Gene Ammons
American jazz tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons was the son of boogie-woogie jazz
pianist Albert Ammons. He studied with Walter Dyett at DuSable High School and
was already being noticed for his talent before he left the school. In 1943 he
went on tour with trumpeter King Kolax and his band. He then became a member of
Billy Eckstine's Big Band in 1944 playing alongside musicians such as Charlie
Parker and Dexter Goodman, with whom he featured in a saxophone duel on the
track 'Blowing the Blues Away' in 1944. He was given the nickname 'Jug' by
Eckstine, reportedly because the hats whi...
