Babe Russin
Irving "Babe" Russin ( born June 18, 1911 in Pittsburgh, † August 4, 1984 in Los Angeles ) was an American jazz saxophonist (tenor ) of swing.
Russian was up to education in his high school largely self-taught. In 1926 he was a member of the California Ramblers and then in Smith Ballew Orchestra. In 1928, he was in Europe. 1927-1932 he often played with Red Nichols, with whom he recorded a lot. In the 1930s he played with Ben Pollack and Benny Goodman. With Goodman he already played with Red Nichols 1930. Starting in December 1937, he was in Goodman's band as a replacement for Vido Musso, who had separated into strife of Goodman. Russian woman had to get used to the arrangements of the band, made mistakes and provoked in at Goodman, who let him feel the. Goodman arranged after barely three months of the expulsion successor Russo was Bud Freeman. 1926 to 1938 he was a studio musician at CBS in New York. In 1939 he played with Tommy Dorsey, had his own band in 1941 ( in New York and Florida) and played with Jimmy Dorsey 1942-1944. After that, he was for the rest of World War II in an Army band. End of the 1940s he played with Goodman again (and also later at Reunions of the band), but was mainly a freelancer in California. In the late 1950s he was in the television band of ABC in Hollywood. He played with in the movie " Glenn Miller Story " (1953) and also in the " Benny Goodman Story" (1956 ) where he plays himself. Also in the soundtrack of " A Star is Born" with Judy Garland, he is heard.
He sat down next to Goodman, Dorsey and Nichols along with others, Dinah Washington, Frank Sinatra, Bunny Berigan (1935 ), Billie Holiday, Lionel Hampton, Jess Stacy, Sarah Vaughan, Glen Gray and 1941 also with the Glenn Miller Band. He can also be heard on the LP " Session at Midnight " (with, among others, Benny Carter, Shorty Sherock, Sweets Edison ) of 1955. Russin played Coleman Hawkins style, fit his style of play but ever more modern influences to.
His sister Sunny was a pianist, and his brother Jack Russian pianist at Red Nichols.