Latest Release
- DEC 9, 2022
- 13 Songs
- Love Songs By · 1954
- Complete Gramercy 5 Sessions · 1949
- Take Me to the Land of Jazz · 2005
- In the Mood for Trumpet Jazz · 2013
- Moonlight in Vermont (Remastered) - Single · 1956
- The Essential Ray Conniff · 1959
- The Essential Ray Conniff · 1963
- The Capitol Vaults Collection · 2011
- 101 Strings Orchestra Presents Trumpet Favorites · 2024
- Jazz from Italy: Billy Butterfield plays George Gershwin (feat. Lino Patruno & Milano College Jazz Society) · 1978
Singles & EPs
Compilations
- 2021
Appears On
- World’s Greatest Jazz Band, Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart
About Billy Butterfield
A versatile pre-bop trumpeter with a beautiful tone, Billy Butterfield could play pretty ballads and heated Dixieland with equal skill. After early experience in the mid-'30s with the bands of Austin Wylie and Andy Anderson, Butterfield became famous while playing with Bob Crosby's Orchestra (1937-1940), taking the main solo on the original version of "What's New," and making numerous records with both the big band and the Bobcats. In 1940, he was with Artie Shaw, participating in the famed Gramercy Five sessions and taking a classic solo on Shaw's rendition of "Star Dust"; in addition, Butterfield can be seen and heard playing "Concerto for Clarinet" with Shaw in the film Second Chorus. After stints with Benny Goodman (1941) and Les Brown, Butterfield spent time in the military, and then led a lyrical (but commercially unsuccessful) big band (1945-1947). He worked mostly in the studios during the 1950s and '60s, occasionally emerging for Dixieland dates with Eddie Condon, and was a key member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band (1968-1972). In later years, he continued popping up in Dixieland settings both for records and concerts. ~ Scott Yanow
- HOMETOWN
- Middletown, OH, United States
- BORN
- January 14, 1917
- GENRE
- Jazz