John Kirby, Jazz Musician

Q-4-j

Born on 31 Dec. 1908, John Kirk (John Kirby) was raised here by the Rev. Washington Johnson. He learned to play the piano and trombone and then moved to Baltimore in the 1920s where he picked up the tuba and bass. In New York City by 1930, he played bass in legendary bands led by Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. In 1937, the John Kirby Sextet was formed at the Onyx Club on West 52d Street in New York City. Billed as "The Biggest Little Band in the Land," they were known for their musical precision and intricate arrangements and performed nationally into the middle 1940s. Kirby died on 14 June 1952 in Hollywood, California.

Department of Historic Resources, 2005

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

John Chilton, Who's Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street (New York: A Da Capo Paperback), 186-187; Donald Clarke, ed., The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (New York: Penguin Books, 1998); Roger DiKinkle, The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950 (New York: Arled House Publishers, 1974), 1025; John Kirby, 1908-1952, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/profiles/john_kirby.shtml, 13 September 2005; Colin Larkin, ed., The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (New York: Muze UK): 4: 2027; Marriage Record for John Kirk and Mary Moten, City of Winchester, Stewart Bell Archives; 1920 Census, City of Winchester, Loren Schoenberg, The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz (New York: A Central Press Book, 2002), 72-73, 139; Alan Williams, Fall From Grace: The John Kirby Story (Pensacola, Fl.: Alcoral Books, 1996).