Swing era trombonist and vocalist.
Born 12 January 1912 in Savannah, Georgia.
Died 11 September 1984 in San Jose, California.

He began to play professionally at the age of 16 with several groups in Washington, D.C.. He worked with with Earl Hines (1934-37), Jimmy Lunceford (1937-43) and Charlie Barnet (1943-43). After working with Boyd Raeburn and Norman Granz he lived 1947-1952 in Hawaii. After that, he toured with Louis Armstrong’s newly formed All Stars. After leaving Armstrong’s group, he toured the US and Europe with various groups until his death. He was based out of Hawaii from the mid-1960’s on. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage.