Editing Roy Eldridge

{{Short description|American jazz trumpeter (1911–1989)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Roy Eldridge
| image               = Roy Eldridge, Spotlite (Club), New York, ca. Nov. 1946 (William P. Gottlieb 02271).jpg
| image_size          = 
| landscape           = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Eldridge in 1946
| background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name          = David Roy Eldridge
| native_name         = 
| native_name_lang    = 
| alias               = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1911|01|30}}
| birth_place         = [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], US
| origin              = 
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1989|02|26|1911|01|30}}
| death_place         = [[Valley Stream, New York]], US
| genre               = [[Jazz]], [[Swing music|swing]], [[big band]]
| occupation          = Musician
| instrument          = Trumpet
| years_active        = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) -->
| label               = 
| past_member_of     = [[Charlie Barnet]]
| website             = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
'''David Roy Eldridge''' (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "'''Little Jazz'''", was an American [[jazz]] trumpeter.  His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of [[tritone substitution]]s, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the dominant style of jazz trumpet innovator [[Louis Armstrong]], and his strong impact on [[Dizzy Gillespie]] mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the [[swing era]] and a precursor of [[bebop]].

== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Eldridge was born on the [[North Side (Pittsburgh)|North Side]] of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], on January 30, 1911, to parents Alexander, a wagon teamster, and Blanche, a gifted pianist with a talent for reproducing music by ear, a trait that Eldridge claimed to have inherited from her.<ref>Chilton, pp. 4–5.</ref> Eldridge began playing the piano at the age of five; he claimed to have been able to play coherent [[blues]] licks at even this young age.<ref>Chilton, p. 5.</ref> The young Eldridge looked up to his older brother, [[Joe Eldridge (musician)|Joe Eldridge]] (born Joseph Eldridge, 1908, North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died March 5, 1952), particularly because of Joe's diverse musical talents on the violin, alto saxophone, and clarinet.<ref>Chilton, pp. 5–6.</ref> Roy took up the drums at the age of six, taking lessons and playing locally.<ref>Chilton, p. 6.</ref> Joe recognized his brother's natural talent on the [[bugle]], which Roy played in a local church band, and tried to convince Roy to play the [[trumpet|valved trumpet]]. When Roy began to play drums in his brother's band, Joe soon convinced him to pick up the trumpet, but Roy made little effort to gain proficiency on the instrument at first.<ref>Chilton, p. 7.</ref> It was not until the death of their mother, when Roy was eleven, and his father's subsequent remarriage that Roy began practicing more rigorously, locking himself in his room for hours, and particularly honing the instrument's [[upper register]].<ref>Chilton, p. 8.</ref> From an early age, Roy lacked proficiency at [[sight-reading]], a gap in his musical education that would affect him for much of his early career, but he could replicate melodies by ear very effectively.<ref>Chilton, p. 9.</ref>

=== Career ===

==== Early career and traveling bands ====
Eldridge led and played in a number of bands during his early years, moving extensively throughout the American [[Midwest]].<ref>[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/08689 Eldridge, (David) Roy in Oxford Music Online] Gunther Schuller, ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved March 26, 2012.</ref> He absorbed the influence of saxophonists [[Benny Carter]] and [[Coleman Hawkins]], setting himself the task of learning Hawkins's 1926 solo on "The Stampede" (by [[Fletcher Henderson]]'s Orchestra) in developing an equivalent trumpet style.<ref>Lyttelton, p. 410.</ref>

Eldridge left home after being expelled from high school in ninth grade, joining a traveling show at the age of sixteen; the show soon folded, however, and he was left in [[Youngstown, Ohio]].<ref>Chilton, pp. 12–13.</ref> He was then picked up by the "Greater Sheesley Carnival," but returned to Pittsburgh after witnessing acts of racism in [[Cumberland, Maryland]] that significantly disturbed him.<ref>Chilton, pp. 14–16.</ref> Eldridge soon found work leading a small band in the traveling "Rock Dinah" show,<ref>Chilton, p. 16.</ref> his performance therein leading swing-era bandleader [[Count Basie]] to recall young Roy Eldridge as "the greatest trumpet I'd ever heard in my life."<ref>Basie, quoted in Chilton, p. 18.</ref> Eldridge continued playing with similar traveling groups until returning home to Pittsburgh at the age of 17.<ref>Chilton, p. 22.</ref>

