Home » Jazz Musicians » Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

From the days in the mid-1930s when he was a teenaged singer and saxophonist in the Houston band of Chester Boone, Cleanhead had his own way with the blues. He was good enough as a young man to tour with blues artists Big Bill Broonzy and Lil Green and then to join trumpeter Cootie Williams’s band. In the Forties he infused his alto with bebop and led his own big band and a sextet that included John Coltrane, who was influenced by Vinson’s expansive style. His “Cherry Red” with Williams made him popular for a while, but it wasn’t until Cannonball Adderley created new exposure for Vinson in the early Sixties that he began to be noticed again by large numbers of people. Through the Seventies and Eighties he made several albums that were critical and commercial successes. Vinson was born on 8 December 1917, Houston, Texas. Taking up the alto saxophone as a child, his proficiency at the instrument attracted local bandleaders even while young Vinson was still at school, and he began touring with Chester Boone's territory band during school holidays. Upon his graduation in 1935, Vinson joined the band full-time, remaining when the outfit was taken over by Milton Larkins the following year. During his five-year tenure with the legendary Larkins band he met T-Bone Walker, Arnett Cobb, and Illinois Jacquet, who all played with Larkins in the late 30s. More importantly the band's touring schedule brought Vinson into contact with Big Bill Broonzy, who taught him how to shout the blues, and Jay "Hootie" McShann's Orchestra whose innovative young alto player, Charlie Parker, was "kidnapped" by Vinson for several days in 1941 in order to study his technique. After being discovered by Cootie Williams in late 1941, Vinson joined the trumpeter's new orchestra in New York City and made his recording debut for OKeh Records in April 1942, singing a solid blues vocal on "When My Baby Left Me,” with the Williams orchestra. Vinson also recorded for Hit Records (1944), Capitol Records, (’45)before leaving to form his own big band in late 1945 and recording for Mercury Records. At Mercury he recorded small-group bop and blasting band instrumentals, but his main output was the fine body of suggestive jump-blues sung in his unique wheezy Texas style. Hits such as "Juice Head Baby," "Kidney Stew Blues," and "Old Maid Boogie," were the exceptions, however, as most of Vinson's no-holds-barred songs, including "Some Women Do," "Oil Man Blues," and "Ever- Ready Blues", were simply too raunchy for airplay.

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson: Kidney Stew Is Fine

Read "Kidney Stew Is Fine" reviewed by Nic Jones

by Nic Jones
May 16, 2007

Although he started out exclusively as an alto saxophonist in the ranks of Milt Larkins' band back in the late 1930s, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson was both an accomplished horn player and a blues shouter, more in the manner of Jimmy Witherspoon than Big Joe Turner.

This date was recorded in France right at the end of the 1960s and originally appeared in LP form on the Black & Blue label. It's the only occasion when the talents of Vinson, pianist ...

Video / DVD

Eddie Wasserman: The Small Groups

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 22, 2024

Eddie Wasserman wasn't a star but he could have been. He never was a leader on his own session. Instead, he spent the bulk of his career playing woodwinds in top big bands. His first recording session was with Benny Goodman in December 1948 and remained there into 1948. Going forward, he was a favorite of many bandleaders through the years. But who was Wasserman and what did he sound like? To find out, I did some archive research, and ...
read more

Performance / Tour

World-renowned Smoke Jazz Club Announces February Concert Line-up Including A Special Celebration Of Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius Documentary

Source: AMT Public Relations
January 6, 2024

Rated the #1 jazz club in New York City (Secret NYC), SMOKE Jazz Club celebrates Black History Month the same way it does year-round—by presenting the best of today’s jazz artists. SMOKE welcomes back a handful of its longtime friends for some extraordinary programs throughout February. The legendary octogenarian Eddie Henderson celebrates the release of his eponymous PBS-TV documentary film Uncommon Genius (released February 2024) with a special world premiere screening and conversation (February 7) followed by four nights of ...
read more

Performance / Tour

World-renowned Smoke Jazz Club Kick-starts The Fall Season With Vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, Pianists Billy Childs And George Cables, And Album Release By Eddie Henderson, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations
July 24, 2023

Rated the #1 Jazz Club in New York City (Secret NYC), Smoke Jazz Club begins a new season with some heavy hitters starting with a Labor Day weekend run with the Peter Bernstein Quartet featuring Al Foster (Aug 31-Sep 3). Hailed as “2023 Record Label of the Year (Jazz Journalists Association), Smoke Sessions Records releases Eddie Henderson’s Witness to History album complemented by a four-night concert series at the club (Sep 7-10). Celebrating their Smoke Jazz Club debuts are renowned ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Eddie Locke

Source: Michael Ricci
February 8, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Eddie Locke's birthday today!

Eddie Locke was an American jazz drummer. Eddie Locke was a part of the fertile and vibrant Detroit jazz scene during the 1940s and 1950s, which brought forth many great musicians including the Jones brothers (Hank, Thad, and Elvin), Kenny Burrell, Lucky Thompson, Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, and so many others. He eventually formed a variety act with drummer Oliver Jackson called Bop & Locke which played the Apollo Theater. He ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Eddie Palmieri

Source: Michael Ricci
December 15, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Eddie Palmieri's birthday today!

Eddie Palmieri, known for his charismatic power and bold pioneering drive, has a musical career that spans over 50 years as a bandleader of both Salsa and Latin Jazz orchestras. Born in Spanish Harlem in 1936, Eddie began piano studies at an early age, as did his celebrated older brother, the late Salsa legend and pianist, Charlie Palmieri. For Latin New Yorkers of Eddie’s generation, music was a vehicle out of ...
read more

Video / DVD

Eddie Bert: Musician Of The Year

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 16, 2022

Today is Eddie Bert's centenary. The trombonist was born May 16, 1922 and died in 2012. Eddie was an extraordinary musician, a solid swinger and a great guy. And if we're looking at East Coast and West Coast doppelgängers, then Eddie can be compared with Frank Rosolino in Los Angeles for powerful and hungry improvisational lines, a seasoned approach and wit. One of Eddie's most remarkable leadership albums was Eddie Bert: Musicians of the Year, recorded for Savoy in 1955. ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Eddie Locke

Source: Michael Ricci
February 8, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Eddie Locke's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Eddie Palmieri

Source: Michael Ricci
December 15, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Eddie Palmieri's birthday today!

Recording

Eddie Duran: Jazz Guitarist

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 25, 2021

Guitarist Eddie Duran was best known as a member of vibraphonist Cal Tjader's groups from 1954 forward and in pianist Vince Guaraldi's ensembles from 1962 onward. What all three musicians had in common was a San Francisco upbringing and marvelous musical taste. Unlike Tjader, Guaraldi and Dave Brubeck, another Bay Area native, Duran preferred to work as a sideman. A licensed barber, he also liked to stick around the Bay Area, accompanying many jazz artists who passed through the city. ...
read more

Recording

Red Garland with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 27, 2021

One of the greatest pairings of piano and tenor saxophone was pianist Red Garland and saxophonist Eddie Lockjaw" Davis. Both artists were steeped in the blues and knew how to feed a blues and coax it up on its hind legs. And yet, they only recorded one album together, and only four tracks for that album, one of which didn't even make the final cut. It was used later as filler on a Davis compilation album that's now out of ...
read more