Bobby Hackett's mellow tone and melodic style offered a contrast to the brasher Dixieland-oriented trumpeters. Emphasizing his middle-register and lyricism, Hackett was a flexible soloist who actually sounded little like his main inspiration, Louis Armstrong.

When Hackett first came up he was briefly known as "the new Bix" because of... [+] Read More

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Trumpeter Frank Assunto (who was also a fine singer) and his brother/trombonist Fred Assunto formed the Dukes of Dixieland in 1948 and won a Horace Heidt talent contest. In 1950, they started a long engagement at the Famous Door in New Orleans. An early member of the group was clarinetist Pete Fountain and the Assunto's father, Papa Jac, joined... [+] Read More

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It is a bit ironic that Ellis Marsalis had to wait for sons Wynton and Branford to get famous before he was able to record on a regular basis, but Ellis has finally received his long-overdue recognition. The father of six sons (including Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason), Ellis Marsalis' main importance to jazz may very well be as a jazz... [+] Read More

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Joe Newman, one of the very few musicians (other than Freddie Green) to play for long periods with Count Basie's orchestras of both the 1940s and '50s, had an unclassifiable trumpet style. Influenced early on by Louis Armstrong and more prominently by Harry "Sweets" Edison, Newman was a mainstream player who was versatile enough to hold his own... [+] Read More

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One of the finest clarinetists in traditional jazz of the past 30 years (and able to hit notes far above the normal register), Davern has been an excellent player since the 1950s. He started playing professionally when he was 16 and in 1954 made his recording debut with Jack Teagarden. He picked up experience playing with Phil Napoleon's Memphis... [+] Read More

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It may or may not be true that Lawrence Welk is the most popular easy listening artist of all time, but it's difficult to think of anyone who is more prominently associated with the genre. Welk's long-running TV variety show was a huge success in its time, and remains an enduring favorite in reruns. And while Welk recorded prolifically, his true... [+] Read More

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Michel Legrand has made his fame and fortune from writing for films, but he has done significant work in jazz on an occasional basis. In 1957, he arranged a set of Dixieland and swing standards for a French orchestra (recorded on Philips), in 1958 he used three different all-star groups for the classic Legrand Jazz (with such sidemen as Miles... [+] Read More

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One of the most famous of all New Orleans jazz clarinetists, Pete Fountain has the ability to play songs that he has performed a countless number of times (such as "Basin Street Blues") with so much enthusiasm that one would swear he had just discovered them. His style and most of his repertoire have remained unchanged since the late '50s, yet... [+] Read More

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One of the great swing/Dixieland cornetists, Ruby Braff went through long periods of his career unable to find work because his music was considered out-of-fashion, but his fortunes improved by the 1970s. A very expressive player who in later years liked to build his solos up to a low note, Braff's playing was instantly recognizable within... [+] Read More

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The Banjo Kings were one of the very few (if only) groups recorded by the Good Time Jazz label in the 1950s that could be considered a bit corny. Formed by banjoists Dick Roberts and Red Roundtree in 1951, the band had either Joe Heimlich, Ernie Anderson or Vito Mumolo on third banjo, plus a three-piece rhythm section that usually included... [+] Read More

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