Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

Genres:	Big Band & Swing • Jazz • Pop / Rock • Vocals
Descriptive "tags":	jazz • swing • big band • boogie • trombone • orchestra • big band jazz • swing jazz • jazz trombone • jazz orchestra • jazz big band • instrumental
Decades Active:	1940s • 1950s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s

Biography

19 November 1905, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 26 November 1956, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Like his older brother, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy was taught as a small child by his father, a music teacher. He first learned to play trumpet, but switched to trombone while still very young. He played in various bands, often with his brother, their co-led group known first as Dorsey’s Novelty Six, later renamed Dorsey’s Wild Canaries. With his brother, Dorsey later played in a number of leading bands, including those led by Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman. He also recorded frequently, often in the company of leading jazzmen of the day. In 1934 he and Jimmy formed the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, which became extremely popular. Despite, or perhaps because of, their close relationship, the brothers frequently argued, sometimes violently, and after one such disagreement, in May 1935, Tommy walked out leaving Jimmy to take over leadership of the orchestra. Tommy then...

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