscovered and subsequently recorded with Mezzrow, Bechet, and Rosetta Crawford. He appeared with Sidney Bechet at the famous “Spirituals to Swing” concert in N.Y. (December 1938). Soon after, while staying at Mezz Mezzrow’s apartment, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

—John Chilton, who’s who of Jazz/Lewis Porter