Harlan Leonard
b. 2 July 1905, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, d. 1983. After working in various bands in and around Kansas City, including that led by George E. Lee, in 1923, saxophonist Leonard joined Bennie Moten for a lengthy stay. In 1931, he co-led a band with Thamon Hayes that they named the Kansas City Skyrockets, which, by 1934, had relocated to Chicago, becoming Harlan Leonard And His Rockets. In 1937, the band folded, but Leonard reformed it in 1938, this time keeping the band together until the mid-40s. Despite some important engagements at such venues as the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem and the Hollywood Club in Los Angeles, the Rockets remained relatively little known among jazz fans. Thanks to the handful of records they made it is possible to see that the band had many important qualities. Notably, it was an early testing ground for arranger Tadd Dameron whose arrangements for A La Bridges and Dameron Stomp, recorded in 1940, were ahead of their time. There were also some side musicians of merit. In addition to drummer Jesse Price, tenor saxophonists Jimmy Keith and Henry Bridges stood out, both composing and soloing on A La Bridges. This same track also features the band's outstanding soloist, trombonist Fred Beckett, who later joined Lionel Hampton. In the mid-40s Leonard left music to work for the US Internal Revenue Service.