William “Bill” Lacy (1927-2015) was an Army musician, jazz club owner and the leader of the Bill Lacy Quartet. He also played trumpet and flugelhorn in a number of local ensembles, such as the Philadelphia Clef Club orchestra.

According to his widow, Elizabeth, Bill grew up in a working class family who lived in  a segregated Trenton neighborhood that was notorious for its substandard housing. Elizabeth’s family lived in one of the city’s newly-built housing projects, and she recalled in a 2017 interview that he was jealous of her family because they had indoor plumbing.

Members of the Carver Center marching band, circa 1942. Photo courtesy of Ms. Elizabeth Lacy

One of the highlights of his childhood was when Paul Robeson visited his elementary school when he was 10. Robeson was at the height of his fame at the time, and according to Mrs. Lacy, he was so inspired by Robeson’s speech that he ran on the stage to give the legendary entertainer a hug.

As a child, he also played trumpet in the Colored YMCA band at Trenton’s Carver Center. The band’s leader, Willie J. Williams, was an important mentor in young Lacy’s life.

William Howard Lacy, left, at 1995 testimonial dinner for Mr. Willie Lee Williams, founder and musical director of the Carver Center Marching band of Trenton. Mr. Lacy was a member of the band as a teenager in the 1940s.

Lacy  graduated from Lincoln School and Trenton Central High School and studied at the Philadelphia

Academy of Music, according to his obituary.  He later  served with the all-black 427th Army Band as well — the last segregated military band. He married the former Elizabeth Carter, an elementary school teacher, in 1955.

He owned the H&H Jazz House in Trenton for a number of years.

In 2006, Lacy released his only CD as a bandleader on the Dreambox Media label, The Gifts of Life.