B. Aug. 22, 1921.
Pianist, Leader.
Broke on the scene in 1938, performing with Bunny Berigan, followed by a short stint with Teddy Powell. After a short time in the army, he played and recorded with, among others, Charlie Spivak, Woody Herman, Georgie Auld, Flip Phillips, Chubby Jackson, Neal Hefti, Charlie Parker, and Stan Getz. Later, he performed on radio and led a group playing his own compositions.
B. Dec 5, 1928.
Baritone Saxophonist and Bass Clarinetist.
He studied clarinet and piano from the age of eight, and began his professional career with Louis Prima in 1947. His career was defined by big band performances, including those of Tex Beneke, Claude Thornhill, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, and Tommy Dorsey. Later on, he performed with Benny Goodman, Manny Albam, Woody Herman, and Gerry Mulligan.
B. Nov. 17, 1931
Trombonist.
Performed early in his career with Charlie Spivak and the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. Later on he joined Woody Herman's big band, and played with Gerry Mulligan and Benny Goodman, with whom he would be associated throughout the 60s and 70s.
B. May 19, 1919 - D. Jan. 8, 1990
Tenor Saxophonist
While he began on alto saxophone, he switched to the tenor horn under the influence of Coleman Hawkins. His first engagements, in the late 30s, included those with Bunny Berigan and Artie Shaw, whose band he later led upon the leader's retirement. After a year in the army (1943), he led his own big band, despite recurrent illness. The band included such names as Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner, Serge Chaloff, Joe Albany, Stan Levey, and Al Porcino. After time in Count Basie's Octet (1950), he worked for years as a freelance, until starting several of his own groups in the sixties, some of which would enjoy great success in Japan. In the film New York, New York, he not only acted, but was also the principal soloist on the soundtrack. He performed regularly throughout the 80s until his death in 1990.
B. Feb 22, 1926.
Drummer.
After serving in World War Two as a pilot, he studied drumming and soon played with Johnny Hodges, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, Curtis Fuller, and Horace Silver. He then became best known playing with the various quartets and sextets of Gerry Mulligan, and later the Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer quintet. In 1969 he briefly returned to pilot, and by 1973 had returned to music as a teacher and administrator. He now serves as the director of the Jazzmobile in New York.
B. Dec. 23, 1929 - D. May 13, 1988
Trumpeter and Vocalist.
Learned about jazz and developed his style while in the Army during World War II. When he was discharged in 1951, he played briefly with Charlie Parker before first encountering Gerry Mulligan, co-founding the latter's popular and trend-setting "pianoless" quartets. He won instant fame with his quiet, subdued, lyrical playing, especially evident on the group's rendition of "My Funny Valentine. He left Mulligan in 1953, briefly rejoining Parker before going it alone. He was immensely popular throughout the fifties, but recurring drug problems and brief spells in jail made his career more erratic. He remained in demand throughout the 70s and 80s.
B. May 21, 1920.
Tuba player.
After studying at the Institute of Musical Art in New York and serving in the army, Barber joined Claude Thornhill's orchestra in 1947. He was a founding member of the nonet that produced Miles Davis's legendary Birth of the Cool album. Throughout the fifties, he played in various orchestras and big bands, including those of Pete Rugolo, Gil Evans, and the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. He was distinctive as the first tuba player to take solos in a modern style (he was reknowned for transcribing Lester Young solos for the tuba). He was the only player besides Gerry Mulligan to appear on all three sessions of Miles's Birth of the Cool and Gerry's Re-Birth Of The Cool, fifty years later.
Trombonist
Bassist
Bassist
Trombonist
Trumpet player; Flugelhornist
Baritone Saxophonist
Saxophonist
When Chet Baker left the pianoless quartet, the talented valve trombonist took his place, replacing the trumpet with a similar approach, but a very unique sound and style. Brookmeyer did some of the arranging for the Concert Jazz Bands, and contributed original songs to the group's book from time to time. After leaving Mulligan, he formed a quintet with Clark Terry, which produced two albums. Beside possibly Juan Tizol (alumnus of Duke Ellington's big band), Brookmeyer is probably the most popular, accomplished, and well-known valve trombonist ever.
Ray Brown is one of the best jazz bass players of all time. He was playing and recording as soon as the mid forties in bebop groups like Charlie Parker's, and soon became associated with Oscar Peterson. Brown appeared on Peterson's Verve "Songbook" albums, which enjoyed a great deal of popularity in the fifties. Since then, Brown has played with nearly every major figure in jazz, and begun to release his own albums, while still recording frequently with Peterson. Two of the bassist's recent albums, "Some of My Friends Are ... the Piano Players" and "Some of My Friends Are ... the Sax Players" place Brown's trio (incl. pianist Benny Green and drummer Greg Hutchinson) in a variety of settings with a wide array of guest artists. Brown's latest album is entitled "Superbass" and features bassists Christian McBride and John Clayton, Jr. with his quartet.