Ziggy Elman born 26 May 1914

Harry Aaron Finkelman (May 26, 1914 – June 26, 1968), better known by the stage name Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his own Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra.

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but his family settled in Atlantic City when he was four. His father was a violinist who had hoped Harry would play violin as well. Although he did learn to play the violin, Harry preferred the brass instruments. He began playing for Jewish weddings and nightclubs at age 15, and in 1932 made his first recording where he played trombone. At some point in the decade he adopted the name Ziggy Elman. Elman is a shortening of Finkelman while "Ziggy" is believed to be a reference to Florenz Ziegfeld.

Benny Goodman heard him in 1936 on trumpet and hired him for his band. Along with Harry James and Chris Griffin, Ziggy became a member of one of the greatest trumpet sections of the era. All three men shared the lead work. Ziggy also had the Jewish Klezmer influence in his playing whether sweet or hot which made his trumpet sound unique.

                             

His 1939 composition "And the Angels Sing," with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, (originally recorded in December 1938 by his own band as an instrumental, "Frailach In Swing") became the number one song in the nation. 

In 1956 he was asked to recreate his famous frailach solo along with the original vocalist Martha Tilton for the movie, The Benny Goodman Story, but due to poor health was unable to, also his technique having since withered away. Elman appeared performing it in the film, but another trumpeter, Manny Klein, played the solo on the soundtrack. This song is arguably his longest-lasting musical legacy, since it has appeared in films up to 1997 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987.

Chris Griffin, Ziggy Elman, Harry James, Benny Goodman

In an interview published in the February 25, 1939, edition of Collier's, Goodman recalled "Back in 1934 while we were playing for a convention hall in Kansas City, Ziggy Elman reached for his trumpet, turned it toward heaven and swung into a head arrangement for a chorus of 'Whispering.' A head arrangement, should you be interested, means merely that Ziggy took the deathless, if played-to-death, melody of 'Whispering' and embroidered it with a fanciful filigree of musical decoration, every note of which came into his head the instant before he blew it. Thus, by gifted improvisation, Ziggy put life and head into the song, gave it wings. In musical slang, he put rock into it."

Connie Haines, Ziggy Elman, Buddy Rich and Tommy Dorsey

After his work with Goodman, Elman moved over to Tommy Dorsey's band in 1940 and became one of his star soloists with standout solos on sides such as Swanee River, Blue Blazes, Hawaiian War Chant, Halleleujah, Blue Skies and the classic trumpet battle with Chuck Peterson on We'll Git It. He graced many other free lance sessions including Teddy Wilson,The Metronome All-Stars, Mildred Bailey and Lionel Hampton.

In 1943 he was called up for service duty and he played with an Army Air Corps Band in the Long Beach,California area. Ziggy rejoined Dorsey in 1946 and stayed for a year. He tried two attempts at his own band in '47 and '48 and made some wonderful sides for M-G-M. (some utilized the Dorsey band with Tommy's permission). Ziggy's post 1947 period was mostly as a studio musician on radio and recordings. He also recorded with Jewish clarinetist and humorist, Mickey Katz. In the period from 1940 to 1947 he was honoured in DownBeat Magazine Readers Poll six times. He led his own bands starting in 1947.

By the 1950s big bands had declined and for a time he switched to entertainment work. In this decade he appeared in films mostly as himself. He contributed awesome solos to Jess Stacy's Goodman salute on Atlantic in 1954. Some reports had his lips bleeding at the session's end, as he worked so hard.

In 1956 he had a heart attack, curtailing his music career. By the end of the 1950s he was financially ruined and had to work for a car dealership. In 1961 it was revealed at an alimony hearing that he was virtually bankrupt. He later worked in a music store and taught trumpet to some up-and-coming musicians (one of his students was Herb Alpert) and surfaced occasionally to play on various studio sessions. 

Benny & Ziggy 1968

Interestingly, Elman was reunited with Goodman at a dinner party celebrating the 30th anniversary of the famous Carnegie Hall concert in 1968. Eventually alchololism and heart problems took their toll and six months later, Ziggy died at the age of 54. He was buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. (Info edited mainly from Wikipedia and All Music)