Chelsea Quealey
Chelsea Ellsworth Quealey (March 12, 1905 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut – May 6, 1950 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American jazz trumpeter. Quealey began as a reedist but eventually settled on trumpet, playing with Jan Garber in 1925 and the California Ramblers in 1926-27. Between 1927 and 1929 he played in England, on recordings with Fred Elizalde and also in Bert Firman's band. Upon his return to the U.S. he worked with Don Voorhees, Paul Whiteman, and Ben Pollack in the early 1930s, and later in the decade with Isham Jones (1935–36), Red McKenzie, Joe Marsala, Frankie Trumbauer (1937), and Bob Zurke (1939-40). In the early and middle 1940s he played Dixieland jazz at Nick's in New York City. In 1946 he moved to California, where he essentially retired due to heart problems. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Sandy Hook (village in Connecticut), Died May 6, 1950 (Las Vegas (City of Clark County, and largest city in state of Nevada, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1938
Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 66 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | 470 | 10-in. | January 1928 | Dixie | Bobby Davis ; Fred Elizalde Hot Music ; Chelsea Quealey ; Adrian Rollini | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Brunswick | 471 | 10-in. | Jan. 1928 | Tiger rag | Bobby Davis ; Fred Elizalde Hot Music ; Chelsea Quealey ; Adrian Rollini | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9654 | 10-in. | 7/10/1925 | Silver head | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9655 | 10-in. | 7/10/1925 | I'm gonna Charleston back to Charleston | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9656 | 10-in. | 7/10/1925 | Ukulele lady | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9694 | 10-in. | 8/18/1925 | Normandy | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9695 | 10-in. | 8/18/1925 | Sweet man | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | 9696 | 10-in. | 8/18/1925 | My sweetie turned me down | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | X-43 | 10-in. | 3/19/1926 | Gimme a li'l kiss, will ya, huh? | Arthur Fields ; The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/danc band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | X-44 | 10-in. | 3/19/1926 | Could I? - I certainly could | Arthur Fields ; The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Gennett | X-45 | 10-in. | 3/19/1926 | I'd climb the highest mountain | The Vagabonds [Gennett Records] | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, trumpet | |
| Decca | 38496 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Blue room | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38497 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | I've found a new baby | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38498 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Sweet Sue, just you | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38499 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Tiger rag | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38500 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | You're O.K. | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38502 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Dallas blues | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38503 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | China boy | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38504 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Four or five times | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38505 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Where the arrow points to home | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38506 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Here come the British | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38507 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Pardon my Southern accent | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38508 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Jimtown blues | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38509 | 10-in. | 8/31/1934 | Black magic | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet | ||
| Decca | 38515 | 10-in. | 9/4/1934 | Panama | Isham Jones Orchestra | instrumentalist, trumpet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Quealey, Chelsea," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/338685.
Quealey, Chelsea. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/338685.
"Quealey, Chelsea." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Chelsea Quealey
Discogs: Chelsea Quealey
Allmusic: Chelsea Quealey
Grove: Chelsea Quealey
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Quealey, Chelsea, 1905-1950 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2005102259
Wikidata: Chelsea Quealey - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5090128
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/53890625
MusicBrainz: Chelsea Quealey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f9a1fe70-3916-4000-bb95-d5467ea5be35
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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