Jimmy Knepper

A fine soloist with a distinctive sound not overly influenced by J.J. Johnson, Jimmy Knepper's improvisations are full of subtle surprises. He began on trombone when he was nine, started playing professionally when he was 15, and worked in the big bands of Freddie Slack (1947), Roy Porter (1948-1949), Charlie Spivak (1950-1951), Charlie Barnet (1951), Woody Herman, and Claude Thornhill. Knepper gained fame for his versatile and inventive playing with several of Charles Mingus' groups (1957-1962). He also worked with Stan Kenton (1959), Herbie Mann (a 1960 tour of Africa), Gil ...