# Leonard Ware

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leonard_Ware
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leonard_Ware.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Ware
> Source revision: 1316023958
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American jazz guitarist}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name         = Leonard Ware
| image        = Billy Taylor, Zutty Singleton, Leonard Ware (Gottlieb 15341).jpg
| caption      = Leonard Ware (right) with [Billy Taylor](/source/Billy_Taylor) and [Zutty Singleton](/source/Zutty_Singleton) in New York City, mid-1940s<br/>Photograph by [William P. Gottlieb](/source/William_P._Gottlieb)
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1909|12|28}}
| birth_place  = [Richmond](/source/Richmond%2C_Virginia), Virginia, U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1974|3|30 |1909|12|28 |mf=yes}}
| genre        = [Jazz](/source/Jazz), blues
| occupation   = Musician
| instrument   = Guitar
| years_active = 1930s–1940s
}}

'''Leonard Ware''' (December 28, 1909 &ndash; March 30, 1974)<ref name="bare">{{cite book|last1=Eagle|first1=Bob|last2=LeBlanc|first2=Eric S.|title=Blues: A Regional Experience|date=2013|publisher=Praeger| location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-0313344237|page=132}}</ref> was one of the first American jazz guitarists to play electric guitar.

==Career==
Ware was born in [Richmond](/source/Richmond%2C_Virginia), Virginia. He went to college at the [Tuskegee Institute](/source/Tuskegee_University) and learned how to play the oboe.<ref name="Kelsey">{{cite web|last1=Kelsey|first1=Chris|title=Leonard Ware|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/leonard-ware-mn0000245432/biography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=7 November 2017}}</ref>

In 1938, Ware played electric guitar on recordings by [Sidney Bechet](/source/Sidney_Bechet).<ref name="Kelsey" /><ref name="Yanow">{{cite book|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=The Great Jazz Guitarists|date=2013|publisher=Backbeat|location =San Francisco|isbn=978-1-61713-023-6|page=214}}</ref> The duo he then started with [Jimmy Shirley](/source/Jimmy_Shirley) was one of the first groups to have two electric guitarists. Ware performed in a trio during the 1940s and recorded as a leader in 1947. He also recorded with [Don Byas](/source/Don_Byas), [Albennie Jones](/source/Albennie_Jones), [Buddy Johnson](/source/Buddy_Johnson), and [Big Joe Turner](/source/Big_Joe_Turner).<ref name="Kelsey" />

In December 1938, he played at [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall) with the Kansas City Six ([Lester Young](/source/Lester_Young) and [Buck Clayton](/source/Buck_Clayton)); in 1939 he recorded with [Benny Goodman](/source/Benny_Goodman) ("Umbrella Man").

Ware was the co-composer of "[Hold Tight](/source/Hold_Tight_(Sidney_Bechet_song))" (which he recorded with Bechet) and "[I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem](/source/I_Dreamt_I_Dwelt_in_Harlem)" (with [Jerry Gray](/source/Jerry_Gray_(arranger)) and [Buddy Feyne](/source/Buddy_Feyne)), which was recorded by [Glenn Miller](/source/Glenn_Miller) and [The Delta Rhythm Boys](/source/The_Delta_Rhythm_Boys) in 1941. A few years later, he dropped out of music.<ref name="Kelsey" /> He died in 1974.<ref name="bare"/>

==Discography==
* ''1937–1938'', Sidney Bechet (Classics)<ref name="Yanow" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Bielefelder Katalog 1988
* [Richard Cook](/source/Richard_Cook_(journalist)) & [Brian Morton](/source/Brian_Morton_(Scottish_writer)): ''[The Penguin Guide to Jazz](/source/The_Penguin_Guide_to_Jazz) on CD'' 6th edition. {{ISBN|0-14-051521-6}}
* [Leonard Feather](/source/Leonard_Feather), [Ira Gitler](/source/Ira_Gitler): ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford usw. 1999; {{ISBN|978-0-19-532000-8}}
* John Jörgensen, Erik Wiedemann ''Jazzlexikon''. Mosaik, München, 1967

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Leonard}}
Category:1909 births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Musicians from Richmond, Virginia
Category:African-American jazz guitarists
Category:American male jazz composers
Category:American jazz guitarists
Category:20th-century American guitarists
Category:Jazz musicians from Virginia
Category:American male guitarists
Category:20th-century American jazz composers
Category:20th-century African-American musicians
Category:20th-century American male composers

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leonard Ware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Ware) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Ware?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.