Giants of the Big Band Era: Tommy Dorsey

"Thomas Francis 'Tommy' Dorsey, Jr. (November 19, 1905 - November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as 'The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing', because of his smooth-toned trombone playing Although he was not known for being a notable soloist, his technical skill on the trombone gave him renown amongst other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely popular and highly successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. ... Dorsey's orchestra was known primarily for its renderings of ballads at dance tempos. ... The new band was popular from almost the moment it signed with RCA Victor with 'On Treasure Island', the first of four hits for the new band in 1935. ... By 1939, Dorsey was aware of criticism that his band lacked a jazz feeling. He hired arranger Sy Oliver away from the Jimmie Lunceford band. Sy Oliver's arrangements include 'On The Sunny Side of the Street' and 'T.D.'s Boogie Woogie'; Oliver also composed two of the new band's signature instrumentals, 'Well, Git It' and 'Opus One'" (Wikipedia).

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