Sil Austin was born Sylvester Austin on September 17, 1929 in Dunnelion, Florida and taught himself to play as a 12 year old. He won the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1945, playing "Danny Boy". His performance brought him a record deal with Mercury Records and he moved to New York and studied at the Juilliard School of Music.

Austin played briefly with  Roy Eldridge, Cootie Williams in 1951–52 and Tiny Bradshaw from 1952-54, before setting…