Hep Records, jazz in depth from the 1930's to the present day.



ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Will Bradley The Will Bradley Orchestra was actually conceived by band manager Willard Alexander who advised trombonist Will Bradley and drummer Ray McKinley to co-lead a bigband in 1939. The swing era was at its height and the trombone and drums had already proved popular with fans as the success of Tommy Dorsey and Gene Krupa had shown Bradley was one of the most respected trombonists in the business and McKinley had been featured drummer with Jimmy Dorsey for four years, and so the idea had commercial as well as musical sense. Almost immediately, the band caught on with instrumentals like "Celery Stalks" and in mid 1940 recorded a series of bigband boogie woogie arrangements that consolidated success. The main highlights were the drumming and "texan drawl" vocals of McKinley, Bradley's sweet and hot trombone, and the arranging of Freddy Slack. A young Peanuts Hucko was also an important soloist on tenor saxophone. By mid 1941, a series of reorganisations and also some differing of musical opinion by the leaders began to spell danger ahead. The band was still very popular and regularly filled important hotel ballrooms in New York and Chicago. Never the less in February of 1942, just as the US was mobilising for war, the trombonist and drummer went their seperate ways. McKinley formed his own band and led it for a few months before entering the military service and joining the legendary Glenn Miller Army Air Force organisation. Bradley similarly tried to carry on but the difficulties caused by the war forced him to disband and return to studio playing. The range of this fine orchestra is celebrated on three HEP CD's 1061, 1071 and 1078. Top
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Three labels covering jazz in depth from 1930 to the present.

Hep Jazz, P.O. Box 50, Pitlochry, UK. PH16 5YL