Albert W. "Happy" Caldwell (sometimes incorrectly spelled Cauldwell) (July 25, 1903, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 - December 29, 1978, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

) was an American 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...

 clarinetist and tenor saxophonist.

Caldwell began on clarinet at age 16, playing in the Eighth Illinois Regimental Band and soon after in an Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 band. He studied to be a pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

 but eventually gave up his medicinal studies for jazz.

He worked with Bernie Young early in the 1920s in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, where he recorded for the first time in 1923. Around this time he also began doubling on tenor saxophone. In the middle of the 1920s he played with Mamie Smith

Mamie Smith

-External links:* African American Registry* with photos* with .ram files of her early recordings* NPR special on the selection on "Crazy Blues" to the 2005...

's Jazz Hounds, Bobby Brown's Syncopaters, 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...

, Billy Fowler, Thomas Morris

Thomas Morris

Thomas Morris may refer to:*Thomas Morris , U.S. Representative from New York*Thomas Morris , Senator from Ohio* Thomas John Morris , U.S. federal judge...

, Willie Gant

Willie Gant

Willie "The Tiger" Gant was an American jazz bandleader and pianist.Gant began on piano at age 12, and played in local New York clubs and cafes from age 17. He played with Lillyn Brown & Her Jazzbo Syncopators in 1921, and formed his own band, the Ramblers, that same year...

, and Cliff Jackson

Cliff Jackson

Clifton Luther "Cliff" Jackson was an American jazz stride pianist.After playing in Atlantic City, Jackson moved to New York City in 1923, where he played with Lionel Howard's Musical Aces in 1924 and recorded with Bob Fuller and Elmer Snowden...

. In 1929 he recorded with Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

.

In the 1930s Caldwell played with Vernon Andrade

Vernon Andrade

Vernon Andrade was an American jazz bandleader active primarily in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s.Andrade played violin as a teenager and moved to New York in the early 1920s, holding a position in Deacon Johnson's orchestra. He picked up double-bass in 1923 and became a bandleader around...

, Tiny Bradshaw

Tiny Bradshaw

Myron C. Bradshaw was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer from Youngstown, Ohio.-Early years:...

, and Louis Metcalfe, and led his own band, the Happy Pals, in the middle of the decade. He played at Minton's in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 for a short time, then moved to Philadelphia, where he played with Eugene Slappy and Charlie Gaines

Charlie Gaines

Charlie H. "Devil" Gaines was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.As a teenager Gaines played in brass bands in Philadelphia. Gaines moved to New York City in 1920, where he joined the orchestra of Wilbur Sweatman...

. He returned to New York and put together a new ensemble in the 1940s, continuing to work in small settings for several decades. In the 1970s he played with Jimmy Rushing

Jimmy Rushing

James Andrew Rushing , known as Jimmy Rushing, was an American blues shouter and swing jazz singer from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948.Rushing was known as "Mr...

, including on international tours.