Skeeter Best

Skeeter Best
Birth nameClifton Best
Born(1914-11-20)November 20, 1914
Kinston, North Carolina, U.S.
Died(1985-05-27)May 27, 1985
New York
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentGuitar

Clifton "Skeeter" Best (November 20, 1914 – May 27, 1985) was an American jazz guitarist.[1][2]

Best played in Philadelphia from 1935 to 1940, recording with Slim Marshall and Erskine Hawkins. In 1940, he joined Earl Hines's orchestra, playing with him until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942. After the war, he played with Bill Johnson from 1945 to 1949. He toured East Asia with Oscar Pettiford in 1951[3] and 1952, and formed his own trio in the 1950s. He did a critically acclaimed session with Ray Charles and Milt Jackson in 1957 called Soul Brothers.[1]

In 1958, he recorded with Mercer Ellington and taught in New York City.[1] He also recorded with Harry Belafonte, Etta Jones, Nellie Lutcher, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson, Paul Quinichette, Jimmy Rushing, Sonny Stitt, Charles Thompson, and Lucky Thompson.

  1. ^ a b c Wynn, Ron. "Skeeter Best". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Skeet Best". The New York Times. 3 June 1985. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. ^ Dicaire, David (2006) Jazz Musicians, 1945 to the Present, p. 36. McFarland at Google Books. Retrieved 30 April 2013.