Chauncey Morehouse

Chauncey Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, NY in 1902. He was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early age. He also played piano and banjo too. His father Leslie Morehouse played piano in the silent movie theaters. As a high schooler, he led a group called the Versatile Five. He landed a job with Paul Specht's orchestra from 1922-24 (including a tour of Europe in 1923). Along with this group, he played with a sized-down version of Paul Specht's band called The Georgians. He played with Jean Goldkette from 1924-27, Adrian Rollini in 1927, and Don Voorhees in 1928-29. He also recorded with Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, The Dorsey Brothers and Joe Venuti, Joe Herlihy, and many more.

From 1929 Morehouse was active chiefly as a studio musician, working in radio and television in and around New York City. In 1938, he put together his own percussion ensemble which played percussion, designed by Morehousse and Stan King, that was tuned chromatically. He invented a set of drums called the N'Goma drums, which were made by the Leedy Drum company, which Morehouse was endorsed by during his career. His career in the studios continued into the 1970s; in that decade Morehouse retired from studio work and began playing jazz again, mostly at festivals. He was seen at Carnegie Hall for the Tribute to Bix concert for the Newport Jazz Festival, and also at the 1972 Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Davenport, IA.

Chauncey passed away in 1980 in Medford, NJ.

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