Jack Washington

The unsung hero of the baritone-sax, Jack Washington never achieved much recognition but, along with Harry Carney, he was among the very first strong soloists on the baritone. He actually started off playing soprano sax when he was 13 before switching permanently to baritone. Washington joined Bennie Moten's Orchestra in Kansas City, Missouri right after graduating high school. He had short stints with Paul Banks and Jesse Stone's Blues Serenaders but otherwise was with Moten up until the bandleader's death in 1935. Soon afterward, he became a member of the Count Basie Orchest...