Sonny Cohn

Sonny Cohn
Birth name	George T. Cohn
Born	(1925-03-14)March 14, 1925
Died
Genres	Jazz
Instruments	Trumpet
Associated acts	Red Saunders Count Basie

George T. "Sonny" Cohn (March 14, 1925 – November 7, 2006) was an American jazz trumpeter.

After working four fifteen years with Red Saunders (1945–1960), he went on to spend another 24 years in Count Basie's trumpet section (1960–1984).

Biography

Cohn started playing in small groups in Chicago with King Fleming while still a teenager.

Cohn joined Red Saunders' group in 1945, while Saunders was out of the Club DeLisa and working with a sextet instead of his usual mid-sized band. Fresh out of military service, he joined the Saunders group at the Capitol Lounge in Chicago; Leon Washington had recommended him. He was featured on Saunders' first recordings as a leader, for Savoy, Sultan, and (behind Big Joe Turner) on National. He was heard on the records that Saunders made for OKeh Records (1951–1953) and for Parrot and Blue Lake (1953–1954).

Sonny Cohn survived several downsizings of the Red Saunders band, as well as the closure of the Club DeLisa, but eventually accepted an offer from Count Basie, with whom he worked from 1960 through 1984. After Basie's death, Cohn returned to Chicago, where he remained active as a musician for another two decades.

Cohn died in November 2006 in his home town of Chicago, at the age of 81.

Discography

With Count Basie

• Not Now, I'll Tell You When (Roulette, 1960)
• The Count Basie Story (Roulette, 1960)
• Kansas City Suite (Roulette, 1960)
• The Legend (Roulette, 1961)
• Back with Basie (Roulette, 1962)
• Basie in Sweden (Roulette, 1962)
• On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (Verve, 1962)
• This Time by Basie! (Reprise, 1963)
• More Hits of the 50's and 60's (Verve, 1963)
• Pop Goes the Basie (Reprise, 1965)
• Basie Meets Bond (United Artists, 1966)
• Live at the Sands (Before Frank) (Reprise, 1966 [1998])
• Sinatra at the Sands (Reprise, 1966) with Frank Sinatra
• Basie's Beatle Bag (Verve, 1966)
• Broadway Basie's...Way (Command, 1966)
• Hollywood...Basie's Way (Command, 1967)
• Basie's Beat (Verve, 1967)
• Basie's in the Bag (Brunswick, 1967)
• The Happiest Millionaire (Coliseum, 1967)
• Manufacturers of Soul (Brunswick, 1968) with Jackie Wilson
• The Board of Directors Annual Report (Dot, 1968) with The Mills Brothers
• Basie Straight Ahead (Dot, 1968)
• How About This (Paramount, 1968) with Kay Starr
• Standing Ovation (Dot, 1969)
• Basic Basie (MPS, 1969)
• Basie on the Beatles (Happy Tiger, 1969)
• High Voltage (MPS, 1970)
• Me and You (Pablo, 1983)

With James Moody

• Last Train from Overbrook (Argo, 1958)