Harold "Geezil" Minerve

Harold "Geezil" Minerve
a.k.a. Geezil Minerve

A fine swing stylist, Harold "Geezil" Minerve's main claim to fame is that he was Johnny Hodges' replacement in Duke Ellington's Orchestra after Hodges' unexpected death. Minerve grew up in Florida and began playing music when he was 12. Early on he played with Ida Cox, freelanced in New Orleans, and worked with Clarence Love and Ernie Fields. After time in the Army (1943-46), he continued playing with Fields, had a long association with Buddy Johnson (1949-57), worked with Mercer Ellington (1960), toured with Ray Charles (1962-64) and was the musical director for Arthur Prysock. But Minerve's big moment in the spotlight was his period with Duke Ellington (1971-74), when he often had a fair amount of solo space. After Duke's death, Minerve (who never recorded as a leader) continued for a period with the Mercer Ellington Orchestra and then freelanced, fading away from the jazz major leagues long before his death in 1992. Scott Yanow