Sharkey Bonano

In the early '20s, New Orleans native Sharkey Bonano played locally with the bands of <a href="spotify:artist:5VcHq8sl6HJZ7Ot2pvOmLJ">Chink Martin</a> and Freddie Newman, among others. Later, he moved to New York where he unsuccessfully auditioned for a spot with the Wolverines. In 1924, he landed a spot with pianist <a href="spotify:artist:5FNHfTn3yzVpqdUyWwej0v">Jimmy Durante</a>. The next year, he returned home to lead his own band. In 1927, he joined the famous <a href="spotify:artist:09WvGVHH64IvICUkNSh4S8">Jean Goldkette Orchestra</a>, which then featured <a href="spotify:artist:3kfbYBrL3MCPAMUwKDRpc7">Bix Beiderbecke</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1wZJPrJG9p0ZkiP1sGTaS7">Frankie Trumbauer</a>. From 1928-1930, Bonano led his own group, the Melody Masters, with <a href="spotify:artist:7wbQ1kKX8kuh8A33nyeFeC">Leon Prima</a>. After playing in California with <a href="spotify:artist:112yP6AwAT6QG34fiGGpmh">Original Dixieland Jazz Band</a> clarinetist Larry Shields, Bonano once again returned to New Orleans, where he stayed from 1930-1936. In 1936, Bonano worked with <a href="spotify:artist:4hQaUh9IelwGiurvBz4Dwh">Ben Pollack</a> before forming his own New York-based group, the Sharks of Rhythm, with which he recorded much of his finest work. Around that time, he also played sporadically with <a href="spotify:artist:112yP6AwAT6QG34fiGGpmh">the ODJB</a>. After a military stint in the '40s, Bonano played around and about New Orleans, where his outgoing musical personality gained him a large following. From 1949 on, he led his own groups; Bonano remained active around New Orleans, Chicago, and New York until the 1960s, when ill health forced him to retire. ~ Chris Kelsey, Rovi