Roy Eldridge Bio/Disco

At the age of six, Roy played his first gig with his brothers band. He played the drums, as he did not even play the trumpet yet. At age seven, Roy joined his church’s band. As they already had a drummer, he needed to learn a different instrument. He decided to learn the bugle. His brother saw his natural brass talent and talked him into playing the trumpet, saying he would have a better time, because the bugle can only do certain notes and the trumpet would allow him to play melodies. Roy started taking lessons from P. M. Williams. Until this point, his

In the late 1940’s many other American players made Roy feel out of place, because he played swing instead of the newer be-bop style that had found it’s way into American Jazz. Because of this, in 1950 Roy moved to Paris. While in Europe he faced a lot of jazz lovers and little racial prejudice. In 1952 he returned to the United States a different player. For the rest of the 1950’s Roy played with Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic which was jazz in a classical setting. He also began playing at Jimmy Ryan’s, a popular New York club featuring Dixieland jazz. In 1980, Roy had a heart attack that forced him to quit playing the trumpet in public. Sometimes he still appeared playing the drums, piano, or singing, but his music performing career was just about over. He still offered trumpet lessons, and he was an important spokesman for the jazz community and fighting racism within the “white” bands. In early 1989, Roy’s wife died. Roy followed only about four weeks later.

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