Newton, Frankie (actually, William Frank)
Newton, Frankie (actually, William Frank)
Newton, Frankie (actually, William Frank), jazz trumpeter; b. Emory, Va., Jan. 4, 1906; d. N.Y., March 11, 1954. He moved to N.Y. after having toured the West Coast in the early and mid-1920s. From 1927–30 he worked mainly with Lloyd and then Cecil Scott in N.Y. and on tours, then worked around N.Y. with Chick Webb, Charlie Johnson, Elmer Snowden, and Sam Wooding. He recorded with Bessie Smith in 1933, and worked with Charlie Johnson from c. September 1933 until entering hospital in late 1935. After a brief return to Charlie Johnson, he played with Teddy Hill from spring 1936 until spring 1937. Complications followed a tonsillectomy sidetracked him in May 1937. He worked with John Kirby from July until September 1937, when he was sidelined by a back injury. From December 1937 until February 1938 he was with Lucky Millinder, then primarily led his own bands which he led mostly in N.Y. and Boston from the end of 1938 until about 1951. He also freelanced with James P. Johnson, Sid Catlett and Edmond Hall. In summer 1948 he suffered a serious setback when his home (and trumpet) were lost in a fire. In last years of his life did little regular playing, lived in Greenwich Village, devoting considerable time to painting and politics.
Discography
.I B. Smith: “Gimme a Pigfoot.” M. Mezzrow: “Mutiny in the Parlor”
—John Chilton Who’s Who of British Jazz/Lewis Porter