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A groundbreaking saxophonist (primarily on the C melody saxophone but on the alto as well) of the 1920s and '30s, Frankie Trumbauer was a major influence on jazz leaders to follow -- notably <a href="spotify:artist:05E3NBxNMdnrPtxF9oraJm">Lester Young</a>. At his peak, Trumbauer's supreme standing on the saxophone was comparable to the kind of dominance later enjoyed by Charlie Parker. Born May 30, 1901, in Carbondale, Illinois, Trumbauer -- often called "Tram" by his contemporaries -- was playing with Chicago's Benson Orchestra when he was spotted by <a href="spotify:artist:3kfbYBrL3MCPAMUwKDRpc7">Bix Beiderbecke</a> and quickly recruited to join the legendary cornetist in <a href="spotify:artist:2rtPSgv5K948tiLuIFkXMQ">Jean Goldkette</a>'s orchestra. Soon Tram had climbed to the position of <a href="spotify:artist:2rtPSgv5K948tiLuIFkXMQ">Goldkette</a>'s musical director, earning recognition for the impeccable technique of his light-toned solos; he cut some of the definitive records of the era with <a href="spotify:artist:3kfbYBrL3MCPAMUwKDRpc7">Beiderbecke</a>, "Singin' the Blues" among them, and, by 1927, the two were reunited in <a href="spotify:artist:1mZm40boQmdGKicfbNkd0r">Paul Whiteman</a>'s orchestra. Trumbauer remained with Whiteman until 1932, returning in 1933 for another four-year stint. When he exited in 1936, he took command of <a href="spotify:artist:5rAaG3OuMuWvPWYji9TDgh">the Three T's</a>, featuring the <a href="spotify:artist:1UywRc6V81aJyLODz6ZzlB">Teagarden</a> brothers; in 1938, he moved on to co-lead a band with Manny Klein. With the onset of World War II, Trumbauer was assigned to the Civil Aeronautics Authority; still, he continued to pursue music in his off-hours, playing with <a href="spotify:artist:0PQiXFl35bbQqcM026lh54">Russ Case</a> and cutting a number of New York studio dates during the latter half of the 1950s. However, with the arrival of the modern jazz era of the 1950s, Tram fell off the radar; he died June 11, 1956, in Kansas City, Missouri. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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