Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He also played alto saxophone, bassoon, clarinet and several other instruments. He was a composer of sophisticated sax melodies, one of the major small group jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s. His landmark recording of "Singin' the Blues" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang in 1927, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1977. His major recordings included "Krazy Kat", "Red Hot", "Plantation Moods", "Trumbology", "Tailspin", "Singin' the Blues", "Wringin' an' Twistin'", and "For No Reason at All in C" with Bix Beiderbecke and Eddie Lang, and the first hit recording of "Georgia On My Mind" in 1931. "Tram" was described as one of the most influential and important jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s, particularly influencing the sound of Lester Young. He is also remembered for his musical collaborations with Bix Beiderbecke, a relationship that produced some of the finest and most innovative jazz records of the late 1920s. Trumbauer and Beiderbecke also collaborated with jazz guitarist Eddie Lang. He was featured in the 2001 documentary Jazz by Ken Burns on PBS on the topic of the first jazz soloists and as an iconic image to symbolize jazz music. Life and career Born of part Cherokee ancestry in Carbondale, Illinois, United States, Trumbauer grew up in St Louis, Missouri, the son of a musical mother who directed saxophone and theater orchestras. His first important professional engagements were with the Edgar Benson and Ray Miller bands, shortly followed by the Mound City Blue Blowers, a local group that became nationally famous through their recordings on Brunswick. Trumbauer recruited Bix Beiderbecke for Jean Goldkette's Victor Recording Orchestra, of which he became musical director. After leaving Goldkette, he and Beiderbecke worked briefly in Adrian Rollini's short lived "New Yorkers" band, then joined Paul Whiteman in 1927. The same year7, Trumbauer signed a contract with OKeh and released a 78 recording of "Singin' the Blues", featuring Beiderbecke on cornet and Eddie Lang on guitar. "Singin' the Blues" was a jazz classic originally recorded and released by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1920. The Okeh recording became a hit. Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra recorded it in 1931 in