TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Stanley W. Abernathy 1947-2016 TSU Aristocrat and Professional Musician
By Aaron Williams
A professional trumpet musi- cian and recording artist who played with famous bands and singers in locales around the world, Stanley H. Abernathy was a proud Tennessee State University (TSU) Aristocrat and father of three children. He began his own musical journey at the age of five, first on drums, then to the instrument that he would play the reminder of his life, trumpet. Of his many musical influences his first was his own father. Abernathy recalled about his father, “My father, Billy Abernathy, a widely known jazz trumpet player and educator gave me the necessary exposure to jazz and the big band sound.” On his career, Abernathy recalled:
“It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. I’ve been very blessed and fortunate in my life.”
Nashville’s Fort Green Elementary and Haynes High School. In 1962, Abernathy and his family moved back to Chicago where Abernathy attended John Marshall Harlan High School and played the trumpet. While in high school, Abernathy’s father took young Abernathy to see various jazz artists in Chicago which had a tremendous influ- ence on him. He auditioned and won an opportunity to join the first ever Chi- cago All City High School Band; one of only three African Americans to join the Orchestra. His experience with the high school orchestra provided the opportuni- ty to a return to Nashville and to attend Tennessee State University. He played in the university’s world renown march- ing band, the TSU’s Aristocrat of Bands.
A member of the “Dynamik 21” Scroller line, Brother Stanley W. Abernathy was a 1966 initiate of the Alpha Theta of the Kappa Alpha Psi® at Tennessee State University. He entered the Chapter Invisible on December 19, 2016. Born April 15, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois, Brother Abernathy was born into a musi- cal family headed by the William and Ruth (Nee Williams) Abernathy. The following year, his father earned a music scholarship to Tennessee State Univer- sity (TSU) which led the family’s move to Nashville, Tennessee. He attended
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