At the age of 20, Eldridge led a band in Pittsburgh, billed as "Roy Elliott and his Palais Royal Orchestra",<ref name="Balliett, p. 151">Balliett, p. 151.</ref> the agent intentionally changing Eldridge's name because "he thought it more classy."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Chilton, p. 22.</ref> Roy left this position to try out for the orchestra of [[Horace Henderson]], younger brother of famed New York City bandleader [[Fletcher Henderson]], and joined the ensemble, generally referred to as The Fletcher Henderson Stompers, Under the Direction of Horace Henderson.<ref>Chilton, p. 25.</ref> Eldridge then played with a number of other territory bands, staying for a short while in Detroit before joining [[Speed Webb]]'s band which, having garnered a degree of movie publicity, began a tour of the Midwest.<ref>Chilton, pp. 32–34, 37.</ref> Many of the members of Webb's band, annoyed by the leader's lack of dedication, left to form a practically identical group with Eldridge as bandleader.<ref>Chilton, pp. 39–40.</ref> The ensemble was short-lived, and Eldridge soon moved to [[Milwaukee]], where he took part in a celebrated [[cutting contest]] with trumpet player [[Jabbo Smith|Cladys "Jabbo" Smith]], with whom he later became good friends.<ref>Chilton, pp. 40–42.</ref>

==== New York and Chicago ====
Eldridge moved to New York in November 1930, playing in various bands in the early 1930s, including a number of [[Harlem]] dance bands with [[Cecil Scott]], [[Elmer Snowden]], [[Charlie Johnson (bandleader)|Charlie Johnson]], and [[Teddy Hill]].<ref name=Robinson691>Robinson, p. 691.</ref> It was during this time that Eldridge received his nickname, 'Little Jazz', from Ellington saxophonist [[Otto Hardwick]], who was amused by the incongruity between Eldridge's raucous playing and his short stature.<ref name=Wilson>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/28/obituaries/roy-eldridge-78-jazz-trumpeter-known-for-intense-style-is-dead.html |title=Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead |first=John S. |last=Wilson |author-link=John S. Wilson (music critic) |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 28, 1989}}</ref> At this time, Eldridge was also making records and radio broadcasts under his own name. He laid down his first recorded solos with Teddy Hill in 1935, which gained almost immediate popularity.<ref name=Robinson691 /> For a brief time, he also led his own band at the reputed Famous Door nightclub.<ref name=Robinson691 /> Eldridge recorded a number of small group sides with singer [[Billie Holiday]] in July 1935, including "[[What a Little Moonlight Can Do]]" and "[[Miss Brown to You]]", employing a [[Dixieland]]-influenced improvisation style.<ref>Oliphant, pp. 343–44.</ref> In October 1935, Eldridge joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, playing lead trumpet and occasionally singing.<ref name=Robinson691 /> Until he left the group in early September 1936, Eldridge was Henderson's featured soloist, his talent highlighted by such numbers as "Christopher Columbus" and "Blue Lou."<ref>Oliphant, pp. 51–52.</ref> His rhythmic power to swing a band was a dynamic trademark of the jazz of the time. It has been said that "from the mid-Thirties onwards, he had superseded [[Louis Armstrong]] as the exemplar of modern 'hot' trumpet playing".<ref>Lyttelton, p. 414.</ref>

In the fall of 1936, Eldridge moved to Chicago to form an octet with older brother Joe Eldridge playing saxophone and [[arranging]]. The ensemble boasted nightly broadcasts and made recordings that featured his extended solos, including "[[After You've Gone (song)|After You've Gone]]" and "Wabash Stomp."<ref name=Robinson691 /> Eldridge, fed up with the racism he had encountered in the music industry, quit playing in 1938 to study radio engineering.<ref name="Balliett, p. 151"/> He was back to playing in 1939, when he formed a ten-piece band that gained a residency at New York's Arcadia Ballroom.<ref name=Robinson691 />

