Harlan Leonard
Harlan Leonard (July 2, 1905 – November 10, 1983) was an American jazz bandleader and clarinetist from Kansas City, Missouri. Leonard was born in Kansas City in 1905. A professional musician from the age of 17, he joined Benny Moten's orchestra in 1923, where he led the reed section until 1931. In 1931 he and Thamon Hayes formed the Kansas City Skyrockets, which included trumpeters Ed Lewis and James Ross, trombonist Vic Dickenson, and pianist Jesse Stone. After disputes with the Chicago local of the American Federation of Musicians the band broke up. In 1939 Leonard formed Harlan Leonard and his Rockets, which featured a young Myra Taylor. This band quickly became a leading band in Kansas City and toured nationally. Charlie Parker played in this band for five weeks, but he was fired by Leonard for lack of discipline. The band featured arrangements by its piano player Tadd Dameron that bore suggestions of the transition between swing and bebop. The band broke up during the Second World War, and Leonard left professional music. He worked in banking and for the Internal Revenue Service and died in Los Angeles in 1983. |
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Birth and Death Data: Born July 2, 1905 (Kansas City), Died 1983 (Kansas City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1940
Roles Represented in DAHR: clarinet, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, leader, saxophone, composer, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 92 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-37232 | 10-in. | 12/13/1926 | Thick lip stomp | Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37233 | 10-in. | 12/13/1926 | Harmony blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37235 | 10-in. | 12/13/1926 | Yazoo blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37236 | 10-in. | 12/13/1926 | White lightnin' blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37237 | 10-in. | 12/14/1926 | Muscle Shoals blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37238 | 10-in. | 12/14/1926 | Midnight mama | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-37239 | 10-in. | 12/14/1926 | Missouri wobble | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38667 | 10-in. | 6/11/1927 | Sugar | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38668 | 10-in. | 6/11/1927 | Dear heart | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38669 | 10-in. | 6/11/1927 | The new Tulsa blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38670 | 10-in. | 6/11/1927 | Baby dear | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38671 | 10-in. | 6/11/1927 | 12th Street rag | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38672 | 10-in. | 6/12/1927 | Pass out lightly | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38673 | 10-in. | 6/12/1927 | Ding-dong blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-38674 | 10-in. | 6/12/1927 | Moten stomp | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42924 | 10-in. | 9/6/1928 | Justrite | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42925 | 10-in. | 9/6/1928 | It's hard to laugh or smile | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42926 | 10-in. | 9/6/1928 | Slow motion | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42927 | 10-in. | 9/6/1928 | Tough breaks | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42928 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | Sad man blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42929 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | Kansas City breakdown | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42930 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | Trouble in mind | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42931 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | Hot water blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42932 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | When life seems so blue | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-42933 | 10-in. | 9/7/1928 | Get low-down blues | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band, with vocal effects | instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Leonard, Harlan," accessed June 4, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109661.
Leonard, Harlan. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 4, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109661.
"Leonard, Harlan." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 4 June 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Leonard, Harlan, 1905-1983 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no93022641
Wikidata: Harlan Leonard - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q362528
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/59270151
MusicBrainz: Harlan Leonard - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1305df87-af4a-483c-a2ab-dba1910a247f
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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