Chauncey Morehouse
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Chauncey Morehouse (March 11, 1902 – October 31, 1980) was an American jazz drummer.
Biography
Chauncey Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1902 and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early age. He also played piano and banjo too. As a high schooler, he led a group called the Versatile Five. He landed a job with Paul Specht's orchestra from 1922-24 (including a tour of Europe in 1923). He also played a sized-down version of Paul Specht's band, named The Georgians. He played with Jean Goldkette from 1924–27, Adrian Rollini in 1927, and Don Voorhees in 1928-29. He also recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers, Joe Venuti and many others.
From 1929 Morehouse was active chiefly as a studio musician, working in radio and television in and around New York City. In 1938, he put together his own percussion ensemble which played percussion, designed by Morehouse and Stan King, that was tuned chromatically.
Morehouse invented a set of drums called the N'Goma drums, which were made by the Leedy Drum company, which Morehouse was endorsed by during his career. His career in the studios continued into the 1970s; in that decade Morehouse retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, mostly at festivals. He was seen at Carnegie Hall for the Tribute to Bix concert for the Newport Jazz Festival, and also at one of the early Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festivals in Davenport, Iowa.
Chauncey Morehouse died in 1980 in Medford, New Jersey, aged 78.
References
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