Jimmy Strong (August 29, 1906 – April 1977) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
reedist. While he is best known as a clarinetist, he occasionally played tenor saxophone as well.
Career
Strong was based in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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as a teenager, performing in Lottie Hightower's Nighthawks. Around 1925, he did a national tour with a traveling revue and stayed in California for a time, freelancing with several groups. Upon his return, he joined
Carroll Dickerson
Carroll Dickerson (November 1, 1895 – October 9, 1957) was a Chicago and New York-based dixieland jazz violinist and bandleader, probably better known for his extensive work with Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines or his more brief work tourin ...
's orchestra, where he worked with
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
; he appears on Armstrong's Hot Fives recordings. In 1928, he also worked briefly with Clifford King. In the 1930s, he played with Cassino Simpson, Zinky Cohn, and
Jimmie Noone
Jimmie Noone (April 23, 1895 – April 19, 1944) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. After beginning his career in New Orleans, he led Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, a Chicago band that recorded for Vocalion and Decca. Classical ...
, in addition to his own bands. Around 1940, he relocated to
Barry Kernfeld
Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians.
Education
In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...