Hayes Alvis 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...

 bassist and tubist

Tuba

The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...

.

Born 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...

 on May 1, 1907, Alvis began on drums but switched to tuba and bass after playing with Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....

 in 1927-28. He played tuba with Earl Hines

Earl Hines

Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...

 from 1928 to 1930, and did arrangements for Hines as well.

He moved to 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...

 in 1931 and played with Jimmie Noone

Jimmie Noone

Jimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist.- Background :...

 in the Mills Blue Rhythm Band

Mills Blue Rhythm Band

The Mills Blue Rhythm Band was an American big band of the 1930s.The band was formed in Harlem in 1930, with reedman Bingie Madison the first of its many leaders. It started life as the Coconut Grove Orchestra, changing to Mills Blue Rhythm Band when Irving Mills became its manager in 1931...

 from 1931–34 and 1936. A very early double-bass solo can be heard on his 1932 recording "Rhythm Spasm". Alvis also occasionally played baritone saxophone in this ensemble as well, and was the group's tour namager. From 1935 to 1938 Alvis played with Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, working with fellow bassist/tubist Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor (jazz bassist)

William Taylor Sr. was an American jazz bassist. He was born Washington, D.C. and died in Fairfax, Virginia.Taylor began playing tuba but later picked up bass alongside it...

.

After his stint with Ellington, Alvis played with Benny Carter

Benny Carter

Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...

, Joe Sullivan

Joe Sullivan

Michael Joseph "Joe" O'Sullivan was an American jazz pianist.Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in a club where he was exposed to jazz...

, and Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

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

 (in whose ensemble he replaced Pops Foster

Pops Foster

George Murphy "Pops" Foster was a jazz musician best known for his vigorous playing of the string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally....

). From 1942 to 1945 he played 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 led by Sy Oliver

Sy Oliver

Melvin "Sy" Oliver was a jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader...

. After the war, he played with Dave Martin until 1947, and then took a longstanding run as a house musician at the Cafe Society in New York City.

In the 1950s, he played in various swing and Dixieland revival groups, including Wilbur De Paris

Wilbur de Paris

Wilbur de Paris was a trombone player and band leader, especially known for mixing New Orleans jazz style with Swing.De Paris was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his father, Sidney G...

's. In the early 1970s, he played with Jay McShann

Jay McShann

Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....

 and Tiny Grimes

Tiny Grimes

Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a recording session with Charlie Parker...

 in a trio.

He died 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...

in 1972, aged 65.

External links