Johnny Mince (born John Henry Muenzenberger) (July 8, 1912 – December 23, 1994) was an American

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

clarinetist.

Career

Mince played with

Joe Haymes Joseph Lawrence Haymes (February 10, 1907 – July 10, 1964) was an American jazz bandleader and arranger. Life and career Born in Marshfield, Missouri, United States, Haymes relocated with his family to Springfield, Missouri, after his railroad ...

from 1929 to 1934, and recorded with

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His reco ...

and

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forc ...

in 1935. He then worked with Ray Noble from 1935 to 1937 and

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

in 1936 before joining

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

in 1937. Mince played with Dorsey through 1941 and was one of the participants in his Clambake Seven recordings. After an extended stint in the U.S. military (1941–45), Mince worked as a studio musician for several decades. He taught locally in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and played in small-time ensembles in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1974, he returned to play with the Dorsey Orchestra after Tommy's death. Following this he worked with the New

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

Orchestra (1976), Yank Lawson,

Bob Haggart Robert Sherwood Haggart (March 13, 1914 – December 2, 1998) was an American dixieland jazz double bass player, composer, and arranger. Although he is associated with dixieland, he was one of the finest rhythm bassists of the Swing Era. Music ...

, and the

World's Greatest Jazz Band The World's Greatest Jazz Band was an all-star jazz ensemble active from 1968 to 1978. Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz and recorded extensively. It was co-led by ...

. As a member of the Great Eight, he toured Europe in 1983. He continued to play at jazz revival festivals until his retirement due to ill health. He recorded as a leader only late in his life, for Monmouth Evergreen in 1979,

Jazzology Records Jazzology Records is an American jazz record company and label. It is part of the Jazzology group of labels owned and operated by the George H. Buck Jr. Jazz Foundation. Jazzology Records was founded in 1949 by George H. Buck, Jr. That year he ...

in 1980, and Fat Cat Jazz in 1982. Mince never received much recognition beyond that of his fellow musicians because he did not lead his own band. When unknown, Tommy Dorsey invited Johnny to become Tommy's partner in starting his first band. Mince's father, Otto Muenzenberger, talked him out of it due to risk. Mince appeared in two movies during his career: ''

The Big Broadcast of 1936 ''The Big Broadcast of 1936'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies. The musical comedy starred Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merm ...

'' (1935) as part of the Ray Noble Orchestra and in ''Las Vegas Nights'' (1941) as a clarinetist in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mince, Johnny 1912 births 1994 deaths American jazz clarinetists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American musicians World's Greatest Jazz Band members