Like many musicians who performed in Billy Eckstine's big band between 1944 and '46, tenor saxophonist Gene "Jug" Ammons went on to jazz fame in the independent record label era of the late 1940s. He also did well in the blues 78 market (he was the first artist to record for Chess in Chicago) and the LP era as well.
Other veterans of the Eckstine band wh…
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