Gordon Stretton

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Gordon Stretton (June 5, 1887 – 1982^[1]), born William Masters,^[1] was an African-descended drummer from Liverpool, who first gained fame in the 1910s and later became one of the first Liverpool-based musicians to gain international acclaim. He played with Charlie Chaplin in the "Lancashire Lads Dancing Troupe" and eventually performed in locales including London and Paris, ^[2] before settling in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he lived from the late 1920s until his death in 1982.^[1]

In 1908, he toured Britain as a member of a Jamaican choir. In 1921, in New York City he recorded with the Syncopated Jazz Band ("Satanic Blues"/"Lucky Dog Blues" Actuelle 10156 E). In 1923, he led the Orchestre Syncopated Six in Paris, where he recorded "Fate" and "Tu Verras." After relocating to Argentina, by 1929 he founded Gordon Stretton's Symphonic Jazz Band.^[1]