==== With Gene Krupa's Orchestra ====
In April 1941, after receiving many offers from white swing bands, Eldridge joined [[Gene Krupa]]'s Orchestra, and was successfully featured with rookie singer [[Anita O'Day]].<ref name=Robinson692>Robinson, p. 692.</ref> In accepting this position, Eldridge became one of the first black musicians to become a permanent member of a white big band.<ref name="Oliphant, p. 326">Oliphant, p. 326.</ref> Eldridge was critical in changing the course of Krupa's big band from pop-oriented "[[schmaltz]]" to jazz.<ref>Olipihant, pp. 304–305.</ref> The group's cover of [[Jimmy Dorsey]]'s "[[Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)|Green Eyes]]," previously an entirely orchestral work, was transformed into jazz via Eldridge's playing; critic Dave Oliphant notes that Eldridge "lift[ed]" the tune "to a higher level of intensity."<ref>Oliphant, p. 307.</ref> Eldridge and O'Day were featured in a number of recordings, including the novelty hit "Let Me Off Uptown" and "Knock Me a Kiss".<ref name=Wilson />

One of Eldridge's best known recorded solos is on a rendition of [[Hoagy Carmichael]]'s tune, [[Rockin' Chair (1929 song)|"Rockin' Chair"]], arranged by [[Benny Carter]] as something like a concerto for Eldridge.<ref name=Oliphant308>Oliphant, p. 308.</ref> Jazz historian [[Gunther Schuller]] referred to Eldridge's solo on "Rockin' Chair" as "a strong and at times tremendously moving performance", although he disapproved of the "opening and closing [[cadenza]]s, the latter unforgivably aping the corniest of operatic cadenza traditions."<ref>Schuller, quoted in Oliphant, p. 308.</ref> Critic and author Dave Oliphant describes Eldridge's unique tone on "Rockin' Chair" as "a raspy, buzzy tone, which enormously heightens his playing's intensity, emotionally and dynamically" and writes that it "was also meant to hurt a little, to be disturbing, to express unfathomable stress."<ref name=Oliphant308 />

After complaints from Eldridge that O'Day was upstaging him, the band broke up when Krupa was jailed for marijuana possession in July 1943.<ref>O'Day, pp. 102–123.</ref>

==== Touring, freelancing, and small group work ====
After leaving Krupa's band, Eldridge freelanced in New York during 1943 before joining [[Artie Shaw]]'s band in 1944. Owing to racial incidents that he faced while playing in Shaw's band, he left in October 1945 to form a big band,<ref name=Robinson692 /> but this eventually proved financially unsuccessful, and Eldridge returned to small group work.<ref name=Robinson692 />

In the postwar years, he became part of the group which toured under the [[Jazz at the Philharmonic]] banner.<ref name=Robinson692 /> and became one of the stalwarts of the tours. The JATP's organiser [[Norman Granz]] said that Roy Eldridge typified the spirit of jazz. "Every time he's on he does the best he can, no matter what the conditions are. And Roy is so intense about everything, so that it's far more important to him to dare, to try to achieve a particular peak, even if he falls on his ass in the attempt, than it is to play safe. That's what jazz is all about."<ref>Quoted in Steve Voce, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100423125846/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/norman-granz-729533.html Obituary Norman Granz], ''The Independent'', November 26, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2008.</ref>

Eldridge moved to [[Paris]], France, in 1950 while on tour with [[Benny Goodman]], before returning to New York in 1951 to lead a band at the [[Birdland (jazz club)|Birdland]] jazz club. He additionally performed from 1952 until the early 1960s in small groups with [[Coleman Hawkins]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and [[Earl Hines]] among others, and also began to record for Granz at this time.<ref name=Robinson692 /> By 1956, his recordings were showcased on national radio networks by [[Ben Selvin]] as part of the [[RCA Thesaurus]] transcriptions library.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iwoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Ben+Selvin+RCA+Thesaurus&pg=PA39 The Billboard Music-Radio - "Thesaurus in Pact for Granz Transcriptions" 18 August 1956 p. 39 Ben Selvin RCA Thesaurus on Google Books.com]</ref> Eldridge also toured with Ella Fitzgerald from late 1963 until March 1965 and with Count Basie from July until September 1966 before returning to freelance playing and touring at festivals.<ref name=Robinson692 />

In 1960, Eldridge participated, alongside [[Abbey Lincoln]], [[Charles Mingus]], [[Eric Dolphy]], [[Kenny Dorham]] and others, in recordings by the [[Jazz Artists Guild]], a short-lived grouping formed by Mingus and [[Max Roach]] as a reaction to the perceived commercialism of the Newport Festival.<ref>Referred to in the liner notes of the LP by [[Nat Hentoff]], [http://www.elusivedisc.com/JAZZ-ARTISTS-GUILD-NEWPORT-REBELS-180g-LP/productinfo/PPRLP9022/ quoted here:]</ref> These resulted in the ''Newport Jazz Rebels'' LP.

