Edward Burke

The unlikely instrumental double of violin and trombone was this artist's speciality when he was featured in the band of Walter Barnes in the late '20s. In the early '30s he gambled musically with the band of Cassino Simpson as well as taking on a load with Ed Carry's Orchestra. In the summer of 1934 he was blowing mostly trombone with Kenneth Anderson, then got into the fine band of Erskine Tate, with whom he stayed through the following year. His next job of importance was with Horace Henderson, and in 1938 he signed on the dotted Hines, Earl Hines that is, whose tricky syncopations required close attention to the dotted notes along with everything else. In the '40s, Burke performed with Walter Fuller and the tenor saxophone great Coleman Hawkins. He showed up on the East Coast and spent several long tours in a big band fronted by Cootie Williams on one of his jumps away from the Duke Ellington organization. The trombonist played in the Cab Calloway band in the early '50s and in Buddy Johnson's extended ensemble a few years later. He was soon to depart from the full-time music world, although he continued doing gigs in the '60s and '70s with Lem Johnson and Wally Edwards. Some of these jobs were simply rehearsal orchestras, allowing him a break from the pressure of actual performances. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide