List of Black Jazz Musicians Who Moved Abroad

[tranemonk]

Is there a good list of Black jazz musicians who left the US for a long time and where they moved to? I've been intrigued by this since I learned about Don Byas. I think I know some of the more obvious, like Nina Simone and (I think) Dexter Gordon. I also listened to the radio and an Alvin Queen tune came up. I didn't know much about him (other than his new release on Cellar ) but the DJ said he moved to Switzerland (I think). I'm curious if anyone has generated a list. Thanks.

[Ken Dryden]

It would be a long list: Art Farmer, Horace Parlan, Johnny Griffin, Ben Webster, Kenny Drew and Oscar Pettiford are among the many who moved to Europe. Sir Charles Thompson moved to Japan.

Edited 18 hours ago by Ken Dryden

[sonnymax]

Jazz musicians who became expatriates

[soulpope]

 

[tranemonk]

48 minutes ago, sonnymax said:

Jazz musicians who became expatriates

Thanks. I suspected someone brought this up but I couldn't find it when I searched.

[Big Beat Steve]

That "expat jazzmen" thread of 2019 is good but seems to live mostly on fairly "recent" memories (maybe often based on personal exposure by the forumists?). Most of the names do not seem to go back beyond those featured on the "Americans in Europe" Impulse LPs.

Yet the trend (particularly among Black jazzmen and women, and going well beyond Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter who spent several years in Europe in the 30s) started MUCH earlier (which is saying something about a certain societal climate ...). Though some by force of circumstances were forced to return back to the US at the outbreakof WWII.

Here are those that come to mind offhand (but the list is not chronological - some came to Europe in the 30s (sometimes in the 20s), some came after WWII):

Sidney Bechet !

Arthur Briggs

Harry Cooper

Big Boy Goudie

Herb Flemming

Willie Lewis

Garnet Clark

Spencer Williams

Valaida Snow

Leon Abbey

Freddy Taylor

Inez Cavanaugh

Peanuts Holland

...

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Big Beat Steve

[clifford_thornton]

That 2019 thread is a bit all over the place (pun not intended).

[mjazzg]

Joe Lee Wilson lived in the UK 

[Rabshakeh]

Obviously more on the blues side, but I've always loved the fact that Champion Jack Dupree left America and lived for almost ten years in the West Yorkshire mill town of Halifax. What must that move to Halifax have been like in the mid-1970s? It boggles the mind.

Edited 12 hours ago by Rabshakeh

[Big Beat Steve]

10 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

Obviously more on the blues side ...

Never mind ... blues is part of jazz! 😄

[sgcim]

I dunno. Where did they move her?

[Gheorghe]

Dexter was mentioned, Don Byas, Johnny Griffin, 

 

In Viena we had Art Farmer. 

Kenny Drew lived in Denmark, Horace Parlan and Duke Jordan too, but I´m sure the most prominent pianist who ever lived in Europe was Bud Powell, who stayed more than 5 years of his short live in Paris and performed in all european countries with the exception of East Europe....

[soulpope]

7 minutes ago, Gheorghe said:

In Viena we had Art Farmer. 

For a long time thankfully ....