Interview: Hal McKusick (Part 1)

Few alto saxophonists alive today have seen and played as much jazz as Hal McKusick. His first paying job was in 1939, at age 15. Then, starting in 1943, he played alto in many of the most challenging bands of the time—from Les Brown, Woody Herman and Boyd Raeburn to Claude Thornhill and Elliot Lawrence.

Hal also played with virtually every major jazz gr…