The Dorsey Brothers

• Genre: Classic Swing
• Hometown: New York

About

The battlin' Dorsey brothers were key in transitioning Traditional Jazz to Swing during the late 1920s and early '30s. These famed hotheads were a good match: Tommy's creamy trombone suited dreamy ballads, while Jimmy's harder-edged saxophone made them a hot rhythm outfit. They had one fight too many and by 1935 both were leading their own orchestras, but they teamed up again to fight for Swing throughout the button-down '50s. Check them out -- their music is still a blast and while Tommy became the bigger name, Jimmy's saxophone sound remains one of the forgotten joys of jazz.

- Nick Dedina