Arthur Pryor

Arthur Pryor was arguably America's most important non-jazz trombonist of the early 20th century; on top of that, he was revered during the acoustical recording era for his skills as both a bandleader/conductor and a composer. Pryor, whose influences ranged from ragtime to European classical (especially waltzes) to 19th century pop, was never a jazz musician, but his recordings were admired by people in the jazz world (including Louis Armstrong) and arguably influenced Paul Whiteman's orchestra as well as some of the sweet bands (jazz-influenced pop orchestras) that emerged in...