Henry "Boots" Mussulli (November 18, 1915 in

Milford, Massachusetts Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,379 according to the 2020 census. First settled in 1662 and incorporated in 1780, Milford became a booming industrial and quarrying community in the 19th ...

– September 23, 1967 in

Norfolk, Massachusetts Norfolk ( , locally ) is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, with a population of 11,662 people at the 2020 census. Formerly known as Wrentham, Massachusetts, North Wrentham, Norfolk broke away to become an indepe ...

) was an Italian-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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist, based chiefly out of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. According to the

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

files, he was born in 1915, not in 1917 as previously stated. Mussulli's first instrument was

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, which he first played at age 12. He played with Mal Hallett in Massachusetts around 1940, and joined Teddy Powell's group in 1943-44. He played with

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

from 1944 to 1947 and returned to play with Kenton again on tour in 1952 and 1954. He also played with

Vido Musso Vido William Musso (January 16, 1913 – January 9, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Musso is a fairly obscure figure in the history of jazz and big band music. He relocated with his family from Carini, Sicily to the U.S. in Ju ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

(1948), Charlie Ventura (1949), Serge Chaloff,

Toshiko Akiyoshi is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. In 1984, sh ...

(1955), and

Herb Pomeroy Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Early life Pomeroy was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He began playing ...

. In 1949, Mussulli opened a jazz club in his hometown, called "The Crystal Room". From the mid-1950s, he concentrated more on

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as primary education, elementary or secondary education, secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a rese ...

, leading a local youth orchestra, the Milford Youth Band, at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in 1967. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

shortly thereafter.

Discography

As leader

*''The Fable of Mabel'' ( Storyville, 1954) - with Serge Chaloff, Russ Freeman *''Kenton Presents Jazz: Boots Mussulli Quartet'' ( Capitol, 1954)

As sideman

With

*'' Artistry in Rhythm'' (Capitol, 1946–47 el. 1950 *'' Encores'' (Capitol, 1946–47 el. 1950 *''

Stan Kenton's Milestones ''Stan Kenton's Milestones'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton compiling performances recorded between 1943 and 1947 and originally collected on the Capitol Records, Capitol label as a 10-inch LP in 1950 then reissued as a 12-inch ...

'' (Capitol, 1943–47 el. 1950 *'' Stan Kenton Classics'' (Capitol, 1944–47 el. 1952 *'' The Kenton Era'' (Capitol, 1940–54, el. 1955 With

*'' Life Is a Many Splendored Gig'' (Roulette, 1957)

References

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

, Boots Mussulliat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussulli, Boots 1915 births 1967 deaths American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists Jazz musicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians