Henry James Wells (born 1906, in Dallas) was an American jazz trombonist, vocalist, and bandleader. He was the brother of Dicky Wells.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Henry_Wells_face_detail%2C_from-_%28Portrait_of_Dicky_Wells_and_Henry_Wells%2C_Eddie_Condon%27s%2C_New_York%2C_N.Y.%2C_ca._Jan._1947%29_%28LOC%29_%285148203175%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-Henry_Wells_face_detail%2C_from-_%28Portrait_of_Dicky_Wells_and_Henry_Wells%2C_Eddie_Condon%27s%2C_New_York%2C_N.Y.%2C_ca._Jan._1947%29_%28LOC%29_%285148203175%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Dicky_Wells_and_Henry_Wells%2C_Eddie_Condon%27s%2C_New_York%2C_N.Y.%2C_ca._Jan._1947_%28William_P._Gottlieb%29.jpg/170px-Dicky_Wells_and_Henry_Wells%2C_Eddie_Condon%27s%2C_New_York%2C_N.Y.%2C_ca._Jan._1947_%28William_P._Gottlieb%29.jpg)
Wells studied at Fisk University and the Cincinnati Conservatory, and worked professionally starting in the late 1920s. He joined Jimmie Lunceford's band in 1929 and remained with him until 1935; during this time, he also played with Cab Calloway and Claude Hopkins. From 1936 to 1941 he worked intermittently with Andy Kirk, and played with him again in 1946; he left Kirk's employ temporarily to put together his own band and to complete a stint in the U.S. Army. During his time with Kirk, he was often employed as a vocalist, including on recordings. He also played with Gene Krupa and Teddy Hill in the early 1940s. After World War II he worked with Rex Stewart and Sy Oliver; he was active as a performer on the West Coast into the 1960s.
References
edit- "Henry Wells". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.
External links
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