Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Albert “Andy” Gibson was born on November 6, 1913 in Zanesville, Ohio. He played violin early on before settling on trumpet. He played professionally in many orchestras and though he did not solo, he worked more often as an arranger.
During the 1930s his associations include Lew Redman, Zack Whyte, McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Blanche Calloway, Willie Bryant, and Lucky Millinder. He quit playing in 1937 to arrange and compose full-time, working with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Charlie Barnet, and Harry James. in the United States Army he led a big band while serving from 1942-45.
After his discharge, he continued working with Barnet but turned his focus primarily on R&B music. He was musical director for King Records from 1955–60 and recorded four songs as a leader in 1959 which were released by RCA Camden. He composed I Left My Baby popularized by Count Basie, The Great Lie, and The Hucklebuck.
Trumpeter, arranger, and composer Andy Gibson transitioned from a heart attack on February 11, 1961 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Joseph Rupert Benjamin was born on November 4, 1919 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He played with many jazz musicians in a variety of idioms. Early in his career he played in the big bands of Artie Shaw, Fletcher Henderson, Sy Oliver, and Duke Ellington.
He went on to work with Hank Garland, Marian McPartland, Louis Armstrong, Jo Jones, Gary Burton, Roy Haynes, Art Taylor, and Brother Jack McDuff.
Never leading a recording session, Joe recorded three dozen albums as a sideman with Bob Brookmeyer, Kenny Burrell, Dave Brubeck, Harry Edison, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Harris, Roy Haynes, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Roland Kirk, Gary McFarland, Carmen McRae, Gerry Mulligan, Jerome Richardson, Al Sears, Joya Sherrill, Rex Stewart, Sonny Stitt, Buddy Tate, Clark Terry, The Three Playmates, Sarah Vaughan, Mal Waldron and Kai Winding.
Double bassist Joe Benjamin transitioned on January 26, 1974.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Louis Bacon was born on November 1, 1904 in Louisville, Kentucky. His family moved to Chicago, Illinois when he was a young child. After a short stint playing with Zinky Cohn in Michigan, he relocated to New York City in 1928. There he worked through 1938 with musicians Louis Armstrong, Benny Carter, Duke Ellington, Bingie Madison, Bessie Smith, and Chick Webb among others.
Contracting tuberculosis in 1938, resulting in a performance hiatus, but by early 1939 he was playing with Benny Carter once more. Later that same year, he embarked on a tour of Europe with Willie Lewis and remained there for two years. He recorded under his own name as well as with Lewis and Freddy Johnson.
After his return to the United States he worked with Garvin Bushell, Cootie Williams, and Jesse Stone. Shortly after the end of World War II, he stopped playing once again due to persistent health problems. He did play trumpet again briefly in 1959–60, working in New York, and late in his career taught voice and sang with Wilbur De Paris.
Trumpeter and vocalist Louis Bacon transitioned on December 8, 1967.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Elmon Wright was born on October 27, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri to trumpeter Lammar Wright Sr. and the brother of trumpeter Lammar Wright Jr. Following in his father’s and brother’s footsteps, he learned to play the trumpet.
Wright played with Don Redman early in his career, then with Dizzy Gillespie’s first big band in 1945. He then went on to play with Roy Eldridge and then went back to Gillespie’s band, touring and recording with him from 1946 until 1950.
He toured with Earl Bostic for a year in 1954, then worked as a freelance musician in New York City, performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with R&B and rock groups. He played with Buddy Rich and Earle Warren in 1959 and recorded with Milt Jackson in 1963. Trumpeter Elmon Wright transitioned in 1984.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Donald Arthur Rader was born October 21, 1935 in Rochester, New York and began playing trumpet at age five, being taught by his father. He studied at Sam Houston State Teachers College before serving in the Navy in the 1950s as a member of the band.
At the end of the decade he played and arranged for Woody Herman into the Sixties, followed by Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, Louie Bellson, Harry James, Terry Gibbs, Frank Foster, Henry Mancini, Les Brown from 1967 to 1972. Then he left Brown for the Stan Kenton Orchestra.
He toured with Della Reese, Sarah Vaughn, Andy Williams, Percy Faith, Diana Ross, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis and Bob Hope, both intermittently for 28 years with five tours of wartime Vietnam with the latter.
Assembling a quintet in Los Angeles, California in 1972 Don continued working with West Coast jazz musicians, including Lanny Morgan, Lew Tabackin, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. He recorded as a leader and worked in music education for many years, including in Australia in the 1980s.
He has recorded eight albums as a leader, and as a sideman three with Count Basie, and seven with Maynard Ferguson. Trumpeter Don Rader continues to perform at the age of 87.
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