Billy Usselton

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William Hugh "Billy" Usselton (born July 2, 1926 in New Castle (Pennsylvania) , † September 5, 1994 in Tempe (Arizona) ) was an American jazz musician ( tenor saxophone , clarinet ).

Usselton was a self-taught musician and first learned the clarinet when he was ten years old listening to Benny Goodman's records . At the age of 16 he finally switched to the tenor saxophone as the main instrument. He worked in Los Angeles from the mid-1940s in the big band of Sonny Dunham (where the first recordings were made), from 1949 to 1953 with Ray Anthony , and from 1955 to 1960 with Les Brown . Under his own name he recorded a single album in the style of West Coast Jazz for Kapp Records , Billy Usselton Sextet - His First Album , on which Abe Aaron , Bob Burgess , Buddy Clark , Frank Capp , Larry Bunker , Lloyd Morales , Mel Pollan and Paul Moer contributed. Further recordings in a sextet line-up (now with Mel Lewis ) followed shortly afterwards for a compilation album by Kapp.

In the 1960s Usselton played with Jimmy Henderson , Dave Pell , Frank Capp, Pete Fountain , Tex Beneke & The Modernaires , Benny Goodman , Glen Sponseller , and in the late 1970s he played with The New Chicago Rhythm Kings ( Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing ). In the field of jazz he was involved in 132 recording sessions between 1946 and 1978, including as accompanist for Patti Page , Frank Sinatra , Andy Williams , Ella Fitzgerald , Nat King Cole , Georgia Carr , The Four Freshmen and Ann-Margret ( The Vivacious One ) .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ JazzTimes Dec. 1994
  2. ↑ Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed August 8, 2018)
personal data
SURNAME Usselton, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Usselton, William Hugh
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH New Castle, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH 5th September 1994
Place of death Tempe (Arizona)