This is The Final Chorus as printed in our October 2018 issue. Longer versions of these and other remembrances may be found as individual postings on our Final Chorus page.
Don Hunt, 87, August 5, in Lyons, NY. Hunt was the last surviving member of the original Salt City Five. “Don’s inspired skills on the trumpet were a major factor in the Salt City Five’s rise to fame,” said former SC5 manager Arnie Koch. The band also featured trombonist Will Alger, clarinetist Jack Maheu, drummer Bob Cousins, and pianist Charlie French.
Under Koch’s leadership and Hunt on lead horn, the band made a prize-winning appearance in 1952 on CBS-TV’s Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, one of the highest-rated television shows of the decade. The band was booked for a long-term engagement at Childs Paramount, a 700-seat restaurant club in Times Square. There the quintet often shared the bill with some of the most legendary names in jazz, including New England-bred trumpeters Phil Napoleon and Bobby Hackett.
“Hackett was Don’s idol,” Koch said. “At jam sessions at end of sets, Don stood next to him and traded choruses. He was so impressed with Hackett’s improvisations.”
In 1954, Hunt left the SC5 and returned to Central New York as his wife, Margie, prepared to give birth. He played trumpet f
