Buddy Childers
b. Marion Childers, 12 February 1926, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He began playing trumpet as a small child and was soon performing in bands in Belleville, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from his home town. In 1942, at the age of 16, Childers was hired by Stan Kenton. Although he would later wryly suggest that this was because all the other trumpeters were being drafted into the armed forces, his new boss thought enough of him to make him lead trumpet in his powerful band. On and off, Childers played with Kenton until the mid-'50s but during this same period also worked in bands led by Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and others. Settling in Los Angeles, he began working in film and television studios but found time for occasional jazz gigs and recording dates. The role of the lead trumpet is such that his importance is often more apparent to fellow musicians than to audiences. For this reason, Childers is one of several unsung heroes of big band jazz.