Dorsey brothers

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No biography of Jimmy Dorsey is complete without brother Tommy because their careers entwined or overlapped throughout their lives. They were born in the coal country of eastern Pennsylvania--Jimmy on February 2, 1904, and Tommy on November 19, 1905. Their father was a miner and self-taught musician who eventually left the mines to teach music. He was a hard taskmaster who insisted that his boys learn all the woodwinds and brass instruments, giving them a ticket out of the mines.

Both boys were proficient on all the instruments and were playing professionally as youngsters, performing their first gig in 1919. Jimmy settled on alto sax and Tommy on trombone, although Tommy continued to play trumpet and Jimmy, clarinet. In his book Tommy Dorsey: Livin’ in a Great Big Way, Peter J. Levinson says, “Jimmy’s ability as an improviser on both alto sax and clarinet...stands out. The sound of his alto saxophone, with its wide vibrato, is indeed unique, as is the loose, dancing quality of his clarinet playing.” Saxophonist Dexter Gordon is quoted in Gary Giddins’ Riding on a Blue Note:

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Dorsey, Jimmy (actually, James Francis)

Dorsey, Jimmy (actually, James Francis), American bandleader, saxophonist, and clarinet player; b. Shenandoah, Pa., Feb. 29, 1904; d. N.Y, June 12, 1957. Dorsey’s was one of the top orchestras of the Swing Era. He reached his commercial peak during the first half of the 1940s, when he scored such Latin-tinged hits as “Amapola,” “Besame Mucho,” and “Tangerine,” but his notable work as an instrumentalist dates back to the 1920s.

Dorsey was the first son of Thomas Francis and Theresa Langton Dorsey. His father, a music teacher and the director of the Elmore marching band, gave him early music instruction, and he was playing cornet in his father’s band from the age of seven. He made his professional debut in September 1913 when he appeared with J. Carson McGee’s King Trumpeters in N.Y. By 1915 he had switched to reed instruments, playing alto saxophone and clarinet.

Dorsey and his younger brother, trombonist Tommy Dorsey , formed Dorsey’s Novelty Six in 1920, later renamed Dorsey’s Wild Canaries when the group played an extended engage

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The older of the two Dorsey brothers Jimmy Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was a child prodigy who began his musical career at the age seven playing the slide trumpet and cornet with his father’s brass band at local parties. His father was a working class man who wanted a better life for his children and made them study music, diligently. By the time he was 17, Jimmy was playing with the Jean Goldkette band with Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer.

During the 1920’s the Goldkette Orchestra had broken up, and Jimmy, along with Bix and Trumbauer joined Paul Whiteman’s group. Jimmy left Whiteman’s group and freelanced around playing with Red Nichols. In 1933 Jimmy and younger brother Tommy formed their famous Dorsey Brothers Orchestra which included drummer Ray McKinley, trombonist Glenn Miller and singer Bob Crosby.

By 1935, continued feuding between the two brothers led to a break-up of the band. In 1938 Jimmy participated in some of the infamous Friday afternoon jam sessions at the Park Lane Hotel organized by Eddie Condon which inc