Skeeter Best

American jazz guitarist.
Clifton "Skeeter" Best played in Philadelphia from 1935 to 1940. In 1940 he joined [a=Earl Hines]'s orchestra, playing with him until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942.
After the war he played with a long list of artists, including Bill Johnson from 1945 to 1949, [a=Oscar Pettiford] in 1951 and 1952, & he formed his own trio in the 1950s. An acclaimed session with [a=Ray Charles] & [a=Milt Jackson] in 1957 called Soul Brothers was followed in 1958 by recording with [a=Mercer Ellington]. He also recorded with [a=Harry Belafonte], Etta Jones, Nellie Lutcher, [a=Milt Hinton], Osie Johnson, Paul Quinichette, [a=Jimmy Rushing], [a=Sonny Stitt], [a=Lucky Thompson] and Sir Charles Thompson. Later in his life he taught in New York City.
Born : November 20, 1914 in Kinston, North Carolina.
Died : May 27, 1985 in New York City, New York.