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Trombonist
Wayne Andre played on so many studio sessions that he could literally concoct an alphabet of his credits. He has worked with jazz and pop leaders from A to Z, from
Roy Ayers to
Zulema. His father was a saxophonist, and
Andre got started with private music lessons at the age of 15. By the early '50s, he was gigging professionally with bandleader
Charlie Spivak, but finished out the first half of this decade in the military. The innovative and interesting
Sauter-Finegan combo grabbed him in the summer of 1955 when he came out of the service, and early the next year,
Andre joined up with the roaring big band of
Woody Herman, a good place for trombonists who don't want anyone telling them to tone it down.
Later that year, he began teaming up with
Kai Winding, a trombonist who was known for gathering together multiple numbers of performers on the long brass instrument sometimes known as a "pitch approximator."
Andre was involved with
Winding's windy projects through the spring of 1958, also extending his musical possibilities through studies at the Manhattan School of Music. After leaving
Winding, the trombonist mostly worked as a freelancer around New York City, spending much time in recording studios on pop funk sessions as well as jazz. In the '60s and '70s, he worked frequently with swing king
Benny Goodman.
Andre's smooth tone, precise articulation, and clean sound betray his allegiance to stylish trombonists such as
Urbie Green and
Carl Fontana. Recording sessions with
Winding and the fine trumpeter
Art Farmer capture some of
Andre's best playing; many of his session appearances feature simply section playing with very little room for solo spots, but the quality of his playing kept him in high regard among other players and in demand on jazz and pop sessions. He died on August 26, 2003 at the age of 71. ~ Eugene Chadbourne