Harlan Leonard born 2 July 1905

Harlan Leonard (July 2, 1905 – November 10, 1983) was an American jazz bandleader clarinetist and alto, tenor and soprano saxophonist from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. 

Harlan Quentin Leonard was born in Butler, Missouri. He attended Kansas City’s Lincoln High School in 1918 where he was given clarinet and saxophone lessons from George Wilkenson and Paul Tremaine. After graduation he became a professional musician and playing briefly with George E. Lee’s Band in Kansas City (1923), he played with Bennie Moten from late 1923 until 1931 where he led the reed section. He also worked with George E. Lee’s band in 1928. In 1931, he and Thamon Hayes formed the Kansas City Skyrockets, which included trumpeters Ed Lewis and James Ross, trombonist Vic Dickenson, and pianist Jesse Stone. Thamon Hayes resigned in June 1934 and Leonard, with Hayes’ blessing, assumed leadership of the group and eventually formed a new band under the name Harlan Leonard and his Rockets. They instantly became favorites with the Kansas City audiences and frequently played gigs at Fairyland Park. 

                                   

After forming his second rendition of The Rockets in 1936, the band head to Chicago and played at the Savoy and Aragon Ballrooms during 1939-1940. Charlie Parker played in this band for five weeks, but he was fired by Leonard for lack of discipline. For six weeks beginning February 1940 the band played at the Golden Fate in Harlem, New York and while doing so recorded for the Bluebird label. The band recorded “I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire” which under The Rockets to not reach record hit status until it was turned into a ballad and recorded by other artists. 

Myra Taylor

The song also featured Myra Taylor on vocals, who joined The Rockets after a chance encounter and after watching singer Sullivan delight crowds with her charismatic female vocalist. Leonard recorded several tunes under the Bluebird label though half of the recordings were rejected due to ASCAP bans on union recordings and the jukebox boycott. In addition to being a visionary bandleader, Leonard was a spirited clarinetist and alto and baritone saxophonist, particularly as a soloist. He also had an ear for arrangers. His penmen included, Jesse Stone, Richard J. Smith, Eddie Durham, Buster Smith and Rozelle Claxton. The arrangements by its piano player Tadd Dameron, bore suggestions of the transition between swing and bebop. 

In January 1940, Leonard began recording steadily for RCA and turned out 23 sides that year. Leonard's records set new standards for swing. With a bass-heavy rhythm section and syncopated brass built to get couples up and jitterbugging, Leonard pioneered catchy grooves, the basis of swing. While Leonard's band didn't have Basie's snap or intoxicating drive, it had tremendous lift and jump, setting the tone for R&B to come at the other end of the decade. Tadd Dameron's Rock and Ride, 400 Swing, Dameron Stomp and others recorded in mid-1940 were way ahead of their time. 

During late 1941, the band headed to New York, to compete in the battle of the bands at the municipal auditorium, but they were not very successful. Eventually Harlan Leonard and his Rockets dismantled after he relocated the band to Los Angeles in 1942. Members went their separate ways after a year-long run at Club Alabam in 1945. “I began to think. After 20 years of no family life, travel all the time, I decided to quite- before I, so much in love with my music, got out there and couldn’t get back.” said Harlan. 

He sold all his musical instruments and worked in a defense plant, then took up a job as a civil servant at the post office and made a name for himself at the intentional revenue service in 1949 where he worked until his retirement. Looking back in his bandleader days he says, “If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it a little differently.” He died in Los Angeles in 1983. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Jazz Wax & harlanleonard wordpress)