Max Kaminsky came to the world in Brockton, Mass., on September 7, 1908. He was a vigorous Trumpeter who played with some big bands, including Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw, but was mainly associated with Chicago-style small groups --starting out with bands around Boston in 1924. He played with George Wettlingand Bud Freeman in New York, and toured with Red Nichols. During the forties he worked with Joe Venuti, Pee Wee Russell, Tony Pastor, Tommy Dorsey, and Alvino Rey, and played with Artie Shaw’s famous Navy Band in ’42 and ’43. Kaminsky led his own combos in New York and Boston until 1946, and then free-lanced with Dixieland groups—with artists such as Eddie Condon and Art Hodes. In 1957 he toured Europe with Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines All Stars, and later appeared on American TV-Jazz Shows.

Jerome Kern (1885-1945) is arguably the father modern American musical theater. Born in New York of German heritage, he attended the New York College of Music and began to break into Broadway theater during the first decade of the century by having songs of his interpolated into shows., Breaking away from the European model of waltz music, Kern proved adept at adapting contempoarary dance music into his songs as well as producing subtle, inventive ballads.

Barney Kessel was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on October 17^th, 1923.
His first job was with a big band formed by Chico Marx. He settled in Los Angeles and played with Charlie Barnet and Artie Shaw in the 40’s. For the next twenty years Kessel was busy with studio work, first in radio and then on TV and in films. Yet, he still appeared frequently on jazz records, for example with Charlie Parker. He joined the Oscar Peterson trio for one year in 1952, including Jazz at the Philharmonic tours in the USA and Europe. Then he began making records albums under his own name. Kessel also toured Europe with the Newport Festival group in 1967. Back in the USA, Kessel resumed recording and became involved in teaching with annual trips to Europe to give seminars..

Born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 31st, 1908, Kirby Played tuba for Bill Brown’s Brownies in New York, but switched over to bass after joining Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra in 1930. He was in and out of bands led by Chic Webb, Lucky Milander and Charlie Barnet and, in 1937 moved into the Onyx club in New York to work with Frankie Newton and Pete Brown (who were soon replaced by Charlie Shavers and Russell Procope. Shavers brilliant arrangement quickly made Kirby’s sextet the talk of the town , dubbed as "The Biggest little swing band in the world" It, indeed, performed at the best hotels including the Waldorf Astoria and landed an NBC radio contract featuring Kirby’s wife, Maxine Sullivan.

Andy Kirk was born on May 28^th, 1898 in Newport, Ky. He was raised in Colorado and learned to play several instruments as a child. He studied diligently and one of his tutors was Wilberforce Whiteman—father of Paul Whiteman. Kirk played in several bands in and around Denver and in 1927 he moved to Dallas, Texas where he joined Terrence Holder’s band—"The Dark clouds of Joy". Kirk took over that band two years later and changed the name to "The Clouds of joy." His musicians all stayed on through the years—many of them great artists such as pianist Mary Lou Williams and her husband, saxophonist John Williams, Buddy Tate, Ben Thigpen and others. Kirk led a subtly swinging band offering the best of commercial Kansas City Jazz and enjoyed several years of success. The clouds of joy folded in 1948 after which Kirk eventually dropped out of music to take up hotel management. In the 80’s he worked with the N.Y. local of the American Federation of musicians and continued to make appearances until long after retirement age.

Lee Konitz was also born on October 13th—but in year 1927 in Chicago.
He began on clarinet and later switched to saxophone, playing with the bands of Jerry Wald and Claude Thornhill in the late forties and appearing on jazz dates with Miles Davis. Konitz studied with Lennie Tristano, with whom he also recorded. In the 50’s he played with Stan Kenton for a while and then went on to establish an international reputation. Konitz became involved more and more in teaching and was soon running workshops, giving private instruction Lee Konitz was one of the few saxophonists of his generation NOT influenced by Charlie Parker, and managed to avoid being compared to anyone else. He maintained his own style.

