Al Klink

Al Klink
BornDecember 28, 1915
Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1991 (aged 75)
Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
GenresSwing, jazz
InstrumentTenor saxophone
Formerly ofWorld's Greatest Jazz Band,
Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Zottola, George Masso

Al Klink (December 28, 1915 in Danbury, Connecticut – March 7, 1991 in Bradenton, Florida)[1] was an American swing jazz tenor saxophonist.

Career

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Klink played with Glenn Miller from 1939 to 1942,[1] and is a featured soloist, along with Tex Beneke, on the most well-known version of "In the Mood". When Miller started playing in the U.S. military, Klink played with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, and did work as a session musician after World War II ended.[1] Klink appeared in the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade and 1942 film Orchestra Wives.

From 1952 to 1953 he played with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra.[1] In 1955, he recorded his only session as a bandleader, performing six songs for a Bob Alexander album that won a Grammy Award. In the late-1960s to early-1970s, he was a tenor saxophone doubler on the staff of NBC's Tonight Show Band under Doc Severinsen, where he was an occasional featured soloist. After a hiatus, he returned in 1974 when he began playing with the World's Greatest Jazz Band.[1] In the 1970s, he played with Glenn Zottola and George Masso, and continued playing until the mid-1980s, when he retired to Florida.

Death

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Klink died in Bradenton, Florida in 1991.

Discography

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  • Satan in High Heels (1961)
  • Ping Pong Percussion (1961)
  • Swing into Spring (1958)

With Mundell Lowe

With Gerry Mulligan

With Nelson Riddle

With Cootie Williams

References

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Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1391. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
General references
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