Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton
b. Joseph N. Irish, 1 February 1904, New York City, New York, USA, d. 20 July 1946. After playing trombone with a number of small bands in the early and mid-20s, including two stints with Cliff Jackson, Nanton joined Elmer Snowden and by 1926 was in the re-formed band led by Duke Ellington. Along with Bubber Miley, Nanton was a major force in creating the distinctive ‘jungle’ sound of Ellington's early work. Although occasionally beset by illness, Nanton remained with Ellington until he suffered a stroke in 1945. An inventive soloist capable of producing fascinating excursions within a narrow range, and with a marked penchant for creating sounds which closely resembled the human voice, Nanton helped to establish a role for the trombone in the Ellington band which, thereafter, had to be followed, more or less faithfully, by most of his successors.