JOHNNY DUNN

Before Louis Armstrong left Chicago to join Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in 1924, Johnny Dunn was considered the king of New York's Jazz trumpet players. Dunn was discovered in Memphis by W.C. Handy in 1916 and worked for him until he left in 1920 to take over Blues singer Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds. When Dunn left Mamie's band he was replaced by Bubber Miley. Dunn then formed his own band called the Original Jazz Hounds that featured singer Edith Wilson (who later became famous as Aunt Jemima in Quaker Oats commercials), whom he had met while playing in the Plantation Revue on Broadway. The show was a great success and even played in London. Upon returning to America she left the revue and joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. Dunn was always heavily involved in the show biz side music and played in other musical reviews built around singer Florence Mills. The revues read more...