George Kelly
b. 31 July 1915, Miami, Florida, USA. Kelly began playing tenor saxophone in childhood and was a bandleader in his home state while still in his teenage years. After playing with several territory bands during the late '30s he joined Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans in New York. After leaving the Sultans, he played in and around New York for the rest of the '40s and on through the '50s. Occasional visits further afield attracted a small amount of attention, but it was not until the late '70s that he made an impact on the jazz world's consciousness. In 1979, David ‘Panama’ Francis, who had played in Kelly's Florida band, formed a new version of the Savoy Sultans and invited Kelly into the group. Thanks to successful records and hugely popular appearances at festivals around the world, Kelly's qualities were widely recognized. During the '80s and into the early '90s he worked with Francis and led his own bands for tours and record dates, amongst which was a set paying tribute to Don Redman on which Kelly was joined by Glenn Zottola. A fine tenor saxophonist with a relaxed style, Kelly is also an accomplished arranger and entertaining singer.