Musical Instruments: Who Played What? Quiz

Answer: Dick Contino

Richard Joseph Contino (1930-2017) was born and died in Fresno, but his life was more interesting that those bare facts might lead one to believe. After early success as a handsome young accordionist, some emotional problems landed him in trouble with the army, though he eventually served and received a pardon for his earlier troubles. Part of his service involved entertaining troops during the Korean War. The scandal regarding the army followed him, and he never fully regained his early status, but did appear in a couple of movies, including "Daddy-O" (1958). He also made several albums, including "Accordion Magic" (1964), which turned up under my Christmas tree when I was a young accordion student.

The incorrect choices are known for playing harmonica (Adler), trumpet (Alpert) and piano (Liberace).

Answer: Benny Goodman

Benjamin David Goodman (1909-1986) was born in Chicago, and was first exposed to music when playing in a boys' club band as a youngster. He quickly became an accomplished clarinet player, and by the age of 16 was a member of the musicians' union and employed by the Ben Pollack Orchestra. By the time the media gave him the "King of Swing" title in the mid-1930s he was a successful bandleader with a number of recordings already, movies being made, and a concert at Carnegie Hall in the offing. A highly fictionalised version of his life story was told in "The Benny Goodman Story" (1956), with Steve Allen playing the title role.

The three incorrect choices were all piano playing bandleaders.

Answer: Cindy Blackman

Drummer Cindy Blackman was born in Ohio in 1959. After marrying Carlos Santana in 2010 she has sometimes been known as Cindy Blackman Santana. She has been performing since the 1980s, first with jazz groups (including her own) , then later playing back up to Lenny Kravitz, involving delving into rock and other genres. Since her marriage she has also appeared with her husband's group. She has recorded several studio albums as a bandleader, including "Arcane" (1988), "Some Day" (2001) and others.

The three incorrect choices are jazz harpists.

Answer: James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1948, and began his singing and songwriting career in the late 1960s. Since then he has won multiple Grammy awards and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Besides the mentioned songs, his music (and the music of my youth) included "Sweet Baby James" and "You've Got a Friend".

His two children from his marriage to Carly Simon are also musicians.

Answer: Oscar Peterson

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (Montreal 1925-Mississauga 2007) travelled the world delighting audiences with his music, but kept strong ties with Canada throughout his life. He played with various duos, trios and quartets and only cancelled his last performances in 2007 due to declining health. A larger than life statue of "O.P." sitting at his piano was unveiled in Ottawa by Queen Elizabeth II three years after his death.

The incorrect choices are all trumpet players, and all Americans.

Answer: John Coltrane

John William Coltrane (1926-1967) was born in North Carolina, and made his first recording whilst serving in the US Navy, with what was otherwise an all-white band. It took awhile for his career to take off after leaving the navy, and he changed his style more than once, eventually making numerous recordings with different studios, in different styles and with diverse other musicians. His early death surely robbed later generations of some great music.

The three incorrect choices are all jazz pianists.

Answer: Glenn Miller

Alton Glenn Miller was born in Iowa in 1904, and by the time his aircraft disappeared over the English Channel 40 years later, he was a successful leader of his own big band, at the time serving in the US armed forces, playing to the troops during WWII.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra had become well-known and loved for such tunes as those mentioned in the question, as well as "String of Pearls", "Sunrise Serenade" and many others. The distinctive Miller "sound" set it apart from other Big Bands of the time. James Stewart portrayed Miller in the almost obligatory biopic, "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954) which was short on facts but long on good music.

Answer: Harry James

Harry Haag James was born in Albany, GA, USA in 1916, and still performing with his band in Los Angeles up until just over a week before his death in 1983. James started out with Benny Goodman's band, then moved on to lead his own with Goodman's support. His was the first band to feature Frank Sinatra as vocalist, in 1939. James' numerous recordings included singles such as "One O'Clock Jump", "I've Heard that Song Before" and "You Made Me Love You" - all million sellers, as was his theme tune.

The three incorrect choices were bandleaders known for their vocals.

Answer: Jascha Heifetz

When Heifetz was born, in 1901, Vilna was in the Russian Empire. His musical talent was recognised when he was very young, leading to the Carnegie Hall debut soon after his family's arrival in the United States. His very large body of recordings include some made in Russia when he was still a child, as well as a great number made after his move to the States, most of which have been made available on compact disc. He appeared in the 1939 movie "They Shall Have Music" and a few other films. He died in 1987 after a fall.

The incorrect choices are all classical pianists.

Answer: Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1908, and began taking xylophone lessons and playing drums as a teenager. After moving to California his first gigs were as a drummer, but he soon started playing a vibraphone and got some work playing vibes with the Les Hite band. (To clarify things in my own mind: Vibraphones are metal instruments. Xylophones are made of wood.) Soon after Hampton was playing with Benny Goodman, and not long after that he had his own orchestra. He appeared in a number of movies, including "The Benny Goodman Story" (1956), as himself and continued to play in various bands and groups until a stroke in 1991 forced him to slow down. He died in 2002 at the age of 94.

The three incorrect choices were the other members of Hampton's rhythm and blues band in the late 1940s. Mingus was on bass, Montgomery on guitar and Griffin on saxophone.