Jimmy Harrison was an American jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 trombonist.

Harrison began on trombone at age 15, playing locally in the Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

 area. He played semi-pro

Semi-professional

A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...

 baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, but chose music over a career in sports when he joined a traveling minstrel show

Minstrel show

The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....

 in the late 1910s.

He led his own jazz ensemble in Atlantic City by 1919, and played in the bands of Charlie Johnson

Charlie Johnson (bandleader)

Charlie "Fess" Johnson was an American jazz bandleader and pianist.Johnson led an ensemble called the Paradise Ten, who played at Small's Paradise from 1925–1935 and recorded five times between 1925 and 1929. Though Johnson was a capable pianist, he rarely soloed on his recordings...

 and Sam Wooding

Sam Wooding

Sam Wooding was an expatriate American jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader living and performing in Europe and the United States.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he led several big bands in the United States and abroad...

. He then moved to Detroit and played with Hank Duncan

Hank Duncan

Hank Duncan was an American dixieland jazz pianist born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, probably better known for his work with Fess Williams, King Oliver, Tommy Ladnier, Charles "Fat Man" Turner, and many others. He also toured extensively with Fats Waller.-References:...

 and Roland Smith

Roland Smith

Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.-Early life and education:...

. After returning to Toledo, he played gigs with June Clark

June Clark (musician)

Algeria Junius "June" Clark was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist....

 and James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...

, and followed this with a stint in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with Fess Williams

Fess Williams

Stanley Williams was an American jazz musician.-Early life:...

.

In 1924, June Clark took over leadership of Harrison's ensemble, though he continued to perform in it. In 1925 he began working with Billy Fowler, where he remained for several years. He also played with Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

 in the mid-1920s. Later in the decade Harrison played with Elmer Snowden

Elmer Snowden

Elmer Snowden was a banjo player of the jazz age. He also played guitar and, in the early stages of his career, all the reed instruments. He contributed greatly to jazz in its early days as both a player and a bandleader, and is responsible for launching the careers of many top musicians...

 and Fletcher Henderson

Fletcher Henderson

James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...

. While on tour with Henderson in 1930, he took ill with a stomach ailment, and though he continued to play for several months with Chick Webb

Chick Webb

William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...

, he died of this condition in 1931.