Ralph Marterie

One of the last big-band leaders to enjoy consistent commercial success, trumpeter Ralph Marterie had a number of hits for Mercury in the early and mid-'50s. While he could play swing when the occasion was suitable, Marterie was not, nor did he pretend to be, a jazzman. Artistic statements were not on the agenda -- he played a wide variety of instrumental orchestral pop that mainstream listeners wanted to hear. Next to him, Glenn Miller sounded downright tough. To subsequent generations, that means that Marterie's hits sound much like the kind of music churned out by televisio...