Jeter-Pillars Orchestra


Jeter-Pillars Orchestra was a jazz troupe led by altoist James Jeter and tenor-saxophonist Hayes Pillars.
Jeter and Pillars were previously members of Alphonso Trent's big band. After that outfit split in 1933 they formed the group, which subsequently became the house band at the Club Plantation in St. Louis, Missouri, their home base for the next decade.
The Jeter-Pillars Orchestra served as a training ground for up-and-coming jazz players including trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison and Peanuts Holland, bassist Jimmy Blanton, drummers Jo Jones, Sid Catlett and Kenny Clarke, guitarist Floyd Smith, tenor-saxophonist Jimmy Forrest, and alto saxophonist Chris Woods.
In the late 1940s, the group toured the Far East for the USO, before breaking up. The Jeter-Pillars Orchestra recorded four sides for Vocalion Records in 1937. The recordings were: