Any idea who is the guitarist with Billie Holiday?

[Hardbopjazz]

The knowns are Billie Holiday, Ben Webster, Johnny Russell and Ram Ramirez. The guitarist is not known. Anyone have an idea who the guitarist is?

 

 

[lipi]

Frank Büchmann-Møller, in his Ben Webster biography, identifies him as the band boy of the Willie Bryant band, and only gives his nickname "shoebrush". I see several sources online repeat the "shoebrush" epithet, but no additional info.

Edit to add: Timme Rosenkrantz took that picture! I have his autobiography, as well as a book of his pictures edited, I think, by the same Büchmann-Møller, but I won't be able to access them for another month. I can check then, if the mystery hasn't been solved.

Also worth noting that this Italian site site claims Shoebrush was an Apollo stagehand, not the Willie Bryant band boy: https://www.musicajazz.it/lady-billie-holiday/

Edited July 26, 2019 by lipi

[Shrdlu]

Thanks for posting that picture.

They look so fresh and healthy there. What a golden era that was, with the tons of small-group recordings made under Billie's and Teddy Wilson's names!