Albums: Boogie Woogie, Tommy Dorsey: The Complete Standard Transcriptions, A Portrait of Tommy Dorsey (disc 1)

Tommy Dorsey (1905-11-19 – 1956-11-26) was a jazz trombonist and bandleader in the big band era. Thomas Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and is the younger brother of Jimmy Dorsey. He worked with many bands in the New York City area starting in the 1920s, including the bands of Rudy Vallee, Vincent Lopez, and Paul Whiteman.

With brother Jimmy, he led the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra until they split up (with some acrimony) in 1935. The brothers also appeared as session musicians on many jazz recordings. Tommy Dorsey formed his own band, which was very successful, scoring 137 Billboard chart hits, including his best-known song, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (which showcases his phenomenal range, reaching up to the high C #).

The band featured trumpeters Bunny Berigan and Charlie Shavers, arranger Sy Oliver, and singers Jo Stafford, Dick Haymes and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra achieved his first great success as a vocalist in the Dorsey band and claimed he learned breath control from watching Dorsey play trombone. Dorsey said his trombone style was heavily influenced by that of Jack Teagarden.

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