Horace Simms & his Blue Tones performed as house band at the Knotty Pine in the early ‘50s. The jazz / R&B group featured Simms (piano), Emerson Simpson (sax, and President of the Musicians Local), and Harold White (drums). In mid-1953 Simms was replaced with Plato Bolden and the group became known as the Harold White Trio.
Simms was later a member of the Blues Rockers. The Harold White Trio could be seen in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s at the Left Bank Jazz concerts. A 1981 trio included Mark Russell on bass, and Marc Cohen on piano. White was instrumental in launching the career of Brenda Alford in the ‘70s.
