Sunday Night Jazz Showcase
Program #264 (August 18 at 8:00 PM)
Harry James & His Orchestra w/Frank Sinatra
Trumpeter Harry James was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later. James was the child of circus performers.
Growing up in the circus, James became a performer himself as early as the age of four, when he began working as a contortionist. He soon turned to music, however, first playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six and taking trumpet lessons from his father. At 12, he took over leadership of the second band in the Christy Brothers Circus, for which his family was then working. He attended grade school in Beaumont, Texas, where the circus spent the winter, and when he was 14 he won a state music contest as a trumpeter.
Vocalist Frank Sinatra made his first studio recordings on July 13, 1939 with a band led by the man who gave him his first real break in show business, trumpeter Harry James. The Sinatra of 1939 was a 23-year-old wonder whose marvelous voice was not yet saturated with the singer's notorious latter-day swagger.
(provided by Allmusic)
