8. Central High School
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8. Central High School t's amazing how many Rockefeller dropped out a few Cleveland musicians who weeks before he was due to I went on to win national graduate. and even international fame, When Noble Sissie started in music at Cleveland's enrolled at Central in 1906, old Central High School. he was one of only six black Among the many jazz notables students. from Central were Noble There were still very few Sissie, Buster Harding, Andy black students at Central High Anderson, Skippy Williams, School in 1914 when future Harold Arnold, Harry "Pee poet, playwright, essayist and Wee" Jackson, Freddie novelist Langston Hughes Webster, Tadd Dameron, enrolled. He quickly began "Bull Moose" Jackson, Ernie contributing articles and Freeman, Shep Shepherd, drawings to the school literary Howard Roberts, Chink journal. By his senior year, McKinney, Jimmy Williams, Hughes became the chief Willie Smith, Fats Heard, Gay editor of the school yearbook. Crosse and Johnny Powell. He told the Cleveland Press in Central High School began 1946, "It was at old Central in 1846 in the basement of a High School that what literary church on Prospect Avenue. abilities I had were Ten years later, the school incubated." From Central, moved to a brick and stone Hughes went on to become building at Erie Street (later what some have called "the East 9th) and Euclid Avenue. poet laureate ofblack people." It was not only the first high By 1929, because of the school in Cleveland, it was migration of blacks from the also the fIrst free, public high South to find jobs in school west of the Old Central High School on East 55th Street Cleveland and changing Alleghenies. housing patterns, about half of Ironically, when music was fITst taught at Central, Central's 660 students were black. By the early 1930s, some believed it was an improper use ofschool funds. In Central had become a predominantly black school, and by the early years, most of the students were from the late '30s, the great majority of all of Cleveland's Cleveland's oldest, most respected families. black high school students attended Central. School By 1868, Central High School had grown to 214 officials decided to switch the educational emphasis away students. When enrollment exceeded 300, officials from liberal arts. They revamped the curriculum to train decided to build a new high school, a Victorian Gothic black students as domestics and laborers. But Central structure that was completed in High School also had a ''vocational 1878 at 2201 Willson Avenue music department" designed to (later East 55th Street) at Central prepare students for careers Avenue. The new building'S teaching and performing music. ornate clock tower was donated by Veteran Cleveland saxophonist a graduate, Mrs. John D. Andy Anderson, who was at Rockefeller, Sr. It faced the Central during that period, avenue that was arched with trees recalled, "I started taking up music and boasted some of Cleveland's under Dr. Reddig, the music most imposing homes. director. We had dances on Early Central graduates Thursday nights." The school' s included street light inventor reputation for music was just Charles Brush, U.S. Senator Mark Cleveland Press I CSU Archives beginning. Hanna, and businessman and civic Members of the Central High School By the late 1930s, James Lee activist Samuel Mather. John D. marching band at a football game had become the music director. 88 Cleveland Jazz History Willie Smith remembered, "Mr. Lee liked excellence in doubled on music and he gave everybody a chance. We had a big instruments," said band at Central with guys like Woody Holt who played Anderson. "We saxophone and Carl Fields, the trumpet player. We had blowed like mad!" shows going on all the time." Later members of William "Shep" Shepherd, who later played with the Marion Sears Dizzy Gillespie's big band, remembered Mr. Lee was Orchestra included crazy about big band jazz and took his students to the Freddie Webster and Palace Theatre to hear Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey Earle Warren who and Benny Goodman. "Mr. Lee got us special passes to later played with go and see Goodman (in 1939). I stood right there and Count Basie and, with looked over at them when he had Lionel Hampton, Harding, composed Teddy Wilson and all ofthem." "9:20 Special." Jimmy Williams, who went on to play with the After making a Fletcher Henderson and Jimmie Lunceford bands, name for himself in NOJS recalled, "Mr. Lee was a really nice guy. He let me have Cleveland playing bass Andy Anderson a trombone." and saxophone, James "Chink" McKinney, a drummer, said Central Anderson in the early 1940s went to