A teenage passion for jazz pushed Eddie Bert to ask band legends Benny Morten and Trummy Young for trombone lessons. The two veteran trombonists were only too happy to lend a hand, and by late 1941, at age 19, Eddie was playing with Red Norvo.
But 24 hours after his first gig with Norvo, Pearl Harbor was bombed and World War II began. As the months wore …