Lee Blair

An excellent rhythmic player who was simply mixed up in 1920’s and had an on-and-off profession for 40 years, Lee Blair is a name in jazz background. He was selftaught on banjo aside from several lessons with Mike Pingitore from Paul Whiteman’s music group. Blair caused Charlie Skeete (1926-28) and moreover Jelly Move Morton (1928-30) with whom he also documented. After spending a while in Billy Kato’s music group (1930-31), Blair became a member of Luis Russell in 1934, sticking to his orchestra after it had been bought out by Louis Armstrong the next 12 months. Departing in 1940, Blair mainly performed part-time until he joined up with Wilbur DeParis’ New New Orleans Jazz Music group in the 1950’s. The next decade Blair went a chicken plantation near NY but did perform periodic gigs including in the World’s Good in 1964 with fellow banjoists Danny Barker and Eddie Gibbs. Lee Blair, who by no means led his personal date like a innovator, documented with Morton, Russell, Armstrong, DeParis, Dick Cary, Pee Wee Erwin, Leonard Gaskin (1962) as well as others.