Saturday, August 3, 2019

Remembering Mitchell W. Wood, better known as "Bootie," Jazz Trombonist, 100th Anniversary Year of His Birth



Bootie Wood, born December 27, 1919 died in Dayton, Ohio on June 10, 1987.
He is buried in Woodland Cemetery.



This is a photo of "Bootie at conclusion of 1987 Ellington concert/Toronto."
 (Handwritten on back of photo). The photographer is Paul J. Moeffler.

How nice it is to experience the serendipity of a valuable discovery when least expected.
Such was the case and my good fortune on finding this unnamed, framed photo when
its owner brought it for sale at our church's annual flea market. I was attracted to the
photo of the handsome African American man with broad happy smile holding a
trombone. My intuition led me to think it was a local musician lost in history.
Well, it turns out that the musician, Bootie Wood, was locally and internationally
renowned, and certainly not lost in history.

For information on Bootie Wood see:
allmusic.com
Biography Encyclopedia of Jazz
Dayton Daily News Obituary
"The Randolph Leader," Vanessa Sorrell Burnside
Wikipedia