Roy Eldridge

Roy Eldridge
Eldridge in 1946
Background information
Birth nameDavid Roy Eldridge
Born(1911-01-30)January 30, 1911
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
DiedFebruary 26, 1989(1989-02-26) (aged 78)
Valley Stream, New York, US
GenresJazz, swing, big band
OccupationMusician
InstrumentTrumpet
Formerly ofCharlie Barnet

David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the dominant style of jazz trumpet innovator Louis Armstrong, and his strong impact on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop.