For the years when Jean and I could stay awake until after 11:00 pm, we were big fans of The Tonight Show, especially its band; however, it seemed that we rarely heard an entire tune. We found a way, though, to hear them in person. I invited individual “Tonighters” to participate during the first years of the Elkhart Jazz Festival. They were big hits. We only used the entire band one year. They were expensive. Snooky Young had a lot to do with getting the entire band their. He put the word out to the band that the EJF used good venues, good food, good sound. Snooky had left the Tonight Show band but still played occasionally with them.
Snooky mentioned to me that he didn’t play with small groups very often, preferring big bands. He did sit in with the Navy Commodores at the fest and loved it. One of his favorite big bands was the Tonight Show band with Doc Severinsen as leader. He enjoyed 30 years in that band. He was section leader with most of the bands he played in. The list includes the Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and many others. Being section leader meant he was also, frequently, the concert master. He instructed others as to the required phrasing and interpreted by the entire band. Big bands have often used a trumpeter playing near the end of a piece for the high notes and he handled it very well.
Snooky’s ability to do the high ones brought a lot of
