Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Owen Joseph “Sonny” Igoe was born on October 8, 1923 in Jersey City, New Jersey and grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He attended Ridgewood High School when he got his start after winning a Gene Krupa drumming contest. His playing was initially influenced by Krupa, but he soon drew upon elements of Max Roach and others, which eventually developed into an exuberant and individual style.

From the mid-1940s to 1988, Sonny performed on over 79 recordings with bands and artists, including The Buddy Stewart Quintet, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Woody Herman and His Orchestra, Frances Wayne with Neal Hefti and His Orchestra, Rita Moss with the George Williams Orchestra, Charlie Ventura, Tony Bennett, Billy Maxted and His Manhattan Jazz Band, The Chuck Wayne Quintet, The Don Elliott Quintet, Joe Wilder, Phil Napoleon and His Original Memphis Five, Sammy Spear, Pee Wee Erwin, Joe Williams, Marlene Ver Planck, Savina Hartwell, Dick Meldonian, and Doctor Billy Dodd.

In the 1960s, Igoe was a member of the NBC Television Orchestra and then the CBS Television Orchestra, where his credits included The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.

Drummer Sonny Igoe, who toured with the orchestras of Tommy Reed, Les Elgart, Ina Ray Hutton, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman, passed away on March 28, 2012 in Emerson, New Jersey where he was a longtime resident.

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