Gus Aiken
Encyclopedia
Augustus "Gus" Aiken was an early jazz trumpeter who also did blues
. He started with the Jenkins Orphanage band.
He was first recorded professionally in 1919. In the 1920s he worked with several groups, but his best known work would be with Louis Armstrong
. He went on to play with Sid Catlett
, Roy Eldridge
, and Elmer Snowden
before his career declined. The end of the Big Band
era and the rise of rock and roll
is seen as causing the decline.
His name is often incorrectly spelled as "Gus Aitken."
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. He started with the Jenkins Orphanage band.
He was first recorded professionally in 1919. In the 1920s he worked with several groups, but his best known work would be with Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. He went on to play with Sid Catlett
Sid Catlett
Sidney Catlett , was a swinging jazz drummer often referred to as "Big Sid Catlett" because of his large frame.-Biography:...
, Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, and Elmer Snowden
Elmer Snowden
Elmer Snowden was a banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as both a player and a bandleader, and is responsible for launching the careers of many top musicians...
before his career declined. The end of the Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era and the rise of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
is seen as causing the decline.
His name is often incorrectly spelled as "Gus Aitken."