James bubber miley plunger mute for trombone

American jazz trumpet and cornet player, composer

Musical artist

James Wesley "Bubber" Miley (April 3, 1903 – May 20, 1932)^[1] was an American early jazztrumpet and cornet player, specializing in the use of the plunger mute.^[2]

Early life (1903–1923)

Miley was born in Aiken, South Carolina, United States,^[1] into a musical family.

At the age of six, he and his family moved to New York City where, as a child, he occasionally sang for money on the streets, and later, at the age of 14, studied to play the trombone and cornet.

In 1920, after having served in the Navy for 18 months, he joined a jazz formation named the Carolina Five, and remained a member for the next three years, playing small clubs and boat rides all around New York City.

After leaving the band at the age of 19, Miley briefly toured the Southern States with a show titled The Sunny South, and then joined Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds, replacing trumpete