He was born November 12^th, 1911 in Parsons.Kansas. He was already an accomplished trumpeter in his late teens, playing in both Kansas and in California. He formed his own band, which he took to China for two years, and in 1936 was invited to join Count Basie. He remained with Basie until his induction into the army in 1943, and by this time his fame was fairly high thanks to a number of solos on Basies best band recordings. After the war he worked mostly with small bands and appeared at Jazz at the Philharmonic. In the 50’s he toured with Mezz Mezzrow, Eddie Condon and Sidney Bechet, but by the late 60’s he began suffering from severe lip problems. Extensive surgery failed to improve matters, and he finally gave up playing in favor of arranging. His activities as a band leader, lecturer and arranger continued into the late 80’s. He was a major figure in the establishment of mainstream jazz and one of the most respected musicians. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 80.