Lewis, Ted (06 June 1890–25 August 1971), entertainer, musician, and bandleader, was born Theodore Leopold Friedman in rural Circleville, Ohio, the son of an owner of a dry goods store whose name cannot be ascertained. Young Theodore began his show business career performing in a nickelodeon in his hometown and learned to play the clarinet in his school band. As a beginning clarinetist, Lewis was something of a prodigy. Although he was never regarded seriously as a musician, he played easily and improvised naturally. Having no desire to go into the dry goods business and still in his teens, he went to Columbus, Ohio, where for a time he demonstrated instruments in a music store. His freewheeling improvisations amused customers but eventually caused him to lose the job....
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Lewis, Ted (06 June 1890–25 August 1971), entertainer, musician, and bandleader
James Fisher
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Turpin, Tom (1873-1922), ragtime pianist, composer, and bar owner
Richard Carlin
Turpin, Tom (1873–13 August 1922), ragtime pianist, composer, and bar owner, was born Thomas Milton J. Turpin in Savannah, Georgia, the son of John L. “Jack” Turpin, a bar owner and amateur wrestler, and Lulu Waters. The Turpin family was prominent in Savannah’s African-American community, but by 1880 they had relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where John Turpin opened the Silver Dollar Saloon. Young Tom began playing piano from an early age and was employed at one of the best known of the city’s bars, the Castle Club, by the early 1890s. By 1893 he had opened his own saloon, which eventually became known as the Rosebud Bar, with Turpin grandly proclaiming himself “President of the Rosebud Club.” The bar became a meeting place for local pianists, including Louis Chauvin....
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Ventura, Charlie (1916-1992), jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader
Barry Kernfeld
Ventura, Charlie (02 December 1916–17 January 1992), jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader, was born Charles Venturo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a hat factory owner. His parents’ names are unknown. During summer vacations from high school, Ventura apprenticed as a saddle maker. Around 1934 he acquired a C-melody saxophone. While working by day in the Philadelphia Navy Yard during the last years of the depression, he played in local night clubs. Jam sessions at the Down Beat Club brought him into contact with jazz trumpeters ...
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