a Philadelphia disc jockey, came across him. In 1960, Albertson brought Snowden and singer-guitarist Lonnie Johnson together for two Prestige albums, assembled a quartet that included Cliff Jackson for a Riverside session, Harlem Banjo, and, in 1961, a sextet session with Roy Eldridge, Bud Freeman, Jo Jones, and Ray and Tommy Bryant—it was released on the Fontana and Black Lion labels. In 1963, his career boosted, Snowden appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. He then moved to California to teach at the University of California, Berkeley, and played with Turk Murphy as well as taking private students for lessons in guitar and banjo. He toured Europe in 1967 with the Newport Guitar Workshop. In 1969, Snowden moved back to Philadelphia, where he died on May 14, 1973. Discography Harlem Banjo (Riverside, 1960) with Cliff Jackson, Tommy Bryant, Jimmy Crawford References External links Elmer Snowden ephemera and artifacts, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University 1900 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American musicians American jazz banjoists Duke Ellington Orchestra members Musicians from Baltimore Riverside Records artists University of California, Berkeley faculty Jazz musicians from Maryland Jazz musicians from California