Pony Poindexter

Alto, soprano saxophone.

Raised in New Orleans, Poindexter played with Pops Buford in Oakland, Calif., and along with Ernestine Anderson joined Ernie Lewis in 1946 for a tour to Seattle, which landed them at Basin Street. Poindexter ping-ponged between Seattle and San Francisco from 1946-1958. After a stint in the Lionel Hampton band that also featured Ernestine Anderson and Quincy Jones, Poindexter played in an all-star group organized in 1952 by Billy Tolles that included trumpeter Kenny Dorham. Poindexter spent more than a year (1956-57) in the Monroe Reformatory on a charge related to drug addiction but upon release held down a steady gig at the Mardi Gras, then left Seattle in 1958. Known as “Little Pony” — the title of a Neal Hefti tune dedicated to Poindexter that was part of the Count Basie repertorie — Poindexter went on to work with Lambert, Hendrix and Bavan and Annie Ross, and made a series of albums under his own name, living at the end of his life in Europe.

Jackson Street After Hours (print). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Poindexter