==== Racial barriers ====
As the featured soloist in Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa's bands, Eldridge was something of an exception, as black musicians in the 1930s were not allowed to appear in public with white bands.<ref name="Oliphant, p. 326"/> Artie Shaw commented on the difficulty Roy had in his band, noting that "Droves of people would ask him for his autograph at the end of the night, but later, on the bus, he wouldn't be able to get off and buy a hamburger with the guys in the band."<ref name="Balliett, p. 151"/> Krupa, on at least one occasion, spent several hours in jail and paid fines for starting a fistfight with a restaurant manager who refused to let Eldridge eat with the rest of the band.<ref>"Gene Krupa Fined", ''Cleveland Gazette'', January 3, 1942.</ref>

=== Late life ===
Eldridge became the leader of the house band at [[Jimmy Ryan's|Jimmy Ryan's jazz club]] on [[Manhattan]]'s [[54th Street (Manhattan)|West 54th Street]] for several years, beginning in 1969.<ref name=Wilson /> Although Ryan's was primarily a [[Dixieland]] venue, Eldridge tried to combine the traditional Dixieland style with his own more brash and speedy playing.<ref name=Wilson /> Eldridge was incapacitated by a stroke in 1970, but continued to lead the group at Ryan's soon after and performing occasionally as a singer, drummer and pianist.<ref name="Wilson, Roy Eldridge's Ambition">Wilson, "Roy Eldridge's Ambition".</ref> Writer Michael Zirpolo, seeing Eldridge at Ryan's in the late 1970s, observed: "I was amazed that he still could pop out those piercing high notes, but he did, with frequency....I worried about his health, because the veins at his temples would bulge alarmingly."<ref>Zirpolo, p. 54.</ref> As leader at Ryan's, Eldridge was noted for his occasional hijinx, including impromptu "amateur night" sessions during which he'd invite inexperienced players on stage to lead his band, often for comedic effect and to give himself a break.<ref>Zirpolo, p. 55.</ref> In 1971, Eldridge was inducted into ''[[DownBeat]]'' magazine's [[Down Beat|Jazz Hall of Fame]].

Eldridge has a Queens street sign at [[Liberty Avenue (New York City)|Liberty Avenue]], part of the Jazz Greats along the [[Van Wyck Expressway]], which commemorates Queens as the home of jazz in the 1940s and '50s. He had his home in [[Hollis, Queens|Hollis]], Queens. 
[[File:RoyEldridge home.jpg|thumb|Eldridge's home]]

After suffering a heart attack in 1980, Eldridge gave up playing the trumpet.<ref name="Wilson, Roy Eldridge's Ambition"/> He did however occasionally play the piano and can be heard as late as 1986 in an edition of Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" He died at the age of 78 at the Franklin General Hospital in [[Valley Stream, New York|Valley Stream]], New York, three weeks after the death of his wife, Viola.<ref name=Wilson />

===Influences===
According to Roy, his first major influence on the trumpet was [[Rex Stewart]], who played in a band with young Roy and his brother Joe in Pittsburgh.<ref>Chilton, p. 10.</ref> But unlike many trumpet players, the young Eldridge did not derive most of his inspiration from other trumpeters, but from saxophonists. Roy first developed his solo style by playing along to recordings of [[Coleman Hawkins]] and [[Benny Carter]], and later said that, after hearing these musicians: "I resolved to play my trumpet like a sax."<ref>Chilton, pp. 11–12.</ref> Following these musicians was evidently beneficial to Roy, who got one of his first jobs by auditioning with an imitation of Coleman Hawkins' solo on Fletcher Henderson's "Stampede" of 1926.<ref name=Giddins69>Giddins, p. 69.</ref> Eldridge additionally purports to have studied the styles of white [[cornet]]tist [[Red Nichols|Loring "Red" Nichols]] and Theodore "Cuban" Bennett, whose style was also very much influenced by the saxophone.<ref>Chilton, p. 14.</ref> Eldridge, by his own report, was not significantly influenced by trumpeter Louis Armstrong during his early years, but did undertake a major study of Armstrong's style in 1932.<ref name=Robinson691 />

