Tommy Ladnier

An exciting trumpeter who can be seen as a bridge style-wise between King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, Tommy Ladnier played early in life in New Orleans and in 1917, moved to Chicago. He worked for a period in St. Louis with Charlie Creath and was part of the Chicago scene in the early '20s, playing with Ollie Powers (1923), Fate Marable, and King Oliver (1924-1925). He also recorded with a variety of blues singers and Lovie Austin's Blues Serenaders. In 1925, Ladnier visited Europe with Sam Wooding and then became a star soloist with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra (1926-1927),...