Composer ("In the Mood", "Leap Frog"), songwriter, arranger and saxophonist, educated at Shaw University, the Aeolian Conservatory, and the New York School of Portraiture and Commercial Photography. He was a member of the Cosmopolitan Brass Band in Baltimore between 1920-1922, and the Excelsior Military Band in Norfolk, Virginia between 1922 and 1929. He was a saxophonist and arranger with Louis Armstrong, and also performed with small groups. Joining ASCAP in 1941, his chief musical collaborators included Robert Bruce and Gilbert Mills. His other popular-song and instrumental compositions include "The Stuff is Here", "Harlem After Midnight", "Jazz Martini", "Congo Caravan", "Brown Sugar Mine", "Once in Ev'ry Heart", "Keep the Rhythm Going", "Serenade to a Savage", "Easy Go" and "What's Your Hurry?".