[1] He began playing trombone at age ten,[1] and attended Edward Waters College in the early-1920s.
[1] In the mid-1930s, he played and arranged for the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and worked with Red Allen and Fletcher Henderson.
[2] After his tenure with Armstrong he moved to the West Coast, and played with Horace Henderson, Carter again, and Count Basie.
Gunther Schuller wrote of him:George Washington is another one of the many gifted lesser-known musicians jazz has produced.
The range of his talent can be assessed on, for example, Kokey Joe (hot and growly, rangey) or Harlem After Midnight.