Livingston, Fud (Joseph Anthony)

Livingston, Fud (Joseph Anthony), pop-jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer; b. Charleston, S.C., April 10,1906; d. N.Y., March 25,1957. His brother Walter (d. 1931) was also a professional saxophonist. Their parents owned a retail shoe business in Charleston. Fud played accordion and piano during childhood, then took up sax, and worked with Tal-madge Henry in Greensboro during the summer of 1923. He joined the Ben Pollack band at the Venice Beach Ballroom, L.A., but left by summer 1925. He worked with the California Ramblers from October 1925, then joined Jean Goldkette (late 1925). He rejoined Ben Pollack in Chicago during summer of 1926, but left in autumn 1927 to join Nat Schilkret in N.Y. During 1928, he did prolific freelance work in N.Y. including recording sessions (usually on tenor and clarinet), with Red Nichols, Miff Mole, Joe Venuti, etc. In early 1929, he briefly returned to Ben Pollack, then went to London in March 1929 to join Fred Elizalde at the Savoy Hotel, returning to N.Y. in June. He played for the Almanac revue that September, and then freelanced until joining Paul Whiteman from June-September 1930. He continued to arrange for Whiteman after leaving the group. During early 1930s he was mainly active as an arranger, scoring for the Ben Pollack, Al Goodman shows, etc. From 1935-37, he returned to full-time playing with Jimmy Dorsey, and then worked as an arranger for various bands including Bob Zurke’s short-lived Big Band, and staff work for Pinky Tomlin (1940). During the 1940s, he worked mainly in Hollywood. In the early 1950s, he returned to N.Y., and did occasional arranging, but excessive drinking led to a deterioration in his health. He worked occasionally as a pianist in N.Y. bars until shortly before his death.

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