The nephew of trumpeter
Phil Napoleon and the younger brother of fellow pianist
Teddy Napoleon,
Marty Napoleon gained his greatest fame playing with
Louis Armstrong's All-Stars during two stints. Napoleon was a pretty versatile player whose style generally fell between swing and bop. Originally a trumpeter, heart troubles caused him to switch to piano. Napoleon picked up early experience playing with the big bands of Chico Marx,
Joe Venuti,
Lee Castle,
Charlie Barnet, and
Gene Krupa (1945). Napoleon worked with his uncle's
Memphis Five in the early '50s, was part of
Charlie Ventura's Big Four, and was with
Louis Armstrong from 1952-1953. In addition to having a two-piano quartet with brother
Teddy in 1955, working with
Coleman Hawkins,
Charlie Shavers, and
Red Allen, and freelancing, Napoleon frequently led his own trios. He rejoined
Louis Armstrong during the trumpeter's twilight years (1966-1968 and on and off in 1968-1971) and semi-retired in the 1980s. Napoleon led precious few record sessions, just a few dates in the '50s and then, nearly 55 years later, 2012's Swingin' at 90. He died in April 2015 at the age of 93. ~ Scott Yanow