Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine (1914 – 1993) was an American jazz singer who also played trumpet, valve trombone, and guitar. After singing with the Earl Hines[?] band from 1939 to 1943 he led his own band from 1944 to 1947. The band included at various times a large number of rising jazz stars, including Gene Ammons, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham[?], Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Fats Navarro[?], Lucky Thompson[?], Lena Horne[?], Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan. Eckstine later formed an octet, then went solo, becoming a popular ballad singer while remaining an important figure in jazz.