Truman Eliot "Jack" Jenney (May 12, 1910 – December 16, 1945)
was an American jazz trombonist.
Early life
Born in
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mason City is known for its musical heritage, a significant ...
,
Jenney first played trumpet, then switched to trombone.
His father was a musician and music teacher.
Jenney performed in his father's band from age 11, but his professional work began with
Austin Wylie in 1928.
Career
During his career, Jenney worked with
Isham Jones,
Red Norvo
Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His recor ...
,
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...
,
Mal Hallett, and
Waring's Pennsylvanians. He appeared in the film ''
Syncopation
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...
''.
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 ...
biography He has been called "the greatest trombonist of the Big Band era" and won the ''
DownBeat
''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
'' Reader's Poll for trombone in 1940.
He led his own band for a year in 1938 and 1939, but it was a financial failure. He was drafted into the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
in 1943, but also played as a studio musician the following year.
Death
He died on December 16, 1945, in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, from complications following an
appendectomy
An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...
.
References
External links
Memories of the First Annual Jack Jenney Jazz Festival
1910 births
1945 deaths
American jazz trombonists
People from Mason City, Iowa
Musicians from Iowa
Deaths from appendicitis
United States Navy personnel of World War II
20th-century American trombonists
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