CARL KRESS

Carl Kress was born in Newark, New Jersey on October 20, 1907. He was an outstanding and highly respected guitarrist, and active throughout the 20’s and 30’s making numerous recordings. Kress often worked with other guitarists—Eddie Lang and Dick McDonough among them, playing in duet fashion.  In the 40’s and 50’s Kress retained his preference for Acoustical guitar, despite the changes generated by Charlie Christian. He worked frequently with George Barnes

Was Born in Chicago on January 15th, 1909 and began playing drums as a child. In his teens he played with several local dance bands, and in 1927 he made his first records with a group organized by Eddie Condon. Condon and Krupa left Chicago together for New York where they already had a great reputation. Krupa found the going tough though, and worked with Theatre pit orchestras including some directed by Red Nichols in which he played alongside Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. In the thirties Krupa played in dance bands and late in 1934 he joined Benny Goodman’s recently formed big band. The relationship proved to be a mixed blessing---Fantastic Success and bitter quarrels, but time doesn’t permit us to relate all the details. Krupa was a major factor in Goodman’s pre-1939 band, and during the 60’s, Krupa joined his old boss at reunions of the old quartet—with Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson. Gene Krupa acknowledged Chic Webb as his greatest influence, and throughout his career attempted to emulate Webb’s masterful drumming.

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 Tiny Bradshaw and Lucky Millander and then became an important part of the John Kirby Sextet (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 Sy Oliver.. He joined Louis Armstrongs All Stars in 1953 and was there for nearly 13 years until his death.

Tommy Ladnier was born in Florenceville, Louisiana on May 28^th, 1900. He played trumpet locally as a child and also performed in nearby Mandeville, Louisiana where he was heard by George Lewis and Bunk Johnson. Johnson claimed that he taught Ladnier to play. In 1917, Ladnier travelled to Chicago where he played with several bands, including that of his idol, Joe King Oliver, and with Jimmy Noone. In 1925 he was hired by Sam Wooding and sailed to Europe with him. For the next few years he played in Germany, Poland, France and other countries along with Benny Peyton and Noble Sissle and also performed back in the U.S. with Fletcher Henderson. In the early 30’s, Ladnier teamed up with Sidney Bechet as co-leader of a band they called the "New Orleans Feetwarmers." Later, Ladnier led his own small groups and in 1938 he played with Bechet on recording dates for the French Jazz writer Hughes Panassie. Ladnier’s playing was a simple and direct presentation of the blues and, indeed, he accompanied such greats as Ma Rainey. Clarinetist Buster Bailey said, "There’s a guy who had a natural swing. Listen to the way he plays—the way he takes a melody and swings it. That’s what I mean by swing !"

The founder and leader of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Nick LaRocca did much to help popularize jazz during the band's existence although he hurt his own cause decades later by claiming to have been one of jazz's main originators. LaRocca, who had a good tone but was not a major improviser, was self-taught. The band became quite popular in Chicago and then caused a sensation in New York in 1917 when the opened at Reisenweber's. They became the first jazz band to ever record and, although their style seems very primitive today (playing all ensembles with no solos, and lots of repetition from chorus to chorus with LaRocca largely sticking to the melody), they were light years ahead of all of the other bands that had previously recorded. Their "Livery Stable Blues" (which found the horn players emulating bandyard animals) was a major hit, many of the band's songs (including "Original Dixieland One Step," "At the Jazz Band Ball," "Clarinet Marmalade," "Jazz Me Blues," "Fidgety Feet" and "Tiger Rag") became standards and their visit to London during 1919-20 helped introduce jazz to Europe, causing another sensation overseas.

Born as Salvatore Massaro in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 25th. 1902.
Eddie Lang was the first truly significant guitarrist in jazz. He actually began playing violin, but was familiar with what was to become his main instrument because of his fathers’ work as a guitar maker. In his youth, Lang became acquainted with Joe Venuti, and they formed a team of exceptional quality. After working in bands in his home town and in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lang joined the Mound City Blue Blowers. Later, he and Venuti joined the Wolfe Kahn band. Later they formed their own band and later still, worked with Paul Whiteman.
After leaving Whiteman, Lang became Bing Crosby’s accompanist and, in fact, Crosby’s recording contract stipulated that Lang must always be present on his singing dates. Up until Lang came along, the guitar was thought of a strictly a rhythm instrument. Lang’s playing opened the way for the guitar as a melodious solo voice.

