Snooky Young
b. Eugene Howard Young, 3 February 1919. Young began playing trumpet while still a small child and by his early teens was working in territory bands. He was heard by Gerald Wilson, who was then playing in the Jimmie Lunceford band, and on his recommendation Young was hired. Young stayed with the Lunceford band until 1942 and in that year played with Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Les Hite and Benny Carter. In the following year, after a brief return visit to Basie, he joined Wilson's big band in California. In the late '40s he was again with Hampton and Basie, and he was back yet again in the Basie band in the late '50s and early '60s. From the early '60s he worked in television studios in New York City, and was a member of the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra from its inception. Subsequently, Young continued to play in the studios, mostly in Los Angeles, and also appeared at jazz festivals, with occasional return visits to Basie in the late '70s and early '80s. He also made a handful of records as sideman with Ray Bryant, and as either leader or co-leader (with Marshal Royal). A strong lead trumpeter, his solo gifts were frequently underused by his employers. Content to work in the studios for more than a quarter of a century, Young's infrequent jazz excursions in the past three decades have shown him to be an interesting soloist, whether on open horn or with the plunger mute.