Harry "Sweets" Edison

• Genre: West Coast Jazz

About

“Sweets” Edison earned his moniker from Lester Young when they played together in Count Basie's band. A mainstay of the Swing generation, Edison's economical, perfectly phrased trumpet sound fit in with Bop and West Coast Cool (where Edison became a studio powerhouse after being handpicked by Frank Sinatra as his main soloist in the early ‘50s). “Sweets” recorded a sterling set of albums on his own, but is best known for his work with Sinatra, Charlie Parker, Nat Cole, Ben Webster, Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and just about every other big name in mainstream jazz. A great raconteur, “Sweets” has brightened up countless jazz documentaries and oral histories.

- Nick Dedina