Career
Born of part Cherokee ancestry in Carbondale, Illinois, Frank Trumbauer grew up in St Louis, Missouri, the son of a musical mother who directed saxophone and theater orchestras. His first important professional engagements were with the Edgar Benson and Ray Miller bands, shortly followed by the Mound City Blue Blowers, a local group that became nationally famous through their recordings on Brunswick.
"Tram" was one of the most influential and important jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He is also remembered for his musical collaborations with Bix Beiderbecke, a relationship that produced some of the finest and most innovative jazz records of the late 1920s. Trumbauer and Beiderbecke also collaborated with jazz guitarist Eddie Lang.
In 1927, Trumbauer signed a contract with OKeh and released a 78 recording of "Singin' the Blues", featuring Beiderbecke on cornet and Lang on guitar. "Singin' the Blues" was a jazz classic originally recorded and released by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920. The Okeh recording became a smash hit and became one of the most influential and recognizable jazz recordings of the 1920s. Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra covered the song in 1931 in the Trumbauer-Beiderbecke version. (His contracts with Goldkette and then Whiteman's orchestras, allowed him to be a recording artist for OKeh.)
Frankie Trumbauer recruited Bix Beiderbecke for Jean Goldkette's Victor Recording Orchestra, of which he became musical director. In the late 1920s he cut several popular sides with Beiderbecke, including the legendary "Singin' the Blues." After leaving Goldkette, he and Beiderbecke worked briefly in Adrian Rollini's band, then joined Paul Whiteman in 1927. He played with Whiteman for eight of the following nine years. He had a separate contract with OKeh Records from 1927 through 1930, he recorded some of the most legendary small group Jazz recordings of the era, usually including Beiderbecke until the April 30, 1929 session. He recorded a handful of sides in 1931 for Brunswick. In 1932 he organized a band in Chicago and recorded for Columbia, but gave up the orchestra and returned to New York late in 1933. During 1934–1936, while again a member of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra, he made a series of recordings for Brunswick and Victor, often including Jack Teagarden. (All of the OKeh, plus most of the Brunswick's and Columbia's continue to be highly collected.)
In 1936 he led The Three T's, featuring the Teagarden brothers; in 1938, he and Manny Klein started a band which they co-led. In 1940, Trumbauer, a highly skilled pilot, left music (after recording a series of records for Varsity) to join the Civil Aeronautics Authority. During World War II he was a test pilot with North American Aviation, and trained military crews in the operation of the B-25 Mitchell bomber. He continued to work for the CAA after the war, and also played in the NBC Orchestra. After 1947, although he continued to play and record, he earned most of his income in aviation.
Trumbauer died of a sudden heart attack in Kansas City, Missouri, where he had made his home for some years. He was 55 years old.
Frankie Trumbauer suggested to Hoagy Carmichael that he compose the jazz and pop standard "Georgia on My Mind". In 1931, Trumbauer had the first hit recording of "Georgia on My Mind", which reached the top ten on the charts.
Trumbauer's cool, delicate style and slow vibrato influenced many important saxophonists, including Benny Carter, Lester Young and Art Pepper. According to the Red Hot Jazz website, "Trumbauer's solo on Trumbology is one of the most influential saxophone parts in the history of Jazz."
Lester Young acknowledged and cited Frankie Trumbauer as his main influence as a saxophonist. When an interviewer asked Young about his influences, he stated that Frankie Trumbauer was his major influence: "So, it's Trumbauer?" Young replied: "That was my man."
His life and career were documented in the biography Tram: The Frank Trumbauer Story by Philip R. Evans and Larry F. Kiner with William Trumbauer (Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers and Scarecrow Press Inc., 1994).
Read more about this topic: Frankie Trumbauer
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