Daily Dose Of Jazz…
James Archibald McLin was born in Brooksville, Florida on June 26, 1908. He started on piano before picking up the banjo, then later the guitar. He played locally in Florida before relocating to New York City in 1928. He played both guitar and banjo in the early 1930s for James P. Johnson, Ward Pinkett, and Roy Eldridge.
Later in the decade he recorded with Willie “The Lion” Smith, Buster Bailey, Midge Williams, and Billie Holiday. In the early 1940s he worked with Sidney Bechet, Dave Nelson, and Claude Hopkins, then played trombone and mellophone in a military band while serving in the United States Navy during World War II. After his discharge he worked again with Hopkins and played guitar for The Ink Spots.
Banjoist and guitarist Jimmy McLin transitioned on December 15, 1983 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
