Harlan Leonard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

A professional musician from the age of 17, he joined Benny Moten's orchestra in 1923, where he led the reed section until 1931. In 1931 he and Thamon Hayes formed the Kansas City Skyrockets, which included trumpeter Ed Lewis, trombonist Vic Dickenson, and pianist Jesse Stone. After disputes with the Chicago local of the American Federation of Musicians the band broke up.

Leonard then formed a new band, Harlan Leonard and his Rockets which featured a young Myra Taylor. This band went on to be the leading band in Kansas City and touring nationally. Charlie Parker played in this band for five weeks, but was fired by Leonard for lack of discipline. The band's music is considered transitional between swing and bop. The band broke up during the Second World War, and Leonard left professional music.

References

Frank Driggs and Barry Kernfeld. "Harlan Leonard", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed January 13 2014), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
Music Web Encyclopaedia
[http://bigband.libsyn.com: Big Band Serenade No. 111 (Includes 39 minutes of band playing]

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 59270151 LCCN: no93022641 BNF: cb13896554k

Persondata
Name	Leonard, Harlan
Alternative names
Short description	American musician
Date of birth	1905
Place of birth
Date of death	1983
Place of death

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