Walter "King" Fleming (May 4, 1922 – April 1, 2014) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader.He was born in Chicago, Illinois.
A classmate of Sonny Cohn, after playing trombone in the McKinley High School band, Fleming went on to study at the Midwest College of Music. He had already led several informal bands before King Fleming and His Swing Band first performed in September 1942. When he was drafted into the U.S. Army in July 1943, the band continued performing under the leadership of other bandmembers until too many of its members had been called up for it to be viable.
Discharged in 1945, Fleming started doing session work in Los Angeles and joined Johnnie Alston & His All Stars for recording dates backing Wynonie "Blues" Harris on Apollo. Johnny Alston and His Orchestra later signed for the Bihari Brothers' Modern label, and Fleming and Al "Cake" Wichard were joined by Addison Farmer. By mid-1946, Fleming had joined the Swing combo Oliver "King" Perry's Pied Pipers with Norman Bowden (trumpet); George "Happy" Johnson (trombone); Wesley Prince (bass) and Joe Harris (drums) before returning to Chicago to lead his own King Fleming's Four with Jay Peters (tenor sax), "Hog" Mason (bass), and Tommy Hill (drums) and getting a write-up in Down Beat for June 18, 1947.
In 1950 he was a member of the Dallas Bartley Quartet, with Johnny Thompson (tenor sax) and Oliver Coleman (drums), and that summer he recorded as a session pianist for the vocal group, the Dozier Boys, at their recording session for Chess Records. Later that year he joined Oliver Coleman's Palmaires; the other members were Nelson Berry (tenor saxophone) and Sylvester Hickman (bass).
In 1954 he finally recorded under his own name, on the Blue Lake label, with John Neely (tenor saxophone); Russell Williams (bass); Aubrie Jones (drums); Lorez Alexandria (vocals) and in 1955 for the Chess label. The Chess brothers invited him back the following year, again with vocalist Lorez Alexandria, to record "Stompin' at the Savoy". In 1957, his group backed Lorez Alexandria on her first two albums for the King label, and collaborated with Muhal Richard Abrams, who wrote arrangements for a King Fleming-led big band.
Between 1960 and 1965, he recorded three piano trio albums for Argo and Cadet Records, which were Phil and Leonard Chess's jazz labels. He also appeared on two singles released locally by singer George Green.
After many years during which his trio worked steadily in the Chicago area without drawing interest from the recording industry, King Fleming resurfaced on the Southport label in 1996.
Fleming died at the age of 91 at a retirement home in Manteno, Illinois on April 1, 2014.
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Walter "King" Fleming (4 de mayo de 1922 - 1 de abril de 2014) fue un pianista y director de orquesta de jazz estadounidense. Nació en Chicago, Illinois.
Un compañero de clase de Sonny Cohn, después de tocar el trombón en la banda de McKinley High School, Fleming estudió en el Midwest College of Music. Ya había dirigido varias bandas informales antes de que King Fleming y His Swing Band se presentaran por primera vez en septiembre de 1942. Cuando fue reclutado en el Ejército de los EE. UU. En julio de 1943, la banda continuó tocando bajo el liderazgo de otros miembros de la banda hasta que muchos de sus miembros habían sido elegidos. Llamado para que sea viable.
Dado de baja en 1945, Fleming comenzó a trabajar en una sesión en Los Ángeles y se unió a Johnnie Alston & His All Stars para grabar fechas que respaldan a Wynonie "Blues" Harris en Apollo. Más tarde, Johnny Alston y su orquesta firmaron para el sello moderno de Bihari Brothers, y Addison Farmer se unió a Fleming y Al "Cake" Wichard. A mediados de 1946, Fleming se había unido al combo de Swing Oliver "King" Perry's Pied Pipers con Norman Bowden (trompeta); George "Happy" Johnson (trombón); Wesley Prince (bajo) y Joe Harris (batería) antes de regresar a Chicago para dirigir su propio King Fleming's Four con Jay Peters (saxo tenor), "Hog" Mason (bajo) y Tommy Hill (batería) y escribir un artículo. en Down Beat para el 18 de junio de 1947.
En 1950 fue miembro del Dallas Bartley Quartet, con Johnny Thompson (saxo tenor) y Oliver Coleman (batería), y ese verano grabó como pianista de sesión para el grupo vocal, los Dozier Boys, en su sesión de grabación para Chess. Archivos. Más tarde ese año se unió a Palmaires de Oliver Coleman; los otros miembros fueron Nelson Berry (saxofón tenor) y Sylvester Hickman (bajo).
En 1954 finalmente grabó bajo su propio nombre, en el sello Blue Lake, con John Neely (saxofón tenor); Russell Williams (bajo); Aubrie Jones (batería); Lorez Alexandria (voz) y en 1955 para el sello de Ajedrez. Los hermanos de Ajedrez lo invitaron al año siguiente, nuevamente con el vocalista Lorez Alexandria, para grabar "Stompin 'at the Savoy". En 1957, su grupo respaldó a Lorez Alexandria en sus primeros dos álbumes para el sello King, y colaboró con Muhal Richard Abrams, quien escribió los arreglos para una gran banda liderada por King Fleming.
Entre 1960 y 1965, grabó tres álbumes de trío de piano para Argo y Cadet Records, que eran los sellos de jazz de Phil y Leonard Chess. También apareció en dos singles lanzados localmente por el cantante George Green.
Después de muchos años durante los cuales su trío trabajó constantemente en el área de Chicago sin atraer el interés de la industria discográfica, King Fleming resurgió en el sello Southport en 1996.
Fleming murió a la edad de 91 años en una casa de retiro en Manteno, Illinois, el 1 de abril de 2014.
A1 Dearly Beloved / Written-By – Jerome Kern, John H. Mercer
A2 Weary Traveler / Written-By – King Fleming
A3 Snow Bound / Written-By – Clarence Kehner*, R. Faith
A4 Taking A Chance On Love / Written-By – John Latouche, Ted Fetter, Vernon Duke
B1 Green Leaves Of Summer / Written-By – Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Webster
B2 I Remember You / Written-By – John H. Mercer, Victor Schertzinger
B3 Riff A Plenty / Written-By – King Fleming
B4 Walk Softly / Written-By – King Fleming
B5 One O'Clock Jump / Written-By – Count Basie
B6 Darn It / Written-By – King Fleming
Credits:
Arranged By – King Fleming, Will Jackson
Bass – Melvin Jackson
Drums – William Cochran
Piano – King Fleming
Recorded
April, 1965
Ter Mat Recording Studios, Chicago, IL
Recording Engineer Ron Malo
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