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Freddie Crump

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Freddie Crump, also referred to as Freddy Crump, Fred Crump and Rastus Crump[1] (died May 4, 1979 in Holland) was a drummer from the United States. He performed in various vaudeville[2] productions including with Gonzelle White in Cuba, performed in Europe, and was featured in several films. He was African American.

Career

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Crump's career started out in the 1920s.

Vitaphone filmed his performance with the Norman Thomas Quintette in the short film Harlem-Mania.[3][4] He would get off his seat and move around doing stunts, tricks, and laughing audibly.[2] He also performed on film with Victor Feldman in the 1942 comedy film King Arthur Was a Gentleman[5] in an act where he drummed on glasses and his own teeth.[6][7][8]

Crump spent time in Britain and Europe performing with the Johnny Claes' Big Band.[9] Claes was born in London, but his father was Belgian,[10] and Claes and performed there with an octet that included Ronnie Scott and Crump.[11] He appeared with Claes' band in the 1946 film George in Civvy Street.[12] He also appeared on several BBC radio programs doing his own comedy routines.

Count Basie was inspired by the showman's performances.[13]

Billboard noted the quality of his performance in a review of White's vaudeville group in Havana.[14] Carlo Krahmer described what he was like.[15] Tony Crombie said he was "the most fantastic drummer I've seen in my life, including Buddy Rich".[15] Ronnie Scott described Crump as a little Black guy who had a beat up drum kit that no one else could have played.[16]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Count Basie; Albert Murray (1985). Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie. Penguin Group USA. ISBN 978-0-917657-89-4.
  2. ^ a b Coleridge Goode; Roger Cotterrell (20 October 2014). Bass Lines: A Life in Jazz. Northway Publications. pp. 34–. ISBN 978-0-9928222-1-7.
  3. ^ "Vaudeville & Novelty Harlem-Mania". 20's Jazz.
  4. ^ "The Vitaphone Project!". www.picking.com.
  5. ^ Ron Ramdin (1 September 1999). Reimaging Britain: 500 Years of Black and Asian History. Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-1600-0.
  6. ^ Ronnie Scott; Kitty Grime (1979). Jazz at Ronnie Scott's. Hale. ISBN 978-0-7091-6907-9.
  7. ^ Frank Driggs; Chuck Haddix (2006). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop : a History. Oxford University Press. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-19-530712-2.
  8. ^ Marshal Royal; Claire P. Gordon (1 September 2001). Marshal Royal: Jazz Survivor. A&C Black. pp. 33–. ISBN 978-1-4411-8069-8.
  9. ^ Jazz Journal International. Billboard Limited. 2007.
  10. ^ Larry Kemp (16 October 2018). Early Jazz Trumpet Legends. Dorrance Publishing. pp. 179–. ISBN 978-1-4809-7637-5.
  11. ^ Scott, Ronnie; Hennessey, Mike (1979). Some of my best friends are blues. ISBN 9780491022392.
  12. ^ "GEORGE IN CIVVY STREET". Library of Congress.
  13. ^ Driggs, Frank; Haddix, Chuck (3 January 2019). Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop : a History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195307122 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Sampson, Henry T. (2013). Blacks in Blackface: A Sourcebook on Early Black Musical Shows. Scarecrow Press. p. 417. ISBN 9780810883512.
  15. ^ a b Scott, Ronnie; Grime, Kitty (1979). "freddie+crump"+drummer Jazz at Ronnie Scott's. ISBN 9780709169079.
  16. ^ Scott, Ronnie; Hennessey, Mike (3 January 1979). Some of my best friends are blues. W. H. Allen. ISBN 9780491022392 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ "KING ARTHUR WAS A GENTLEMAN". Library of Congress.
  18. ^ "Walking on Air (1946)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Bourne, Stephen (3 January 1998). Black in the British Frame: Black People in British Film and Television, 1896-1996. Cassell. ISBN 9780304333745 – via Google Books.
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