MATTHEW GEE

Gee, Matthew, Jr. (1925–1979). Trombonist Matthew Gee Jr. was born in Houston on November 25, 1925. Jazz critic Leonard Feather considered him one of the "best and most underrated bop-influenced trombonists." Gee began, however, on trumpet and moved to baritone horn (an instrument on which he recorded with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1959) before settling on the trombone by age eleven. His father was a bass player, and his brother Herman was, like Matthew, a trombonist. Reportedly Gee took up the trombone after hearing Trummy Young, the trombone star with the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra and later a member of the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. Gee attended Alabama State College and then performed with the Coleman Hawkins band in New York before serving in the United States Army during World War II. Following his tour in the service, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie in 1946 and with various jazz figures during the early read more...