By: Joel kersey

Name given at birth: Joseph Oliver Date born: 1885 Died: 1938 American jazz cornetist Place of birth: Abend, LA Oliver began his professional career in 1904 with the Onward Brass

Band. After playing with leading bands in New Orleans and establishing himself as a master cornetist, he moved to Chicago in 1918. From 1920 to 1923 he led the Creole Jazz Band, which became the greatest exponent of the New Orleans, or “Dixieland,” jazz idiom. Oliver's style was noted for its bursting, exuberant power and its great range. He strongly influenced Louis Armstrong.

Born: 4 August 1901 Died: 6 July 1971 (heart attack) Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana Best known as: The charismatic jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong was the most famous jazz trumpeter of the 20th

century. Like Jelly Roll Morton, Armstrong began playing in New Orleans clubs

and saloons in his early teens. By the 1920s Armstrong was touring the country and leading his own band, the Hot Five (later the Hot Seven).

He was well-known for playing 2nd cornet in King Oliver band on early recordings from 1923. However, he left the band in 1924.

In 1952 and shifted from the cornet to the trumpet. His music style was very unusual, building solos to the highest point and holding very bright clarity and shakes and vibrato.

Armstrong's nickname Satchmo was an abbreviation of "satchelmouth," a joke on the size of his mouth.

Armstrong is credited with influencing trumpeters as diverse as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis.

Born: 26 May 1926 Died: 28 September 1991 Birthplace: Alton, Illinois Best known as: Composer/performer of Kind of Blue (trumpeter) Name at birth: Miles Dewey Davis, Jr. In the 1940s, Miles Davis went off to New York City to study music at

Julliard. He ended up playing jazz with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie instead, soon playing trumpet behind some of the biggest bandleaders of the era. As a bandleader himself during the 1950s and '60s, his influence led to "cool" jazz and the emergence of the musician as composer and arranger. He recorded many classic albums, including Relaxin' With Miles Davis, Birth of the Cool, and, with compositional help from Bill Evans, Kind of Blue; his 1969 Bitches Brew, merging jazz with rock and free-form improvisation, made the top 40 pop charts. Unlike many trumpeters of his era, Davis relied on tone rather than speed, often using a mute with his horn. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of the past century.

Many sources claim 25 May as Davis's birth date, and some sources list 29 September as his death date.

Bandleader as a Trombonist Born: 1 March 1904 Birthplace: Clarinda, Iowa Died: 15 December 1944 (airplane crash) Missing Person Best known as: Wartime big band leader Name at birth: Alton Glenn Miller Glenn Miller was one of several band leaders who helped create the Big

Band sound of the 1930s and 1940s. His Glenn Miller Orchestra was one of America's most popular dance bands in the years just before World War II, playing hits like "Tuxedo Junction," "In the Mood" and his signature piece, "Moonlight Serenade." During the war Miller joined the army and led the Glenn Miller Army Air Corps Band. His plane disappeared on a flight over the English Channel in 1944; no trace was ever found.

Singer and Guitarist Born: 7 April 1915 Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland Name at birth: Eleanora Fagan Died: 17 July 1959 Best known as: The popular jazz singer known as "Lady Day" Billie Holiday was one of the first and greatest of American jazz singers,

known in equal parts for her unique and laconic timing, her wistful and brassy vocals, and her troubled personal life. Holiday began singing in Harlem clubs as a teenager, and first recorded (with Benny Goodman) in 1933. She was a sensation at New York's famous jazz club, The Apollo, and sang with the bands of Artie Shaw and Count Basie, among others. Holiday was nicknamed "Lady Day" during this era by saxophonist Lester Young, with whom she often recorded. In the 1940s she began using heroin and opium, and her last years were marked by her decline in health as a result of drink and drugs. Her most famous songs include "God Bless the Child," "Lover Man" and "My Man."