Jazz Saxophone: Benny Carter & His Orch. - Cocktails For Two, 1940

Benny Carter & His Orchestra - Cocktails For Two, Fox-Trot (Johnston-Coslow ) La Voix de Son Maitre (HMV) 1950 French pressing (Originally recorded for Bluebird, 1940 USA). NOTE: Benny CARTER (b. NYC 1907 - d. Los Angeles 2003) African-American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, pianist, vocalist, composer and bandleader. He was one of the big names in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s. Born into a musical family, Benny spent his childhood in Harlem and received tutoring from Duke Ellington’s star trumpeter Bubber Miley, but later switched to the saxophone. He began his professional career at the age of 15, and recorded his first album in 1927. The following year he formed his own band. In 1930-31 he recorded with Fletcher Henderson and briefly led McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, before returning to his own band in 1932. During this period he also made arrangements for Henderson and Duke Ellington. He wrote two big hits, Blues in My Heart and When Lights Are Low. In the early 1930s, he was considered