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Chauncey Morehouse

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Chauncey Morehouse
Morehouse was a member of Paul Specht's orchestra.
Morehouse was a member of Paul Specht's orchestra.
Background information
Born(1902-03-11)March 11, 1902
Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 1980(1980-10-31) (aged 78)
Medford, New Jersey, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums

Chauncey Morehouse (March 11, 1902 – October 31, 1980)[1] was an American jazz drummer.

Biography

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Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early age.[2] As a high schooler, he led a group called the Versatile Five.[1] He landed a job with Paul Specht's orchestra from 1922 to 1924 (including to England in 1923).[1] He played with Jean Goldkette from 1925 to 1927, Adrian Rollini in 1927, and Don Voorhees in 1928–29.[1] In the period 1927–29 he also recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, and Joe Venuti.[1]

From 1929 Morehouse was active chiefly as a studio musician, and in radio and television.[1] In 1938, he assembled a percussion ensemble which played instruments that were designed by Morehouse and Stan King and that were tuned chromatically.[2]

He invented a set of N'Goma drums – "14 chromatically tuned snare drums mounted on a circular bar" – around 1932.[1] He worked in studios into the 1970s; in that decade he retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, including at festivals.[2] He played at Carnegie Hall in 1975, with other former members of the Goldkette orchestra.[1] Formerly a resident of the Vincentown section of Southampton Township, New Jersey, Morehouse died on October 31, 1980, at a nursing home in Medford, New Jersey, at the age of 78.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brown, T. Dennis; Kernfeld, Barry (2003). "Morehouse, Chauncey". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J311100. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
  2. ^ a b c "Chauncey Morehouse Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Chauncey Morehosue, 78, jazz drummer", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 4, 1980. Accessed June 7, 2020. "Chauncey Morehouse, 78, a jazz drummer, died Friday at a nursing home in Medford, N.J. He formerly lived in Vincentown, N.J."