Maynard Ferguson was a highly regarded Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He has been noted for his ability to play in an extremely high register and for being one of the few jazz musicians who could easily adapt to the constantly changing musical landscape. He began his career as a child prodigy in 1939 – he dropped out of school at 15 to put his focus on his music. By the time he was twenty, Ferguson was living in the U.S. where he landed his first jobs with Jimmy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet, and about a year later he was hired to play in Stan Kenton’s orchestra. During the ’60s, he moved to Europe, but returned to the U.S. in the ’70s and landed a pop hit with his rendition of “Gonna Fly” from the Rocky film. He continued recording and touring up until the final years of his life. On August 23, 2006, Maynard Ferguson died of kidney and liver failure which were the result of an abdominal infection. He was 78.
Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke
March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931
Bix Beiderbecke was primarily a cornetist who was considered one of the premier jazz talents of the 1920s, or the Jazz Age. When it came to the cornet, Beiderbecke had perhaps just one equal, and that was Louis Armstrong. Over a career that roughly lasted just six years, Beiderbecke recorded many songs that would go on to become standards. That list includes “Georgia On My Mind,” “Riverboat Shuffle,” and “Copenhagen.” He also recorded with such greats as Hoagy Carmichael, Joe Venuti and Jimmy Dorsey. A heavy drinker, Beiderbecke died of what was presumed to be alcohol withdrawal. The official cause was brain edema and lobar pneumonia. Beiderbecke was just 28 years old.
Jimmy Dorsey was a popular jazz musician, composer and band leader throughout most of the ’20s to ’50s. He was also the older brother of fellow jazz great, Tommy Dorsey. Dorsey’s music career in vaudeville when he was still in his early teens. Over the years, he worked with Rudy Vallee, Ted Lewis, and probably most famously, Helen O’Connell, with whom he scored several hits. Dorsey lead his own band through most of his career, until joining up with his brother to perform as The Fabulous Dorseys in 1953. T0gether they hosted the popular Stage Show program on TV beginning in 1954. Unfortunately, Jimmy Dorsey died of throat cancer just a few years later in 1957.
Al Hirt was given his first trumpet at six and by sixteen, he and friend Pete Fountain were already playing professionally around New Orleans. After a tour of duty as a bugler in WWII, went to work in various swing bands, backing the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey. He settled back in New Orleans by the ’50s, becoming an integral part of the city and its musical heritage. Over the next two decades, more than twenty of his albums appeared on the Billboard pop charts. One of Hirt’s other loves was football, and in 1967, he became a minority owner of the New Orleans Saints. Al Hirt died at 76 of liver failure after spending a year in a wheelchair due to edema in his leg.
Mitchell “Herb” Ellis
August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010
Herb Ellis was a jazz guitar virtuoso who, over the course of a career that spanned some 50 years played with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Dorsey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Buddy Rich. His most celebrated collaborations however, were with Oscar Peterson, in whose trio he performed from 1953 to 1958. Herb Ellis died of Alzheimer’s disease on March 28, 2010. He was 88.
Al Hirt was given his first trumpet at six and by sixteen, he and friend Pete Fountain were already playing professionally around New Orleans. After a tour of duty as a bugler in WWII, went to work in various swing bands, backing the likes of 
Herb Ellis was a jazz guitar virtuoso who, over the course of a career that spanned some 50 years played with the likes of 