Frankie Trumbauer

Orie Frank "Frankie" Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He played the C-melody saxophone which, in size, is between an alto and tenor saxophone. He also played alto saxophone, bassoon, clarinet and several other instruments.

He was a composer, notably of technically sophisticated sax melodies, and was one of the major small group jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s. His landmark recording of "Singin' the Blues" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang in 1927, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1977. His major recordings included "Krazy Kat", "Red Hot", "Plantation Moods", "Trumbology", "Tailspin", "Singin' the Blues", "Wringin' an' Twistin'", and "For No Reason at All in C" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang, and the first hit recording of "Georgia On My Mind" in 1931.

Career

Born of part Cherokee ancestry in Carbondale, Illinois, Trumbauer grew up in St Louis, Missouri, the son of a musical mother who directed saxophone and theater orchestras. His first important professional engagements were with the Edgar Benson and Ray Miller bands, shortly followed by the Mound City Blue Blowers, a local group that became nationally famous through their recordings on Brunswick.