Mercer Ellington

Composer ("Things Ain't What They Used to Be"), trumpeter, conductor, and arranger, educated at Juilliard, New York University, and Columbia University. He formed his own band in 1939, and served in the US Army during World War II, then led his band until 1949. By 1954 he was the road manager and trumpeter for the Cootie Williams orchestra, and ...