Tommy Benford

Born in the Appalachians, drummer Tommy Benford and his brother, tuba player Bill Benford, unfortunately wound up as orphans. Both boys benefited from the extensive musical training offered by the Jenkins Orphanage of South Carolina as a result of these circumstances. This institution was so proud of its musical talent that it actually put its groups on tour. Tommy Benford was hitting venues abroad with such a group as early as 1914. Following a series of concerts in London, one such tour had to be canceled due to the outbreak of the First World War. Benford began studying drums privately with Steve Wright and Herbert Wright shortly thereafter. Performances with the Green River Minstrel Show circa 1920 are considered to be his first professional engagements. Soon thereafter, Benford began drumming with the Marie Lucas Orchestra, and was based out of Washington, D.C. The capitol city was a hotbed of new jazz developments in the '20s, and the drummer began playing with Elmer Snowden, Charlie Skeet, Jelly Roll Morton, Edgar Hayes, and the orchestra of Bill Benford. There was even a one-month substitution stint with the mighty Duke Ellington. In the '30s, Benford checked out the European scene, working with players such as Eddie South, Freddy Taylor, Garland Wilson, and others who had decided there would be more interest in jazz abroad than in America. In these years the drummer recorded prolifically with many greats of the genre, including the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, the serene soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet, and improvising idol Coleman Hawkins. In 1938, Benford began working fairly regularly with reed player Willie Lewis, an association that continued for three years, both men remaining expatriates. Then begins Benford's second American period, gigging with...