Tommy Douglas was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 clarinetist, bandleader

Bandleader

A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....

 and reed instrumentalist born in Eskridge, Kansas

Eskridge, Kansas

Eskridge is a city in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, United States. The population was 589 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, probably better known for his work as a sideman for Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....

 and Bennie Moten

Bennie Moten

Bennie Moten was a noted American jazz pianist and band leader born in Kansas City, Missouri.He led the Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the itinerant, blues-based orchestras active in the Midwest in the 1920s, and helped to develop the riffing style that would come to define many of...

. He was also an accomplished bandleader, showcasing such talent in his bands as Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

 and Jo Jones

Jo Jones

Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...

, among others. He also performed with Captain Woolmack's Band and the Clarence Love Orchestra.