Hank D'Amico
b. Henry D'Amico, 21 March 1915, Rochester, New York, USA, d. 3 December 1965. After working in bands in upstate New York, clarinettist and alto saxophonist, D'Amico worked with Paul Specht and Red Norvo during the mid-30s. Towards the end of the decade he played on radio with his own group, an octet, and also worked with the band of Richard Himber before joining Bob Crosby in 1940. The following year he formed his own big band which failed to make the grade then worked with Les Brown, Norvo again and Benny Goodman, upon whose playing D'Amico moulded his own clarinet style. In 1943 he became a staff musician at CBS later moving to ABC. Throughout this period, until the mid-50s, D'Amico also played in a number of small jazz groups. He died in December 1965.