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Thomas "Tommy" Benford (April 19, 1905 - March 24, 1994) was an African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 jazz drummer
Jazz drumming

Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz....
.

Tommy Benford was the younger brother of tuba player Bill Benford
Bill Benford

Bill Benford was an American jazz double-bassist and tuba.Benford was the brother of drummer Tommy Benford. He, like his brother, was a member of the Jenkins Orphanage band in South Carolina as a child, touring with the band in 1915 in the United States and Europe....
. He studied music at the Jenkins Orphanage
Jenkins Orphanage

The Jenkins Orphanage was established in 1891 by Rev. Daniel J. Jenkins in Charleston, South Carolina. Jenkins was a former slave turned minister who, upon stumbling across homeless youths, decided to organize an orphanage for young African American children, the first of its kind in Charleston....
 located in South Carolina. He went on tour with the school band including traveling to England in 1914.

In 1920, he was working with the Green River Minstrel Show. Benford recorded with Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton was an United States ragtime pianist, bandleader and composer.Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton claimed, in self-promotional hyperbole, to have invented jazz outright in 1902....
 in 1928 and 1930. He also played with Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader.Duke Ellington was recognized during his life as one of the most influential Jazz royalty, if not in all American music and he is of only four jazz musicians ever to have been featured on the cover of Time magazine ....
, Fats Waller
Fats Waller

Fats Waller was an United States Jazz piano, organ , composer and comedy entertainer....
 and Eddie South
Eddie South

Eddie South was an American jazz violinist. He was a European classical music 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 Erskine Tate in Chicago....
.






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Thomas "Tommy" Benford (April 19, 1905 - March 24, 1994) was an African American
African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
 jazz drummer
Jazz drumming

Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz....
.

Tommy Benford was the younger brother of tuba player Bill Benford
Bill Benford

Bill Benford was an American jazz double-bassist and tuba.Benford was the brother of drummer Tommy Benford. He, like his brother, was a member of the Jenkins Orphanage band in South Carolina as a child, touring with the band in 1915 in the United States and Europe....
. He studied music at the Jenkins Orphanage
Jenkins Orphanage

The Jenkins Orphanage was established in 1891 by Rev. Daniel J. Jenkins in Charleston, South Carolina. Jenkins was a former slave turned minister who, upon stumbling across homeless youths, decided to organize an orphanage for young African American children, the first of its kind in Charleston....
 located in South Carolina. He went on tour with the school band including traveling to England in 1914.

In 1920, he was working with the Green River Minstrel Show. Benford recorded with Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton was an United States ragtime pianist, bandleader and composer.Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton claimed, in self-promotional hyperbole, to have invented jazz outright in 1902....
 in 1928 and 1930. He also played with Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and bandleader.Duke Ellington was recognized during his life as one of the most influential Jazz royalty, if not in all American music and he is of only four jazz musicians ever to have been featured on the cover of Time magazine ....
, Fats Waller
Fats Waller

Fats Waller was an United States Jazz piano, organ , composer and comedy entertainer....
 and Eddie South
Eddie South

Eddie South was an American jazz violinist. He was a European classical music 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 Erskine Tate in Chicago....
. During the 1930s he stayed in Europe for a longer time, where he recorded with Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins

Coleman Randolph Hawkins , nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was a prominent jazz Tenor saxophone.He is commonly regarded as the first important and influential jazz musician to use the instrument: Joachim E....
, Bill Coleman
Bill Coleman

William Johnson Coleman was a jazz trumpeter from the swing era.He had his musical debut in 1927. Coleman's first recordings were with the Luis Russell orchestra, but all solos on record went to the rising star Henry "Red " Allen....
, Joe Turner
Joe Turner

Joe Turner may refer to:* Big Joe Turner, blues musician* Joe Lynn Turner, rock musician* Joe Turner , English footballer* Joe Turner , Canadian hockey player...
, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt

Jean-Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt was a Belgian Gypsy jazz guitarist.One of the first prominent European jazz musicians, Reinhardt remains one of the most renowned jazz guitarists due to his innovative and distinctive playing....
, and Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophone, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort....
. During the 1940s he worked with Noble Sissle
Noble Sissle

Noble Sissle was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer and playwright.|filename=Eubie Blake - Just Wild about Harry.ogg|title=I'm Just Wild About Harry...
, with Snub Mosley
Snub Mosley

Lawrence Leo "Snub" Mosley was an American jazz trombonist.Mosley played trombone in high school and then joined Alphonse Trent's territory band, playing with him from 1926 to 1933....
  and Bob Wilber
Bob Wilber

Bob Wilber , is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz pieces in a contemporary manner....
 in New York City. At Jimmy Ryan's club he gigged with Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart

Rex Stewart was an United States jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra.After stints with Elmer Snowden, Fletcher Henderson, Horace Henderson, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, and Luis Russell, Stewart joined the Ellington band in 1934....
. During the 1950s he toured with Muggsy Spanier
Muggsy Spanier

Francis Joseph Julian "Muggsy" Spanier was a prominent white cornet player based in Chicago. He was renowned as the best trumpet/cornet in Chicago until Bix Beiderbecke entered the scene....
 and with Jimmy Archey
Jimmy Archey

Jimmy Archey was an United States jazz trombonist born in Norfolk, Virginia, perhaps most noteworthy for his work in several prominent jazz orchestras and big bands of his time ....
.

In later life he played with Stan McDonald
Stan McDonald

Stanley Montrose "Stan" McDonald is a traditional jazz clarinetist and saxophone player. He was one of the original members of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band....
. Benford died on March 24, 1994.

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