Al Killian

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Albert "Al" Killian (* 15. October 1916 in Birmingham (Alabama) , † 5. September 1950 in Los Angeles ) was an American trumpeter of the swing and jump blues.

biography

Al Killian began his career in Charlie Turner's Arcadians Band in the mid-1930s and then played in the big bands of Baron Lee , Teddy Hill , Don Redman (1940), Claude Hopkins , Count Basie (1940–1944), Charlie Barnet (1943 and 1945/46), with Lester Young ( Circus in Rhythm ), Slim Gaillard (1939), Georgie Auld and Lionel Hampton (between 1942 and 1946) and with Lyle Griffin . In 1946, Killian formed his own big band, but quickly gave it up to tour with Norman Granz ' Jazz at the Philharmonic , where he also played with musicians such as Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie and Lester Young in 1946 . Around 1946/47 he also accompanied several blues musicians, such as T-Bone Walker , with whom he recorded the tracks “It's a Low Down”, “Dirty Deal” and “I'm in a Awful Mood”. During this time he toured with bands from Billy Eckstine , Earl Spencer , Tom Talbert and Boyd Raeburn before briefly joining the Duke Ellington Orchestra ( replacing Cat Anderson ); he performed with Ellington at his Carnegie Hall concert in 1947 and toured Europe with him in 1950. During this time he did a recording session under his own name in Stockholm , in which Lester Young also took part. Al Killian's fiery, high-playing tone was very popular at the time. He was considered an excellent lead trumpeter and also worked as a composer. After leaving Ellington's band, he settled in Los Angeles , where he was murdered by his (mentally ill) landlord at the age of 33.

Percussionist Lawrence Killian is a nephew of Al Killian.

Discographic notes

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Killian, Al
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Killian, Albert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American swing and jump blues trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham
DATE OF DEATH 5th September 1950
Place of death los Angeles