Trombonist Tom Artin died on July 27th, he was 84. He began playing in junior high school under the direction of composer John Harbison, in a group known as the “Harbison Heptet.” Over a long career, he played with the Louis Armstrong Alumni All-Stars, the World of Jelly Roll Morton, the World’s Greatest Jazz Band, and the Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble. He also played with Mel Tormé’s big band, Bob Wilber’s Benny Goodman Revival Big Band, and toured with Wild Bill Davison. He was featured at a number of jazz parties and festivals in Europe and North America. He was the house trombonist at Eddie Condon’s in New York for five years.
More recently he appeared with Ed Polcer and the Eddie Condon All-Stars. He led a 16 piece swing band called TomCats Jazz Aces and a traditional jazz band called Satchmo & Co. He wrote creative arrangements of classics for his seven-piece band known as the Standard Brass. He also represented numerous jazz and classical musicians through his company Artin Arts.
