Sonny Cohn Dies

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Trumpeter George “Sonny” Cohn, who played in the Count Basie Orchestra from 1960 to 1984, died on Nov. 7 in Chicago. He was 81.

Cohn, who was born in Chicago, was a regular at such venues as the Regal Theater and Club DeLisa during the 1940s and 1950s where he appeared with such visiting bandleaders as Louis Bellson and Erskine Hawkins. After working in the Basie band as a trumpeter, he also became its road manager in 1974. After leaving the Basie orchestra in the 1990s, he performed with such musicians as Von Freeman.

Alongside Basie, Cohn backed such singers as Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra. He has appeared on more than 180 recordings.



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