By 1941, Lionel Hampton (who turned 33 that year) was quite famous. His exuberant playing with the Benny Goodman Quartet and Sextet and his series
Lionel Hampton, the first significant jazz vibraphonist in history, was a one-of-a-kind entertainer. He would do almost anything to excite audiences and it was impossible
He was billed as “the 20th Century Gabriel” because of his high-note work and flamboyant solos. Very popular during his heyday and the leader of
Joe Sullivan and Bob Zurke had several things in common. They were both brilliant pianists with their own sound within the swing tradition of the
Benny Waters and Joe Turner (no relation to blues singer Big Joe Turner) were two of the many American jazz artists who found life to
Lil Hardin Armstrong had a long career as a pianist, songwriter and occasional singer but she is chiefly remembered today for her work during a
They were two of the finest saxophonists of the 1920s, ranking at the top with Sidney Bechet (soprano sax), Jimmy Dorsey and Johnny Hodges (alto),
In music history, it ranked with Igor Stravinsky’s debut of The Rite Of Spring in 1913 and Bob Dylan “going electric” at the 1965 Newport
During the Swing era, bandleaders had a variety of different opinions about the importance of employing a female singer. Some, such as Artie Shaw, considered
During the big band era, nearly every orchestra (swing or sweet) was comprised of male instrumentalists, a male vocalist (who was sometimes one of the
In 1950, for the first time since 1935, there was no Count Basie Orchestra. By then, most of the swing era big bands were either
In a word association game, it would not be unusual for the word Swing to be followed by that of Count Basie. For nearly a
Louis Jordan is today remembered for his many popular recordings with his Tympany Five. Considered a transitional figure between swing and rhythm & blues, during
They were three of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 1930s although they have been overshadowed in the jazz history books by Eddie Lang, Django
Jazz has been used in many Hollywood films through the years, whether on the soundtrack, for cameo appearances by jazz greats, or as part of
Jean Goldkette and Roger Wolfe Kahn were significant bandleaders in the late 1920s and, although they quite possibly never met, they had a few things
If Louis Armstrong and his manager Joe Glaser had decided to put out a personal ad for a trombonist in 1952, it might have read
He was one of the hottest trumpeters to emerge from the late 1920s, a major attraction at jam sessions, and a superb blues singer. But
Cornetist Jimmy McPartland and pianist Marian McPartland were married for 22 years (1945-67). Their careers in jazz, if taken together, spanned a remarkable 90 years,
Trombonist Will Bradley, drummer-singer Ray McKinley, and pianist Freddie Slack only teamed up together for a relatively brief period of time, 18 months during 1939-41,
One of the great frustrations in studying early jazz is trying to understand how the music sounded near its beginnings. There is not only a
Of all of the swing era bandleaders, Glenn Miller had more hit records than anyone else in the jazz world, more than Benny Goodman, Artie
When one thinks of the top alto-saxophonists of the swing era, the names of Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter and perhaps Willie Smith (from the Jimmie
It was May 26, 1942 and 19-year old tenor-saxophonist Illinois Jacquet was set to be featured on “Flying Home” with the Lionel Hampton big band.
