Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Francis Henry “Jumbo Jack” Gardner was born in Joliet, Illinois on August 14, 1903. In the early-1920s he played locally in Denver, Colorado with Doc Becker’s Blue Devils, Boyd Senter’s band and others.
Moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1923, he led his own band in addition to playing with musicians like Wingy Manone, Jean Goldkette, and Gene Austin. He remained in the city through 1937, playing with Jimmy McPartland in 1936.
When he rellcated to New York City he began associations with Sandy Williams’s orchestra and Harry James, but returned to Chicago early in the 1940s, where he led his own group. In 1944, he recorded with Baby Dodds.
He spent much of his later life playing in Dallas, Texas, where he died in 1957. Gardner’s compositions include the song Bye, Bye, Pretty Baby, co-written with George Hamilton.
Pianist Jack Gardner died on November 26, 1957 in Dallas, Texas at the age of 54.
