Leon Washington
Leon Diamond Washington (June 27, 1909, Jackson, Mississippi – February 19, 1973, Chicago) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Born in Mississippi, Washington grew up in Chicago from the age of three. He started on clarinet before moving on to tenor saxophone, and studied under Santy Runyon. After finishing high school, he played professionally from 1926, joining Zinky Cohn's band and recording with Frankie Franko (1930) and Bernie Young & the Creolians (1931–33). He played with Carroll Dickerson from 1934-35 at the Sunset Cafe in Chicago, then played briefly with Louis Armstrong in 1935. He played with Earl Hines in 1937, before joining Red Saunders' group, where he remained for the next 25 years, recording with him extensively in addition to occasionally releasing material under his own name. Leaving Saunders' band in 1963, he became an official at the Chicago musicians' union. Washington died of leukemia in 1973. |
Birth and Death Data: Died February 19, 1973
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1953
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 39 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D6AB-1822 | 10-in. | 2/18/1946 | That's my gal | Original Honeydrippers ; Roosevelt Sykes | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Victor | D6AB-1823 | 10-in. | 2/18/1946 | Tonight | Original Honeydrippers ; Roosevelt Sykes | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Victor | D6AB-1824 | 10-in. | 2/18/1946 | Living in a different world | Original Honeydrippers ; Roosevelt Sykes | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Victor | D6AB-1825 | 10-in. | 2/18/1946 | Sunny road | Original Honeydrippers ; Roosevelt Sykes | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5170 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Blow, Mr. Low-Blow | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5171 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Sharecropper boogie | Miss Sharecropper ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5172 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Chi (Chicago) | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5173 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Lyin' girl blues | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5251 | 10-in. | 4/20/1951 | Stop, pretty baby, stop | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5252 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Mistreatin' woman blues | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5253 | 10-in. | 6/15/1950 | Week day blues | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5254 | 10-in. | 4/20/1951 | 4 a.m. | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5278 | 10-in. | 8/24/1951 | Last night's party | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5279 | 10-in. | 8/24/1951 | Hey bartender | Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5280 | 10-in. | 8/24/1951 | Boot 'em up | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5281 | 10-in. | 8/24/1951 | Sugar bounce | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Joe Williams | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5284 | 10-in. | 8/25/1951 | It's just what you think | Ray Orlando ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5285 | 10-in. | 8/25/1951 | Lonely | Ray Orlando ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5314 | 10-in. | 1/18/1952 | Hambone | Hambone Kids ; Dolores Hawkins ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal chorus | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5315 | 10-in. | 1/18/1952 | La raspa | Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5326 | 10-in. | 3/24/1952 | Chicken today and feathers tomorrow | June Davis ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5327 | 10-in. | 3/24/1952 | I played the fool | June Davis ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5328 | 10-in. | 3/24/1952 | A long dark hallway (with a low ceiling) | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Barbara Reeves | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5329 | 10-in. | 3/24/1952 | Don't go | Red Saunders Orchestra ; Barbara Reeves | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CCO5330 | 10-in. | 4/3/1953 | Zeke'l Zeke'l | Hambone Kids ; Red Saunders Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal chorus | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Washington, Leon," accessed December 12, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/350116.
Washington, Leon. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 12, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/350116.
"Washington, Leon." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 12 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Washington, Leon, 1909-1973 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2005041854
Wikidata: Leon Washington - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q15485462
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/56810893
MusicBrainz: Leon Washington - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/7cc35e88-8a84-4883-abcc-9be232c43a9d
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