Ed Kirkeby band leader, vocalist, manager, and salesman, is best remembered as the manager of Fats Waller

Fats Waller

Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...

. He was one of the first recording managers at Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 to record jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and organized the California Ramblers to record it. He used several pseudonyms for recording including Ted Wallace, Ed Kirkeby Wallace, and Eddie Lloyd (and Loyd). Over the years he also managed the Pickens Sisters, was an A&R

A&R

Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 person at RCA Victor, and worked in the band booking department at NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

. As Fats Waller’s manager he also acted as his archivist building a collection which is held today by the Institute of Jazz Studies

Institute of Jazz Studies

The Institute of Jazz Studies is the largest and most comprehensive library and archive of jazz and jazz-related materials in the world, located at the Newark campus of Rutgers University.-History:...

. After Waller’s death in 1943 Kirkeby remained active managing many other groups and musicians (including Pat Flowers

Pat Flowers

Ivelee Patrick "Pat" Flowers was an American jazz pianist and singer.Flowers started his professional career as the pianist during intermissions at Uncle Tom's Cabin in Detroit when he was 18 years old...

) through 1977.

Albums:

• The Columbia House Bands: Ed Kirkeby, Vol. 1

Books:

• Ain't Misbehavin' - Describes his years with Fats Waller

External links

• http://www.answers.com/topic/ed-kirkeby
• http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ijs/fw/kirkeby.htm