Ed Cuffee

b. Edward Emerson Cuffee, 7 June 1902, Norfolk, Virginia, USA, d. 3 January 1959, NEW YORK, NY, USA. Through the middle- and past due 20s Cuffee performed trombone with many bands, based in NY, among that have been Clarence Williams and McKinney’s Natural cotton Pickers. In 1936 he became a member of Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra where he continued to be for nearly 3 years. He then performed in various rings, including Count number Basie’s. With the past due 40s, when he documented with Bunk Johnson, Cuffee was playing just part-time and thereafter proved helpful mainly outside music. A fascinating and sometimes motivated player, Cuffee acquired a penchant for the blues, and was generally a reliable sideman.