Johnny Windhurst was a 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...

 trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 player, who played primarily in the swing and big-band styles. Windhurst was a self-taught musician; he considered Bix Beiderbecke

Bix Beiderbecke

Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...

, Bobby Hackett

Bobby Hackett

Robert Leo "Bobby" Hackett was an US jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late thirties and early forties.-Biography:...

, Wild Bill Davison

Wild Bill Davison

Wild' Bill Davison was a fiery jazz cornet player who emerged in the 1920s, but did not achieve recognition until the 1940s...

, and Bunny Berigan

Bunny Berigan

Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the swing era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33. He composed the jazz instrumentals "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues"...

 among his influences.

At 18 years old, he was chosen by Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...

 to play at the Savoy Cafe in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. This engagement launched his career, and he went on to play with Art Hodes

Art Hodes

Arthur W. Hodes , known professionally as Art Hodes, was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:...

 and James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson

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

 at the Jazz at Town Hall concert in 1946. Over the years, he played for such musicians as Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

, Nappy Lamare

Nappy Lamare

Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist.Lamar's nickname isn't based on a given name of Napoleon; its true origin was revealed by his son:...

, and Eddie Condon

Eddie Condon

Albert Edwin Condon , better known as Eddie Condon, was a jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in the so-called "Chicago school" of early Dixieland, he also played piano and sang on occasion....

. Windhurst only made one recording under his name, a record called Jazz at Columbus Avenue, recorded for the Transition label in 1956.

Links

• Windhurst playing with Art Ford http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhHqw8QZGD8