==== Style ====
Eldridge was very versatile on his horn, not only quick and articulate with the low to middle registers, but the high registers as well; jazz critic Gary Giddins described Eldridge as having a "flashy, passionate, many-noted style that rampaged freely through three octaves, rich with harmonic ideas impervious to the fastest [[tempos]]."<ref name=Giddins69 /> Eldridge is frequently grouped among those jazz trumpeters of the 1930s and '40s, including [[Red Allen]], [[Hot Lips Page]], [[Shad Collins]], and [[Rex Stewart]] who eschewed Louis Armstrong's lyrical style for a rougher and more frantic style.<ref>Giddins, p. 70.</ref> Of these players, critic Gary Giddins names Eldridge "the most emotionally compelling, versatile, rugged, and far-reaching."<ref name=Giddins71>Giddins, p. 71.</ref> Eldridge was also lauded for the intensity of his playing; Ella Fitzgerald once said: "He's got more soul in one note than a lot of people could get into the whole song."<ref name=Wilson /> The high register lines that Eldridge employed were one of many prominent features of his playing, and Eldridge expressed a penchant for the expressive ability of the instrument's highest notes, frequently incorporating them into his solos.<ref name=Giddins71 /> Eldridge was also known for his fast style of playing, often executing blasts of rapid [[double-time]] notes followed by a return to standard time. His rapid-fire style was noted by jazz trumpeter [[Bill Coleman (trumpeter)|Bill Coleman]] when Roy was as young as seventeen; when asked by Coleman how he achieved his speed, Eldridge replied: "Well, I've taken the tops off my valves and now they really fly."<ref>Quoted in Chilton, p. 1.</ref> Eldridge attributes these virtuosic elements of his style to a rigorous practice regime, particularly as a teen: "I used to spend eight, nine hours a day practicing every day."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Chilton, p. 2.</ref> Critic J. Bradford Robinson sums up his style of playing as exhibiting "a keen awareness of [[harmony]], an unprecedented dexterity, particularly in the highest register, and a full, slightly overblown [[timbre]], which crackled at moments of high tension."<ref name=Robinson691 /> Giddins also notes that Eldridge "never had a pure or golden tone; his sound was always underscored by a vocal rasp, an urgent, human roughness."<ref name=Giddins71 />

As for Eldridge's singing style, jazz critic Whitney Balliett describes Eldridge as "a fine, scampish jazz singer, with a light, hoarse voice and a highly rhythmic attack," comparing him to American jazz trumpeter and vocalist [[Hot Lips Page]].<ref name="Balliett, p. 153">Balliett, p. 153.</ref>

==== Musical impact ====
Eldridge's fast playing and extensive development of the instrument's upper register were heavy influences on [[Dizzy Gillespie]], who, along with [[Charlie Parker]], brought [[bebop]] into existence. Tracks such as "Heckler's Hop", from Eldridge's small group recordings with alto saxophonist and clarinettist [[Scoops Carry]], in which Eldridge's use of the high register is particularly emphasized, were especially influential for Dizzy.<ref>Oliphant, p. 388.</ref> Dizzy got the chance to engage in numerous jam sessions and "trumpet battles" with Eldridge at New York's [[Minton's Playhouse]] in the early 1940s.<ref>Robinson, pp. 692–93.</ref> Referring to Eldridge, Dizzy went so far as to say: "He was the Messiah of our generation."<ref>Gillespie, quoted in Giddins, p. 70.</ref> Eldridge first heard Dizzy on bandleader [[Lionel Hampton]]'s 1939 recording of "Hot Mallets", and later recalled: "I heard this trumpet solo and I thought it was me. Then I found out it was Dizzy."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Wilson, "Roy Eldridge's Ambition".</ref> A careful listening to bebop standards, such as the song "Bebop", reveals how much Eldridge influenced this genre of jazz. Eldridge also claimed that he was not impressed with Dizzy's bop solo style, saying once to bebop trumpeter [[Howard McGhee]] after jamming with Dizzy at the Heat Wave club in Harlem: "I don't dig it...I ''really'' don't understand him."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Deveaux, p. 73.</ref> Although frequently touted as the bridge between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, Eldridge always insisted: "I was never trying to be a bridge between Armstrong and something."<ref>Wilson, "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades".</ref>

