Percy Humphrey

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Percy Humphrey | image = EagleBandPHumphrey.jpg | caption = Percy Humphrey, trumpeter and leader of New Orleans jazz bands | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Percy Gaston Humphrey | birth_date = {{Birth date|1905|1|13}} | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|7|22 |1905|1|13 |mf=yes}} | death_place = New Orleans | genre = [[Jazz]], [[dixieland]] | occupation = Musician | instrument = Trumpet | years_active = | label = | past_member_of = [[Eureka Brass Band]], [[Preservation Hall Jazz Band]] }}

'''Percy Gaston Humphrey''' (January 13, 1905 – July 22, 1995<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/obituaries/percy-humphrey-jazz-trumpeter-90.html|title=Percy Humphrey, Jazz Trumpeter, 90|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 25, 1995}}</ref>) was an American [[jazz]] trumpeter and bandleader in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana.

In addition to his band, Percy Humphrey and His Crescent City Joymakers, for more than thirty years he was leader of the Eureka Brass Band. He also played in the band of the pianist [[Sweet Emma Barrett]]. From its opening in the early 1960s until shortly before his death, Humphrey played often at [[Preservation Hall]], traveling internationally for performances with the [[Preservation Hall Jazz Band]] and his own bands.

Percy Humphrey was the younger brother of clarinetist [[Willie Humphrey]] and trombonist [[Earl Humphrey]]. His father was clarinetist Willie Eli Humphrey. His grandfather was "Professor" Jim Humphrey, who took the train from New Orleans to sugar cane plantations during the 1890s to teach music to children of plantation workers.

==Leader of Eureka Brass Band (1946-1975)== The [[Eureka Brass Band]] was founded in 1920 by trumpeter Willie Wilson. The band's members included clarinetists Willie Parker, [[John Casimir (clarinetist)|John Casimir]], and [[George Lewis (clarinetist)|George Lewis]]. Humphrey took over the band in 1946 and led the group for the remainder of its existence. The members of the band varied, usually having nine to eleven members. Typical instrumentation was three trumpets, two trombones, two reeds, tuba, snare drum, and bass drum. Reed instruments were many, including the saxophones that often are found among jazz bands, but the clarinet is characteristically the signature reed instrument of New Orleans jazz.

They recorded prolifically, for such labels as Pax, Alamac, [[Folkways Records|Folkways]], [[Jazzology]], and Sounds of New Orleans. A 1951 album, '' New Orleans Parade'', features Humphrey, trombonists Charles "Sunny" Henry and Albert Warner, and saxophonist [[Emanuel Paul]]. Their 1962 sessions, ''Jazz at Preservation Hall, Volume 1: the Eureka Brass Band of New Orleans'', issued on [[Atlantic Records]], features Humphrey and his brother, Willie, trumpeters [[Kid Sheik Cola]] and [[Peter Bocage]], trombonists Albert Warner and Oscar "Chicken" Henry, Emanuel Paul on tenor saxophone, Wilbert "Bird" Tillman on [[sousaphone]], snare drummer [[Cie Frazier]], and bass drummer Robert "Son Fewclothes" Lewis.

The Eureka Brass Band disbanded in 1975, but Humphrey subsequently revived the name for festival performances and other appearances. He continued to lead his own band and perform at Preservation Hall until his death in New Orleans in 1995. His last performance was at the annual New Orleans jazz festival in April, three months before his death at the age of ninety.

==Discography== * 1953 ''Percy Humphrey at Manny's Tavern'' ([[Biograph Records|Biograph]]) * 1954 ''Sounds of New Orleans, Vol. 1'': ''Paul Barbarin & His Band/Percy Humphrey's Jam Session'' ([[Storyville Records|Storyville]]) * 1961 ''Percy Humphrey's Crescent City Joymakers'' ([[Riverside Records|Riverside]]) * 1965 ''Climax Rag'' ([[Delmark Records|Delmark]]) * 1972 ''New Orleans to Scandinavia'' (SLP) * 1972 ''A Portrait of Percy Humphrey'' (Storyville) * 1974 ''Living New Orleans Jazz'' (Smokey Mary) * 1995 ''Jazz in Schloss Gracht'' ([[GHB Records|GHB]]) * 1995 ''Hot Six'' (GHB) * 1996 ''Percy Humphrey & Paul Barbarin'' (American Recordings) * 2000 ''In Italy'' (GHB) * 2014 ''Percy Humphrey and the New Orleans Joymakers'' (GHB)<ref name="AM discog">{{cite web|title=Percy Humphrey {{!}} Album Discography {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/percy-humphrey-mn0000839025/discography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=18 November 2017}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Percy}} [[Category:1905 births]] [[Category:1995 deaths]] [[Category:Dixieland trumpeters]] [[Category:Dixieland bandleaders]] [[Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans]] [[Category:American jazz trumpeters]] [[Category:American male trumpeters]] [[Category:Riverside Records artists]] [[Category:20th-century American trumpeters]] [[Category:20th-century American male musicians]] [[Category:American male jazz musicians]] [[Category:Preservation Hall Jazz Band members]] [[Category:Eureka Brass Band members]]