Melvin "Mel" Wanzo, also known as Melvin Wahid Muhammad (November 22, 1930, Cleveland - September 9, 2005, Detroit) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

trombonist. He is best known for his longtime association with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. Wanzo received formal education in music at Youngstown University in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, graduating in 1952. He then joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and played in a band whose leader was Cannonball Adderley. In the 1950s he worked in bands behind blues and R&B singers such as Ruth Brown and Big Joe Turner, then studied music once more, at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1920 by Ernest Bloch, it enrolls 325 students in the conservatory and approximately 1,500 students in the preparatory and continuing educatio ...

. In the 1960s he worked with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

and

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

(then leading the Glenn Miller Orchestra), and in 1969 became a member of the

, where he played trombone until 1980. In the early 1980s he played with

Frank Capp Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous rock and roll sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography ...

and

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

, then re-joined Basie's orchestra after Basie died and leadership passed to

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

and Frank Foster.

References

*"Mel Wanzo". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanzo, Mel American jazz trombonists Male trombonists 1930 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Cleveland Youngstown State University alumni United States Army Band musicians Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century trombonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut members