George Dixon (trumpeter)

Not to be confused with George W. Dixon of The Spinners.

George Dixon (April 8, 1909 – August 1, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist.

George Dixon
Born	April 8, 1909 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	August 1, 1994 (aged 85) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Instrument(s)	Trumpet, alto saxophone

Early life

Born in New Orleans, Dixon moved often as a child with his father, a minister who toured the American South. He began playing violin at age 13 while living in Natchez, Mississippi, and studied the instrument at Arkansas State College, where he also picked up alto saxophone.^[1]

Career

Dixon moved to Chicago in 1926, where he played with Sammy Stewart from 1928, including on a tour of New York City in 1930. Dixon then worked with Earl Hines throughout the decade of the 1930s.^[2] He led a United States Navy band in Memphis, Tennessee, during World War II, then played in Chicago with Floyd Campbell, Ted Eggleston, and others. He led his own band at the Circle Inn in the 1940s and early 1950s.^[3]

Around mid-1950s, Dixon stopped playing full-time, though he continued to play occasionally until his death in 1994.

References

1. "George Dixon Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
2. Schuller, Gunther (1989). The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507140-5.
3. Kemp, Larry (2018-10-16). Early Jazz Trumpet Legends. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4809-7637-5.