James Melvin Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
11 Facts About Jimmie Lunceford
2.
Jimmie Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mississippi, United States.
3.
Jimmie Lunceford's mother was Idella Shumpert of Oklahoma City, an organist of "more than average ability".
4.
The family next moved to Denver where Lunceford attended high school and studied music under Wilberforce J Whiteman, father of Paul Whiteman, whose band was to acquire a national reputation.
5.
Jimmie Lunceford was the first public high school band director in Memphis.
6.
Jimmie Lunceford's band differed from other great bands of the time because it was better known for its ensemble than for its solo work.
7.
Jimmie Lunceford often used a conducting baton to lead his band.
8.
Jimmie Lunceford's band was hired to play at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles on September 26,1940 and again on June 26,1947, by Leon Hefflin Sr.
9.
Jimmie Lunceford died while being taken by ambulance to the Seaside hospital.
10.
Dr Alton Alderman performed an autopsy in nearby Astoria, Oregon, and concluded that Jimmie Lunceford died of coronary occlusion.
11.
Jimmie Lunceford had complained about an aching leg as they arrived in Seaside, and had been suffering with high blood pressure for a while, and had recently complained about not feeling well.