Rozelle Claxton 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...

 pianist.

Claxton learned piano at age 11 and was playing professionally with Clarence Davis

Clarence Davis

Clarence Eugene Davis is a former American football running back who played with the National Football League's Oakland Raiders from 1971 to 1978.-College career:...

 by age 17, whose band was working with W.C. Handy. He played and arranged for Harlan Leonard

Harlan Leonard

Harlan Leonard was an American jazz bandleader and clarinetist from Kansas City, Missouri.A professional musician from the age of 17, he joined Benny Moten's orchestra in 1923, where he led the reed section until 1931. In 1931 he and Thamon Hayes formed the Kansas City Skyrockets, which included...

 and played solo 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...

 in the 1930s. Following this he played with Ernie Fields

Ernie Fields

Ernie Fields was an African American trombonist, pianist, arranger and bandleader. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, which were based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and toured along a circuit stretching from Kansas City, Kansas, to Dallas, Texas.-Early life and career:Fields was born...

 and Eddie South

Eddie South

Eddie South was an American jazz violinist.-Biography:South was a classical violin prodigy who switched to jazz because of limited opportunities for African-American musicians, and started his career playing in vaudeville and jazz orchestras with Freddie Keppard, Jimmy Wade, Charles Elgar, and...

, and had a short stint as a substitute pianist in Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

's orchestra. Later in the 1940s he played with Walter Fuller

Walter Fuller

Walter "Rosetta" Fuller was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is no relation to Gil Fuller, whose birth name is also Walter.-Biography:...

, George Dixon

George Dixon (trumpeter)

Not to be confused with George W. Dixon of The Spinners.George Dixon was an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist....

, 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...

, Red Norvo

Red Norvo

Red Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments...

, Jimmie Lunceford

Jimmie Lunceford

James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...

, and Andy Kirk

Andy Kirk

Andrew Dewey Kirk was a jazz saxophonist and tubist best known as a bandleader of the "Twelve Clouds of Joy," popular during the swing era....

. In the 1950s he did much work accompanying vocalists, including Pearl Bailey

Pearl Bailey

Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...

. He worked with Franz Jackson

Franz Jackson

Franz Jackson was a saxophonist and clarinetist of the Chicago jazz school.Notable as one of the last surviving jazz artists to have recorded pre-1940, Jackson was still active well into his 90s in various jazz clubs of Chicago...

from 1959 well into the 1960s, in addition to continuing solo appearances in Chicago as an organist and pianist.