Reuben "River" Reeves 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...

 trumpeter and bandleader.

Reeves started out playing locally in the Midwest; 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 1924 and then to 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...

 in 1925. In 1926 he joined Erskine Tate

Erskine Tate

Erskine Tate was an American jazz violinist and bandleader.Tate moved to Chicago in 1912 and was an early figure on the Chicago jazz scene, playing with his band, the Vendome Orchestra, at the Vendome Theater, which was located at 31st and State Street...

's orchestra, then played with Fess Williams

Fess Williams

Stanley Williams was an American jazz musician.-Early life:...

 and Dave Peyton

Dave Peyton

Dave Peyton was an Americansongwriter, pianist, and arranger.Peyton first began as a pianist in the trio of Wilbur Sweatman, where he played from 1908 to 1912. Following this Peyton led his own ensembles in various theaters in Chicago...

 (1928-1930). He signed to Vocalion

Vocalion Records

Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...

 and recorded as a bandleader with his groups the Tributaries and the River Boys; among his sidemen were his brother, trombonist Gerald Reeves, and clarinetist Omer Simeon

Omer Simeon

Omer Victor Simeon was an American jazz clarinetist. He also played soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....

 (20 sides were recorded in 1929). He played under Cab Calloway

Cab Calloway

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....

 in 1931-32, and recorded again with the River Boys in 1933. He toured as a leader from 1933-35, then played freelance through the late 1930s. He led 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 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and played in Harry Dial's Blusicians in 1946.

Reeves' entire output as a bandleader has been released to a single compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 by RST Records.