SUMTER BRUTON, considered by many to be one of the top interpreters of the T-Bone Walker guitar style as well as an authority on blues and rhythm and blues music, died on September 30, 2022. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised in a musical family. His late father was a jazz drummer and his younger brother, the late Stephen Bruton, was a guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer. Sumter was the last member of the Bruton family who founded Record Town in 1957. It remains a Fort Worth bedrock of music and recordings.
Sumter’s career began when he started playing guitar in 1962. The first bands he played
in were college blues and rock & roll combos. In 1968 Sumter joined the Robert Ealey Blues Band.
He was the only white musician in the group that became Robert Ealey and the 5 Careless
Lovers in 1972. In 1974 Sumter formed his own band called Boogie Uproar, a blues and R&B band
that featured a horn section. A year later he formed a similar band called Rhumboogie.
In 1977 Sumter, along with singer/songwriter/guitarist Jim Colegrove, started the
Juke Jumpers, a legendary Texas R&B, rockabilly, jazz and swing band. The Juke Jumpers
recorded five LPs and toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe. The band performed together for 17 years and have had multiple reunions. 2017 marked their 40th anniversary.
Sumter got together with Mike Price, a singer/songwriter/piano player, in 1993 to
record Bruton & Price—Swingmasters
Revue. They performed together locally. This group recorded several CDs now available.
|
