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A fluent pianist with a light touch, Billy Kyle never achieved much fame, but he always worked steadily. A professional from the time he was 18, Kyle played in the big bands of <a href="spotify:artist:70sHURBVOq2rwWkmBpDxYa">Tiny Bradshaw</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4tdVYQWfsBth04tc1mmQ23">Lucky Millinder</a> and then became an important part of <a href="spotify:artist:35MId59wx5Xyn6zlxGOfJy">the John Kirby Sextet</a> (1938-1942), a perfect vehicle for his style. He was forced to leave the band when he was drafted and, after three years in the military (1942-1945), Kyle freelanced, working fairly often with <a href="spotify:artist:27mxmjGJOVEKUV3VaHBkbj">Sy Oliver</a>. He joined <a href="spotify:artist:19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek">Louis Armstrong's All-Stars</a> in 1953 and was there for nearly 13 years until his death. His playing with <a href="spotify:artist:19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek">Armstrong</a>, although appealing, tended to be very predictable. Billy Kyle had very few opportunities to record as a leader and none during his <a href="spotify:artist:19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek">Armstrong</a> years; just some octet and septet sides in 1937, two songs with a quartet in 1939, and outings in 1946 with a trio and an octet, 17 songs in all. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
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