Los Angeles where gave the young jazz musicians "a lot of support even he gigged with Ben Webster and a 21-year-old though they taught those other types of music. They saxophonist named Paul -Gonsalves, who later spent two knew that's what we liked, so they gave us plenty of decades with Ellington. Anderson said, "Gonsalves could support, especially Mr. Lee. He used to write really blow then!" arrangements himself. He used to be in an orchestra. He Andy recalled one night when he was jamming with told us about how he used to travel around with seven or Webster, Lester Young walked in and wanted to sit in eight pieces and how they'd work for $5 a night." with the group. Anderson found himself in an awkward Williams added, "Mr. Lee took me under his wing position. "Ben and 1 were sitting there playing and pretty and started showing me about orchestrations. I really soon, here comes Lester. Ben says, '1 can't play with loved the guy. Ifyou were in the band, you had to learn him!' I said, 'Shoot! Now he's here and I'm in the how to read." middle - and here's Lester. Now what am I supposed to The Central High School marching band became do?! '" Before long Charlie Christian and Jimmy Blanton legendary. Willie Smith remembered, "We'd be out in also arrived and joined the jam session. Anderson said he the street marching and guys would be jamming." somehow managed to get through it. He remembered that Williams said, "They would come to the games with night as one ofthe highlights of his long career. their horns and you'd hear blasts of riffs. These guys In California, Anderson played with Eddie Barefield's were jamming everything." band, appeared with Louis Armstrong in a film, Going Trumpeter Ted Jones was a member of both the Places which premiered the song "Jeepers Creepers," and school band and the football team. Mr. Lee wanted to substituted briefly for Webster in the Ellington Orchestra. keep him in the marching band to play at football games, Andy performed with Navy bands during World War but Jones said, "Football season came and the horn had ll. In the early 1950s, he led bands in Alaska. After to go because I loved football. So Mr. Lee would shake returning to Cleveland, he became a letter carrier and his fist at me and say, 'A big fat F for you, Jones! '" continued to play with various bands here. Anderson celebrated his 90th birthday in 2001 by Andy Anderson playing with Cleveland pianist George Foley's group. After he graduated from Central High School in 1932, Andy Anderson played bass with the Marion Sears Carman Newsome Orchestra. Looking back years later, Anderson said with Another early graduate of Central High School had a smile, "We were pretty good." The band played a been a teenage black cowboy in Kansas and later became number oflocal gigs - at Oster' s Ballroom twice a week, the leader of Cleveland jazz bands and a movie actor. at the Dreamland Ballroom (near the Cleveland Clinic), Carman Newsome's unusual story began in 1912 near and at Cedar Gardens (on Cedar Avenue). Other Dodge City, Kansas, where he was born. He was the members ofthe Sears band included saxophonist Horace grandson of a freed slave, George Washington Walker, Adams, pianist Buster Harding, who later arranged for who bought a ranch in Kansas the year Carmen was born. Count Basie, James Peck, and trumpeter Francis By the time he was nine, he was working on his Williams, who later played with Ellington. "All of us grandfather'S ranch and even breaking horses. Within a Central High School 89 few years, he became known as the first Lying Lips also featured Robert Earl teenaged black cowboy in Kansas. Jones, the father of James Earl Jones. In the late 1920s, when Carman was Another performer in the films was the still in his teens, his family moved to ' mother of Sammy Davis, Jr. Ohio and lived for three years in After starring in five movies, and Bellefontaine. Then, they came to with World War IT brewing, Newsome Cleveland where Carmen enrolled in returned to Cleveland. He went to work Central High School. for the Addressograph-MuItigraph The II th grader found himself Corporation in Euclid and continued surrounded by music and he was working there until 1970 when he retired fascinated by it. Exposed to the music because of health problems. and entertainment atmosphere at Central, Courtesy of Dorothy Newsome Newsome, however, continued with Newsome went out and bought an old Carman Newsome as he music. He gave free music lessons to tenor saxophone and taught himself to appeared in the 1940 film youngsters at the Bell Center on East play. Practicing up to ten hours a day, The Notorious Elinor Lee 81st Street, hoping to engender in them he also taught himself to read music.