James "Trummy" Young (January 12, 1912 – September 10, 1984) was an American trombonist in the swing era. He established himself as a star during his 12 years performing with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

in Armstrong's All Stars. He had one hit with his version of "

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...

", which he played and sang with

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

's orchestra in 1937. During his years with Armstrong, Young modified his playing to fit Armstrong's approach to jazz.

Biography

Young was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, United States, and grew up

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

; he was originally a trumpeter, but by his professional debut in 1928 he had switched to trombone. From 1933 to 1937, he was a member of

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

' orchestra; he then joined

's orchestra in which he played from 1937 to 1943, scoring a hit on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

with "

", which featured his vocal. With

Sy Oliver Melvin James "Sy" Oliver (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1988) was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader. Life Sy Oliver was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. His mother was a piano teacher, and his f ...

he co-wrote " 'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)", a hit for both Lunceford and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

in 1939. His other compositions include "Easy Does It" (1939; co-written with Oliver) and " Trav'lin' Light" (1942; co-written with

Jimmy Mundy James Mundy (June 28, 1907 – April 24, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Earl Hines. Mundy died of cancer in New York City at the age of 7 ...

, with lyrics by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

). Young joined

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

in 1945 and soloed on several hit records, including the No. 2 hit "Gotta Be This or That". He also played with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

and

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

on a

Clyde Hart Clyde Hart (born February 3rd, 1934) is an American of track and field at Baylor University. Hart retired as head coach for the Baylor track program on June 14, 2005, after 42 years with the program. Hart is primarily known as the only coach ...

-led session in 1945, and with

Jazz at the Philharmonic Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP (1944–1983), was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz. Over the years, "Jazz at the Philharmonic" featured many of the era's preeminent musicians, including Loui ...

. In September 1952, he joined the Louis Armstrong All-Stars and stayed for twelve years (he performed in the musical film, ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

'' (1956). He appeared in the

Universal-International Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...

biopic, ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann. It stars James Stewart as Miller (in his second non-western collaboration with Mann), alongside June Allyson. ...

'' (1954), with Louis Armstrong,

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 ...

, and

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creoles of color, Cr ...

. Young performed with

and his All Stars for the ninth

Cavalcade of Jazz The Cavalcade of Jazz events were large outdoor jazz festivals held annually between 1945 and 1958 in Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California, U.S. They were the first such large-scale events and were produced by an African American, Leon Hefflin, ...

concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in Los Angeles. The concert was produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr. Leon Norman Hefflin Sr. (August 17, 1898 – November 20, 1975) was a pioneering African-American producer, director, business owner, furniture manufacturer, and entrepreneur. After losing his large and successful manufacturing business in the De ...

on June 7, 1953. Trummy Young was a good foil for the trumpeter (such as their version of "

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

" on Armstrong's W.C. Handy tribute album). In 1964, Young ceased touring in order to settle in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, occasionally emerging for jazz parties and special appearances. According to his own life story, printed in the July 22, 1977, issue of the ''

Awake! ''Awake!'' is an illustrated religious magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is considered to be a companion magazine of '' The Watchtower'', and is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Towe ...

'' magazine, published by

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

, he became a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

in 1964. He was married to Sally Tokashiki with whom he had two daughters, Andrea (who is a jazz singer) and Barbara. He died after a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 72 in September 1984."Trummy Young, 72, Is Dead; Jazz Trombonist and Singer"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 12, 1984.

Discography

* ''Jimmie Lunceford in Hi-Fi'', Billy May and His Orchestra (Capitol, 1957) * ''The Mildred Bailey Radio Show 1944–1945'', Mildred Bailey (Sunbeam, 1975) * ''A Man and His Horn'' (Flair, 1975) * ''Oleo'', Urbie Green, Ross Tompkins, Carl Fontana, Kai Winding, James Moody, Dick Hyman, Trummy Young (Pausa, 1978) * ''Swing Is Here'', Chris Barber (Black Lion, 1979) * ''Someday'' (Chiaroscuro, 1980) * ''Los Grandes Del Jazz 68'', Louis Armstrong, Peanuts Hucko, Trummy Young, Billy Kyle (Sarpe, 1981) * ''Satchmo Plays King Oliver'', Louis Armstrong, Peanuts Hucko, Trummy Young, Billy Kyle (Curcio, 1982) * ''Tribute to Louis Armstrong'', Peanuts Hucko, Billy Butterfield, Trummy Young, Marty Napoleon, Jack Lesberg, Gus Johnson (Jazz Heritage, 1985) With

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

* ''

How Hi the Fi ''How Hi the Fi'', subtitled ''A Buck Clayton Jam Session'', is an album by trumpeter Buck Clayton which was recorded in 1953 and 1954 and released by Columbia.Edwards, D., Callahan, M., Watts, R. and Eyries, PColumbia Main Series, Part 1: GL 50 ...

'' (Columbia, 1954) * ''

Jumpin' at the Woodside "Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...

'' (Columbia, 1955)

References

External links

Trummy Young Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (1984)
Trummy Young recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Trummy 1912 births 1984 deaths American jazz trombonists American male trombonists Musicians from Savannah, Georgia 20th-century American trombonists American Jehovah's Witnesses 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians