Snooky Young

Born Eugene Edward Young, he grew up in a musical family and originally played the zither. He switched to trumpet while in his early teens playing with the family band (his older brother Granville was also a trumpeter). After various stints with bands in Atlanta, Georgia, while at the same time finishing high school, Young was 'spotted' by Gerald Wilson and got a gig with the prestigious Jimmie Lunceford big band. He served his apprenticeship with that orchestra for three years (1939-1942) and quickly established a reputation as an accomplished and very swinging lead trumpeter. One of the great sidemen of the Big Band Era, Young played for many of the great bands of the day at one time or another, most notably with Count Basie (1942,1943,1945-47,1957-62) and Lionel Hampton (1943,1944). He also led his own orchestra in his home town of Dayton, Ohio, for ten years and in the early 1960's began working in television studios (NBC) in New York. Young was also a founding member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra from 1966 (touring Europe in 1969) and equally integral to high-profile groups like the Clarke-Boland Big Band and the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut. Famous for his high notes and recognised as a master of the plunger mute, Young achieved additional popular acclaim through his lengthy stint as lead trumpeter in Doc Severinsen's band on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). A dedicated, rather self-effacing musician to the very end (he only recorded three albums under his own name), he still performed with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra at the venerable age of 91 ! In 2008, he was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award.