Danny Polo

A versatile clarinetist, Danny Polo ranked among the more accomplished yet overlooked swing soloists from the big band years. He took up the instrument at an early age—his father also played clarinet—and performed with a marching band by the time he turned eight. While still a teenager, he formed a duo alongside pianist Claude Thornhill. In 1923 he joined Elmer Schoebel, traveled to New Orleans with Merritt Brunies' Band, and later held positions with Arnold Johnson, Ben Bernie, and Jean Goldkette, where he substituted for Don Murray for three months in 1926. Following a stint with Paul Ash, Polo sailed to Europe in the summer of 1927 together with drummer Dave Tough. On the Continent he performed with George Carhart, Arthur Briggs, Lud Gluskin, and various other ensembles. He remained abroad for an extended period, appearing intermittently with Ambrose in London from 1930 through 1935. Although he returned to the United States in December 1935, he crossed back to Britain three years later, resuming work with Ambrose and then collaborating in Paris with Ray Ventura's Orchestra. He settled permanently in the U.S. in October 1939. There he played with Joe Sullivan while doubling on tenor, spent 1940–42 in Jack Teagarden’s band—most notably contributing to the soundtrack of the Bing Crosby film “Birth Of The Blues”—and rejoined Claude Thornhill’s Orchestra. When Thornhill was drafted, Polo led his own groups in the Midwest before returning to the pianist in 1947 for several of his strongest recordings. Still a member of that ensemble, he fell suddenly ill and died in 1949 at age 48. Beyond his sideman appearances on dates with numerous European outfits and with Thornhill—where his cool-toned clarinet blended effectively into the more daring Gil Evans arrangements—Danny Polo directed two sessions under his own name in London and one in Paris between 1937 and 1939.