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American jazz guitarist and banjoist, born c. 1900.
First professional work with pianist Frank Clarke in Norfolk, Virginia. Subsequently moved to New York, played with Wilbur Sweatman 1923 and others, to Europe with The Plantation Orchestra in 1926. Stayed in Europe to the early 1930s, playing with Arthur Briggs and others, including a brief spell with Louis Armstrong in 1934. Returned briefly to USA, back in Europe in 1937, imprisoned by the Nazis and interned at Compiegne Concentration Camp until late 1944 when he returned to the USA. ... nov lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he devotes considerable time to composing. (John Chilton, Who’s who of jazz, 1970, p. 195)