I lived in Honolulu in the early 1970s. So did the great trombonist Trummy Young, a name I knew well from his work with many legendary jazz giants. He proved to be friendly and willing to be repeatedly interviewed by an enthused fan. He even told one Maître d at the posh restaurant where he regularly gigged, to give us a good table as I was his nephew.
His interest in music began when he was very young in Savannah, Georgia, sparked by the Jenkins Orphan School marching jazz band from Charleston, South Carolina. It was only when he reached school age that he was able to satisfy his desire to be in a band and learn music. His first trombone cost $18, and came from a pawnshop in Washington, D.C. “Which was to me a fortune. I saved to get it, working in a record store and walking a lady’s dog, things like that.”
He played in a number of bands around Washington, sometimes for pennies, sometimes for nothing, but he didn’t care because he just loved playing. After a few years, he got into the Tommy Miles band with a number of future standouts such as Billy Eckstine, Tyree Glenn, and Jimmy Mundy.
At one gig, they opened for The Earl Hines band. “Hines liked the arrangements so much he eventually hired Jimmy Mundy and later Jimmy recommended myself, Billy Eckstine and Warren Jefferson. Chick Webb also wanted me, but I knew if I went with Earl, I would get lots to play because I w
