Randy Brooks
Randy Brooks (* 15. March 1919 in Sanford , Maine ; † 21st March 1967 ) was an American jazz - trumpet player and leader of a Swing - big band .
Randy Brooks began playing the trumpet at the age of eight to play for the Salvation Army with his parents . At the age of twelve he won a competition for young trumpeters, at fourteen he toured with Rudy Vallee . After graduating from high school in 1937, he moved to New York City to work as a musician. He played with Claude Thornhill , Bob Allen, Art Jarrett and Les Brown before forming his own band in 1944. The composer John Benson Brooks (to whom he is not related) contributed arrangements for the ensemble; The main soloists included vibraphonist Shorty Allen and saxophonist Eddie Kane . In 1946 the young Stan Getz also played in the orchestra. Hit successes were titles like "Tenderly", "Harlem Nocturne" and "The Man With the Horn" for Decca Records ; In 1947 the orchestra was recognized as one of the best in the country on the Down Beat . However, the band's success soon waned - with the end of the big swing bands. Brooks married another band leader, Ina Ray Hutton , in 1949 and moved with her to Los Angeles , where he suffered a stroke in 1950, which ended his musical career. He died in a house fire in 1967 in Maine, where he had lived with his mother.
literature
- George T. Simon : The Big Bands. Simon and Schuster 1967. 4th edition: Schirmer Books 1981, ISBN 0-02-872430-5 . German: Big Bands. Koch-Hannibal, Höfen 2004, ISBN 3-87024-599-9 .
Web links
- Randy Brooks at Allmusic (English)
- Randy Brooks on findagrave.com
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Brooks, Randy |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz trumpeter and band leader |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 15, 1919 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Sanford (Maine) |
DATE OF DEATH | March 21, 1967 |
Place of death | Sanford (Maine) |