Trummy Young
b. James Osborne Young, 12 January 1912, Savannah, Georgia, USA, d. 10 September 1984. As a child Young played trumpet and drums but by his teens was concentrating on trombone. Resident in Washington, DC, he played in local bands before relocating to Chicago and working with Earl Hines. He remained with Hines for four years, making occasional visits to other bands. In 1937 he began a five-year stint with Jimmie Lunceford, becoming an important member of the band as both trombone soloist and singer. He also had a number of hit records with the band, among them Margie and his own composition, Tain't What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It. In the '40s he worked with bands covering a wide stylistic range, including those led by Boyd Raeburn and Roy Eldridge. He also played with Jazz At The Philharmonic before settling for a while in Hawaii. In 1952 he became a member of Louis Armstrong's All Stars, a job he held for 12 years. After leaving Armstrong he returned to Hawaii, leading his own bands, playing with visiting musicians, and making occasional visits to the mainland for concert and festival appearances. A superbly gifted trombonist, Young's early playing style showed him to be a completely rounded soloist with an approach to his instrument that was, in many respects, very advanced for a '30s big band musician. His playing style changed after he joined Armstrong, with whom he used a deceptively simple approach. The change was highly appropriate for Armstrong's band and Young was in many ways a more suitable partner than his predecessor, the sublime Jack Teagarden, had been. His blistering solos and delightfully melodic ensemble lines, allied to his engagingly casual singing, helped to give the band a strength of character that it lacked after he departed.