Claude Gordon
Trumpeter, Musical Artist
1916 – 1996
Who was Claude Gordon?
Claude Gordon, the "King of Brass", was a trumpet virtuoso, band director, educator, lecturer, and author. He was born on April 15, 1916 in Helena, Montana. His father was a clarinet soloist as well as an orchestral director. Claude's mother was a concert pianist. His other brothers and sisters were also musically inclined and they all worked together to form a family orchestra led by their father. They performed as the staff orchestra for a local radio station. Claude was given his first cornet at the age of five and three years later, while in fifth grade, he was featured as a soloist playing with the Helena High School Band! While he was still in his early teens, Claude was already a professional player and was teaching for both cornet and accordion.
Claude became Herbert L. Clarke's protégé from 1936 until Clarke died in 1945. During the era of live radio and television, Claude distinguished himself as one of the most successful studio trumpet players and gained a reputation as "the trumpet player who never misses." He performed with the studio orchestras on many popular shows including, Amos and Andy, and I Love Lucy. In 1939, Claude was cast as the gypsy accordion player in the Universal Studio's motion picture musical, An Old Spanish Custom, later renamed In Rhumba Land. During the 1950s Gordon emerged as one of Hollywood's frequently sought-after jazz trumpet soloists. Claude later formed his own big band which was named the "Best New Band in America" in 1959.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Claude Gordon." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/claude_gordon>.
Discuss this Claude Gordon biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In