Other significant musicians influenced by Roy Eldridge include [[Shorty Sherock]] of the [[Bob Crosby]] Orchestra,<ref>Oliphant, p. 294.</ref> and bebop pioneers Howard McGhee and [[Fats Navarro]].<ref>Deveaux, p. 66.</ref>

=== Personality ===
Eldridge was famously considered competitive by those who knew him with pianist Chuck Folds saying: "I can't imagine anyone more competitive than he [Roy] was in the 1970s. I've never met anyone scrappier than Roy, ever, ever, ever."<ref>Folds, quoted in Chilton, p. 3.</ref> Eldridge fully admitted to his competitive spirit, saying "I was just trying to outplay anybody, and to outplay them my way."<ref>Eldridge, quoted in Wilson, "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades".</ref> Jazz trumpeter Jonah Jones reports that Eldridge's willingness to "go anywhere and play against anyone" even led to a cutting contest with his own hero, Rex Stewart.<ref>Jones, quoted in Chilton, p. 30.</ref> Roy could also become antagonistic, particularly in the face of those he deemed racist.<ref>Chilton, p. 3.</ref> Many noted Roy's constant restlessness with saxophonist Billie Bowen noting that Roy "could never, even as a youngster, sit down for more than a few minutes, he was always restless."<ref>Bowen, quoted in Chilton, p. 32.</ref> Eldridge is also said to have suffered from sporadic stage fright.<ref name="Balliett, p. 153"/> He occasionally found himself in trouble with women which included an incident that involved his being forced to sell his trumpet temporarily in order to reclaim a portion of the money that had been stolen from him by a woman with whom he had drunkenly spent the night.<ref>Chilton, p. 38.</ref> Roy is also said to have developed a fiery temper later in life according to clarinettist [[Joe Muranyi]].  Muranyi worked with Eldridge at Ryan's and has called Eldridge's temper "Mt. Vesuvius to the fifth power."<ref name="Balliett, p. 151"/>

