Buddy DeFranco, Clarinet, 1923, Camden, NJ
At the age of 14, Buddy won an amateur swing player's contest that was sponsored by Tommy Dorsey. During the 1940s he played in the big bands of Gene Krupa and Charlie Barnet before becoming the principal soloist for Tommy Dorsey. He tried twice to lead a band of his own but was not successful. In the early '50s he worked in small groups led by Count Basie, Art Blakey, and Kenny Drew. He also toured Europe with Billie Holiday in 1954. Buddy gave the premiere of Nelson Riddle's "Cross-Country Suite" in 1958, and conducted jazz workshops in California the same year. Later, between the mid '60s and the mid '70s he led the reconstituted Glenn Miller orchestra. He then returned to teaching and did some nightclub work. In 1975 he and Terry Gibbs formed a group and toured the U.S.and Europe. During the mid '80s he made some fine recordings as the leader of a quintet with the clarinetist John Denman and a harpsichordist. He also worked with Oscar Peterson. Today Buddy continues to lead a quintet with Terry Gibbs. DeFranco is a talented improviser with a beautiful tone and wonderful technique, but the clarinet has probably kept him from achieving the fame he deserves. The clarinet isn't the ideal instrument for bop, which is Buddy's style.
Buddy Jones, Bass, 1924, Hope, AR
Buddy studied the piano as a youngster, and took up the bass while serving in the navy. After the war he played with Charlie Ventura and Joe Venuti. By 1950 he moved to New York, where he recorded with Buddy DeFranco and performed with Lennie Tristano and Stan Getz. During the '50s he played on Jack Sterling's CBS radio program and worked with Elliot Lawrence's big band. Also during the '50s he worked with Al Cohn, Sam Most, Gene Quill, Joe Newman, Phil Woods and Bob Brookmeyer. After playing on television in Hollywood for some time, he returned to New York where he worked with Bobby Hackett, Al Cohn, and Bill Waltrous. During the mid '60s he did recordings with Cohn and Hackett.
