Joe Steele (musician)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (September 2019) |
Joseph Alexander Ellis Steele (December 17, 1899, Savannah, Georgia - February 5, 1964, New York City) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader.
Joseph Alexander Ellis Steele was born on December 17, 1899, in Savannah, Georgia, home to his father's family for several generations. His father, Alexander McPherson Steele, was a postal worker.[1][2] As a teenager, Steele moved with his family to Boston, Massachusetts, his mother's hometown. Steele’s mother, Minnie Sarah Ellis Steele, was the daughter of a Jamaican minister, Rev. Alexander Ellis, who served as a pastor in Boston.[3][4] Steele’s brother, Julian Steele, was a prominent African-American social worker, civil rights and affordable housing advocate, and office holder in Massachusetts.[5][6]
Steele graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a diploma as a teacher and then played with the Savoy Bearcats on their recordings for Victor Records. He played the Bamboo Inn in Harlem with Henri Saparo and then put together his own band to play at the same venue. Members of his band included Ward Pinkett, Langston Curl, Bubber Miley, Harry Carney, Wendell Culley, Johnny Hodges, Joe Garland, Jimmy Archey, Charlie Holmes, and Manzie Johnson. He recorded for Victor as a leader in 1929.[7] In 1931-1932 he played in Pike Davis's ensemble accompanying the vaudeville show Rhapsody in Black, and worked with Chick Webb from 1932 to 1936. He also worked as an arranger, for Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Paul Whiteman, and Cab Calloway among others.
References
- ^ "Negro and White Secretly Marry in New York City". The Dunkirk Evening Observer. Dunkirk, Chautauqua, New York. May 11, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census (1905). "Railway Mail Service". U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959. 3: 1624/1636. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Joy Street Methodist Church: Charles Sumner the Champion of the Colored Race--The Reverend Alexander Ellis's Sermon". The Boston Globe. March 16, 1974. p. 2. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Notices: A complimentary testimonial dinner will be given Rev. Alexander Ellis on his retirement after fourteen years of service in Boston". The Boston Globe. January 20, 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Yesterday in Afro-American History". Jet. XXXIX (3): 10. October 22, 1970. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Julian Steele, State Agency Head, Dies". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. January 19, 1970. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ "Victor: "Top and Bottom" and "Coal-Yard Shuffle" --Fox Trots-- Joe Steele and His Orchestra". The Minneapolis Star. August 29, 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "Joe Steele". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld, 2004.