== Discography ==
[[File:Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Hill, Minton's Playhouse, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1947 (William P. Gottlieb 06231).jpg|thumb|right|240px|(From left) [[Thelonious Monk]], [[Howard McGhee]], Roy Eldridge, [[Teddy Hill]], [[Minton's Playhouse]], New York, c. September 1947<br/> Photograph by [[William P. Gottlieb]]]]
* ''The Big Band of Little Jazz'' (Topaz, 1935–45) <small>with Dickie Wells, Benny Goodman, [[Benny Carter]], [[Teddy Wilson]], Gene Krupa, [[John Kirby (musician)|John Kirby]]</small>
* ''Heckler's Hop'' ([[Hep Records|Hep]], 1936–1939) <small>with Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, [[Helen Ward (singer)|Helen Ward]]</small>
* ''After You've Gone'' ([[Decca Records|Decca]]/GRP, 1936–46) <small>with [[Ike Quebec]], [[Cecil Payne]], [[Billy Taylor]], [[Sahib Shihab]], [[Wilbur De Paris]]</small>
* ''Roy Eldridge 1943–1944'' (Classics); ''1945–1947'' (Classics)
* ''Roy Eldridge in Paris'' (Vogue, 1950/51)
* ''[[Roy's Got Rhythm]]'' ([[EmArcy Records|EmArcy]], 1951)
* ''Nuts'' ([[Disques Vogue]], 1950) <small>with [[Zoot Sims]], [[Dick Hyman]], [[Pierre Michelot]]</small>
* ''French Cooking'' (Vogue, 1950–51) <small>with Raymond Fol, Barney Spieler</small>
* ''[[Rockin' Chair (Roy Eldridge album)|Rockin' Chair]]'' ([[Clef Records|Clef]], 1951–52, [1955])
*''[[Dale's Wail]]'' (Clef, 1953, [1955])
* ''The Strolling Mr. Eldridge With The Oscar Peterson Trio'' (Clef, 1954)
* ''[[Little Jazz]]'' (Clef, 1954)
* ''[[Roy and Diz]]'' (Clef, 1954) <small>with [[Dizzy Gillespie]]</small>
* ''[[Swingin' on the Town]]'' ([[Verve Records|Verve]], 1960)
* ''[[Oscar Peterson and Roy Eldridge]]''
* ''Little Jazz'' (1957; 7"; EmArcy [Mercury]) <small>(plus Charlie Shavers, Joe Thomas, Jonah Jones & Emmett Berry) (prebop jazz/swing style)</small>
*''[[The Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Pete Brown, Jo Jones All Stars at Newport]]'' (Verve, 1957)
* ''The Complete Verve Roy Eldridge Studio Sessions'' (Mosaic, later Verve)
* "Newport Rebels" ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1960)
* ''The Nifty Cat'' (Master Jazz/New World, 1970) <small>with Budd Johnson, Benny Morton, [[Nat Pierce]]</small>
*''[[The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner]]'' ([[Pablo Records|Pablo]], 1974) with [[Big Joe Turner]], [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Sweets Edison|Harry "Sweets" Edison]] and [[Clark Terry]]
* ''Roy Eldridge and Oscar Peterson'' ([[Original Jazz Classics|OJC]], 1974) <small>Duo-Aufnahmen</small>
* ''Little Jazz and the Jimmy Ryan All-Stars'' (Pablo, 1975) <small>with [[Dick Katz]], [[Major Holley]]</small>
* ''[[Happy Time (Roy Eldridge album)|Happy Time]]'' (Pablo, 1975)
* ''[[Jazz Maturity...Where It's Coming From]]'' (Pablo, 1975)
* ''[[Oscar Peterson and The Trumpet Kings - Jousts]]'' (Pablo, 1975)
* ''[[The Trumpet Kings at Montreux '75]]'' (Pablo) <small>with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry</small>
* ''[[What It's All About (Roy Eldridge album)|What It's All About]]'' (Pablo, 1976) <small>with Milt Jackson, Budd Johnson</small>
* ''[[Roy Eldridge 4 - Montreux '77|Montreux 1977]]'' (Pablo, 1977) <small>with Oscar Peterson, [[Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen]], [[Bobby Durham (jazz musician)|Bobby Durham]]</small>
* ''Roy Eldridge & [[Vic Dickenson]]'' ([[Storyville Records|Storyville]], 1978) <small>with [[Tommy Flanagan (musician)|Tommy Flanagan]]</small>
* ''[[Heckler's Hop]]'' (Hep, 1995)

