Randolph played in St. Louis in the early 1920s, then in Bernie Young's band in Milwaukee from 1927 to 1930.[1] He moved to Chicago in 1931 and was a trumpeter and arranger with Louis Armstrong for 1931–32 and again in 1933 and 1935.[1] Randolph also played trumpet on a number of Armstrong's recordings and composed the tune "Old Man Mose".[1] He played with Carroll Dickerson and Dave Peyton in 1934, and led his own Chicago band later in the 1930s.[2] He arranged for such bandleaders as Earl Hines, Woody Herman, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington, and led a quartet in the 1940s.[2]
From the 1940s Randolph devoted himself mainly to teaching, but recorded as a pianist in 1951.[2] He retired in the 1970s, and died in Chicago on February 2, 1994.[1]
Zilner's daughter, Hattie, became a vocalist; his son, Lucious, became a trumpeter.[3] Both were part of Sun Ra's band in the 1950s.[3]
