ABSTRACT
American jazz trumpeter and big band leader, born in Albany, Georgia. He learned to play from his father, a circus bandmaster; and he worked with groups in Texas and New Orleans. His first important affiliation was with Ben Pollack in 1935-1936, after which he joined the Benny Goodman orchestra, and became a principal soloist. In 1938 he formed his own big band, signing with Columbia, and the band became one of the most popular of the next 30 years. Although he was a fine improviser, he was most famous as a soloist for virtuoso pieces like “Flight of the Bumble Bee” (Variety 8298; 1940), and for tender ballads like “Sleepy Lagoon” (Columbia 36549; 1942). James briefly left Columbia in 1940-early 1941 to record for Variety, and then returned to Columbia, scoring his first Top 10 hits in mid-1941. The recording ban in 1942 ended new releases, but nonetheless Columbia was able to draw from its stockpile of James’s recordings to keep him on the charts over the next few years. The James band, with vocalists Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen, and Helen Forrest, was at its peak in the 1940s, appearing on radio and in 10 films, then on television from 1952. Among the artists with James at one time or another were Buck Clayton and Ziggy Elman (trumpet), Jess Stacy (piano), Dave Tough, Jo Jones, and Buddy Rich (drums). In 1950-1951, Columbia successfully teamed singer Doris Day with the James band. James remained with Columbia until 1955, and then moved to Capitol, remaining there for three years, and then moved to MGM. After MGM dropped the band in 1965, they recorded sporadically, mostly working as a touring group rather than relying on recorded hits. Harry James’s recordings have been reissued in many different formats by a variety of labels.
