Billy Eckstine - Boppin With B

Born : July 8, 1914 // Pittsburgh, PA, United States Died : March 8, 1993 // Pittsburgh, PA, United States US American Jazz singer & bandleader noted during the swing area for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice Eckstine, the son of a Pittsburg chauffeur and seamstress, began his singing career in a church bazaar at the age of eleven. The family moved to Washington, where he ran errands at the Howard Theater for - earning enough pocket money to enter a talent contest, which he won in 1932. He quit school and joined the Tommy Miles Band, learning the trumpet to support his vocals. Bandleader heard Eckstine at the De Lizza Club and added him to his band's line-up, with whom he recorded 'Skylark' which outsold the version. Eckstine's growing success enabled him to open his own club on New York's 52nd Street, which eventually closed due to crippling entertainment taxes. He then took to the road with his own historic band, helping pave the way for the bebop/modern jazz style movement with its musical arranger John Birks Gillespie. With Eckstine handling the vocals, along with , the line-up included trumpeters , , , ; saxophonists , , , and ; drummer ; bassist ; pianist John Malaclin and arrangers , and . In the three and a half years this band was together Eckstine made his mark as a sell-out concert singer, as well as starting fashion trends with his sharp-suited dress style that would hold him in good stead throughout his popular solo career.

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