Ward Pinkett
William Ward Pinkett, Jr. (April 29, 1906 – March 15, 1937) was an American jazz trumpeter and scat vocalist during the Harlem Renaissance. A respected sideman recognized as a "hot" trumpet and with a versatile ear, he played and recorded with some of the greatest jazzmen of the era, including King Oliver, Jimmy Johnson, Chick Webb and Jelly Roll Morton. His career was cut short by alcoholism. Early life Born into a musical family, Pinkett was the eldest of four children born to William Ward Pinckett and Mary Louise nee Carr of Newport News, Virginia. His father, a prosperous tailor and land owner, was an amateur cornet player who formed the Newport News Brass Band around 1900, playing for social clubs and funerals in the area. His mother played piano, often accompanying his father in the home, and his sister, Loretta Gillis (1913-1998), played saxophone in several local jazz bands. Encouraged by his father, he started learning cornet at an early age and began playing trumpet at ten. He followed his father by enrolling in the Hampton University, where he played in the school band. There he met and received trumpet lessons from Harry R. Cooper, who was attending Hampton's