Ruby Braff
Birth nameReuben Braff
Born(1927-03-16)March 16, 1927
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedFebruary 9, 2003(2003-02-09) (aged 75)
Chatham, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresSwing
Dixieland
Mainstream jazz
Instrument(s)Cornet
Trumpet
LabelsArbors

Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927[1] – February 9, 2003)[2] was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong".

Braff was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.[1] He was renowned for working in an idiom ultimately derived from the playing of Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. He began playing in local clubs in the 1940s. In 1949, he was hired to play with the Edmond Hall Orchestra at the Savoy Cafe of Boston. He relocated to New York in 1953 where he was much in demand for band dates and recordings.[1]

He resided in Harwich, Massachusetts and died of complications from emphysema, heart failure, and glaucoma on February 9, 2003, in Chatham, Massachusetts.[3] He had spent a good part of his life living in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, New York City.[citation needed]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With George Barnes

With Ellis Larkins

As sideman

With Larry Adler

With Louis Armstrong

With Tony Bennett

With Buck Clayton

With Scott Hamilton and Dave McKenna

With Woody Herman

With Milt Hinton

With Dick Hyman

With Pee Wee Russell

With Ralph Sutton

With George Wein

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 57/8. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Ruby Braff". The Guardian. 12 February 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Ruby Braff". The Independent. 11 February 2003. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

External links

Authority control databases
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