=== As sideman ===
'''With [[Count Basie]]'''
* ''[[Count Basie at Newport]]'' (Verve, 1957)
* ''[[Basie Swingin' Voices Singin']]'' ([[ABC-Paramount]], 1966)
* ''[[Broadway Basie's...Way]]'' (Command, 1966)
*''[[Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975]]'' (Pablo, 1975)
'''With [[Herb Ellis]]'''
* ''[[Nothing But the Blues (Herb Ellis album)|Nothing But the Blues]]'' (Verve, 1958)
'''With [[Ella Fitzgerald]]'''
* ''[[Ella at Juan-Les-Pins]]'' (Verve, 1964)
'''With [[Paul Gonsalves]]'''
* ''[[Mexican Bandit Meets Pittsburgh Pirate]]'' ([[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]], 1973)
'''With [[Coleman Hawkins]]'''
*''[[Disorder at the Border]]'' (Spotlite, 1952 [1973])
*''[[Coleman Hawkins and Confrères]]'' (Verve, 1958)
*''[[Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate!]]'' (Verve, 1962)
'''With [[Johnny Hodges]]'''
* ''[[Blues-a-Plenty]]'' (Verve, 1958)
* ''[[Not So Dukish]]'' (Verve, 1958)
*''[[Triple Play (Johnny Hodges album)|Triple Play]]'' (RCA Victor, 1967)
'''With [[Illinois Jacquet]]'''
* ''[[Swing's the Thing (Illinois Jacquet album)|Swing's the Thing]]'' (Clef, 1956)
'''With [[Jo Jones]]'''
*''[[The Main Man]]'' (Pablo, 1977)
'''With [[Gene Krupa]] and [[Buddy Rich]]'''
*  ''[[The Drum Battle]]'' (Verve, 1952 [1960])
'''With [[Anita O'Day]] and [[The Three Sounds]]'''
* ''[[Anita O'Day & the Three Sounds]]'' (Verve, 1962) - 1 track
'''With [[Buddy Tate]]'''
* ''[[Buddy Tate and His Buddies]]'' (Chiaroscuro, 1973)
'''With [[Art Tatum]]'''
* ''The Art Tatum - Roy Eldridge - Alvin Stoller - John Simmons Quartet'' (Clef, 1955); ''The Tatum Group Masterpieces'' with John Simmons (bass), Alvin Stoller (drums) (reissued Pablo, 1975)
'''With [[Ben Webster]]'''
* ''[[Ben Webster and Associates]]'' (Verve, 1959)
'''With [[Lester Young]]'''
* ''[[Laughin' to Keep from Cryin']]'' (Verve, 1958)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
*[[Whitney Balliett|Balliett, Whitney]]. "Little Jazz." ''The New Yorker'' 61.43 (1985): pp.&nbsp;151–59. ''RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.''. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
*[[John Chilton|Chilton, John]]. ''Roy Eldridge, Little Jazz Giant.'' New York: Continuum, 2002. Print. {{ISBN|0-8264-5692-8}}.
*Deveaux, Scott and Howard McGhee. "Jazz in the Forties." ''The Black Perspective in Music'' 15.1 (Spring 1987): 64–78. ''JSTOR.'' Web. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
*[[Humphrey Lyttelton|Lyttelton, Humphrey]]. ''The Best of Jazz.'' Robson Books, 1998. {{ISBN|1-86105-187-5}}.
*[[Gary Giddins|Giddins, Gary]]. "The Excitable Roy Eldridge." ''Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and Innovation in the '80s.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. {{ISBN|0-19-503558-5}}.
*"Gene Krupa Fined After Socking Manager for Refusal to Admit Colored Boy Roy Eldridge in Pa. Restaurant." ''Cleveland Gazette'', January 3, 1942: 2. ''America's Historical Newspapers.'' Web. April 14, 2012.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100423125846/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/norman-granz-729533.html Obituary Norman Granz], ''The Independent,'' November 25, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
*[[Anita O'Day|O'Day, Anita]] and George Eels. ''High Times, Hard Times.'' New York: Limelight, 1981. {{ISBN|0-87910-118-0}}.
*Oliphant, Dave: ''The Early Swing Era: 1930–1941.'' Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-313-30535-8}}.
*Robinson, J. Bradford and Barry Kernfeld. "Eldridge, Roy." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,'' 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. New York: Grove, 2002. {{ISBN|1-56159-174-2}}.
*[[Gunther Schuller|Schuller, Gunther]]. "Eldridge, (David) Roy ['Little Jazz']." ''Oxford Music Online.'' [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/08689]. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
*[[John S. Wilson (music critic)|Wilson, John S.]] "Roy Eldridge, 78, Jazz Trumpeter Known for Intense Style, Is Dead." ''New York Times'' February 28, 1989: 7. ''Newspaper Source.''. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
*Wilson, John S. "Roy Eldridge's Ambition: 'To Outplay Anybody.'" ''New York Times'' June 30, 1981: C5. ''ProQuest Historical Newspapers.'' Web. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
*Wilson, John S. "Roy Eldridge: Jazz Trumpeter for All Decades." ''New York Times'' October 17, 1982: H25. ''ProQuest Historical Newspapers.'' Web. April 14, 2012.
*Zirpolo, Michael P. "Sitting in with Roy Eldridge at Jimmy Ryan's." ''The IAJRC Journal'' 42.2 (2009): 54. ''RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.'' Web. April 14, 2012

== External links ==
*{{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p6448}}
*[http://pubcs.free.fr/jg/jazz_trumpet_transcriptions_jacques_gilbert_english.html#eldridge Jazz Trumpet site]
*[https://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_eldridge_roy.htm PBS's "Jazz" site]
*{{Find a Grave|6165898}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0253184|name=Roy Eldridge}}
{{Roy Eldridge}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldridge, Roy}}
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