Theodore Leopold Friedman, better known as Ted Lewis was an entertainer, bandleader, singer, and musician. He led a band presenting a combination of jazz, , hokey comedy, and schmaltzy sentimentality that was a hit with the American public. He was known by the moniker "Mr. Entertainment". Born in Circleville, Ohio, , Lewis was one of the first Northern musicians to start imitating the New Orleans jazz musicians who came up to New York in the teens. He first recorded in 1917 with Earl Fuller's Jass Band, who were making an energetic if somewhat clumsy attempt to copy the sound of the city's newest sensation, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. At the time, Lewis didn't seem to be able to do much on the clarinet other than trill. (Promoting one recording the Victor catalog stated:"The sounds as of a dog in his dying anguish are from Ted Lewis' clarinet"). He improved a bit later, forming his style from the influences of the first New Orleans clarinetists to reside in New York.

Terry Lightfoot

Terry Lightfoot made his, professional debut as a bandleader in 1956, and since that time has established an international reputation as a clarinetist, saxophonist and vocalist of the highest calibre. He was prominent in the traditional jazz revival in Britain in the 1950's and reached a much wider audience during the "Trad" boom of the early 1960's. Terry made his first visit to the U.S.A. and played in New York at the legendary Eddie Condon club, and the following year toured Britain with the great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. He had previously met "Satch" in London in 1956, when he had the privilege of "jamming" with the man whose recordings first introduced him to jazz music as a teenager. During the course of his career, he has worked with many other jazz greats, including Yank Lawson, Vic Dickenson, Billy Butterfield and George Lewis, and his is the only British band to have toured with the legendary Edward "Kid" Ory Band, which included the wonderful trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen. Terry has also toured with some of the blues greats, among them Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Memphis Slim and "Champion" Jack Dupree.

Mundell Lowe

BORN IN LAUREL, Mississippi, Mundell left home at the age of thirteen. After working in Nashville, he found his way to Bourbon Street in New Orleans and the beginning of his jazz career. While serving in World War Il, he met the influential John Hammond, who introduced him to Ray McKinley. Mundell worked with McKinleys band for a year and a half, developing his distinctive instrumental style, and then moved on to work in New York at Caf Society and stints at the Village Vanguard and The Embers, among others. Mundell worked with Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Helen Humes and Charles Mingus, to name but a few. He has traveled the globe as a concert performer, worked the States with his own quintet, and toured with the Andr Previn Trio as well as the Great Guitars with the late Charlie Byrd, Herb Ellis, and Tal Farlow.

Jimmy Lunceford was born in Fulton, Mississippi on June 6th, 1902. He studied under Wilberforce, Whiteman—the father of Paul Whiteman, and later got his degree in music at Fisk University. Lunceford was multi-talented on many instruments, although preferring Alto saxophone. He worked briefly in New York in several bands before taking teaching post in Memphis, Tennessee where he formed a band with such later notables as bass-man Moses Allen. Pianist Willie ‘the lion’ Smith’, and drummer Jimmy Crawford. The band went on tour and became very popular, and, in 1929, Lunceford decided to make that his full time activity. Broadcasts and more tours followed, and Lunceford made some of most successful black band records of the swing era. Among his arrangers was Sy Oliver who helped the band sky rocket to national popularity. Lunceford was mainly responsible for the showmanship that crept into big band performances. He passed away in Denver, Colorado in 1947 at the age of 45.

Jan Lundgren

Jan Lundgren is one of the most exciting jazz pianists on the scene today, not only in his native Sweden, not only in Europe, but the entire world. His versatility, curiosity and impressive knowledge of jazz, combined with an awesome awareness of the Great American Songbook, have made him one of today's most respected piano artists. Jan Lundgren was born in 1966 in Kristianstad, Sweden. In 1994 he released his first album as a leader One of his early leader albums, Swedish Standards (ACT, 1997), became a huge hit and received the Golden Record Award in the country for the best jazz recording of 1997.Lundgren has toured most European countries, Australia and Japan, not to mention the many times he has visited the United States to record and perform live.

Humphrey Lyttleton