Among postwar jazz trumpeters, few matched the visibility and range of Don Goldie, a gifted soloist whose profile rose sharply through late-1950s work alongside Jack Teagarden. Born Donald Elliott Goldfield in Newark, NJ, he inherited musical talent from both parents: his father, Harry Goldfield, spent many years playing trumpet with Paul Whiteman, and his mother, known as Claire St. Claire, performed as a concert pianist. As a boy he took up violin, trumpet, and piano; his trumpet proficiency earned him a $1,000 scholarship to the New York Military Academy, after which he studied with New York Philharmonic member Nathan Prager. From 1951 through 1954 he served three years in the Army, where he was assigned to radio and television production for Korean War recruitment programs rather than combat duty. Upon discharge he moved to Miami to join his mother and won an award on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts while also appearing with Dave Garroway.
A New York engagement with Bobby Hackett opened further city bookings and studio sessions with Lester Lanin, Neal Hefti, and Jackie Gleason, which drew Jack Teagarden’s attention. Goldie entered Teagarden’s band in June 1959 and, within two weeks, appeared on the Roulette album At the Roundtable, quickly establishing himself as both featured soloist and ensemble mainstay. He remained until late 1962, trading vocals—including an on-stage Louis Armstrong impersonation during “Rockin’ Chair”—with the leader, sharing all solo duties with Teagarden and clarinetist Henry Cuesta, and contributing several notable compositions to the book.
After departing, Goldie fronted his own group for a period and, by the late 1960s, worked again with Gleason in Miami Beach while maintaining a busy schedule of jazz and pop performances across south Florida hotels and restaurants. Earlier in the decade he had recorded for Chess Records’ Argo subsidiary and the Verve label; in the 1970s he launched his own Jazz Forum imprint and issued eight LPs, each devoted to a single composer’s works. His final release, Don Goldie’s Dangerous Jazz Band, appeared on Jazzology in 1982.
Health complications, chiefly from diabetes, eventually ended his playing career, and Goldie died by suicide in 1995. Despite prominent associations, he never received the wider acclaim his talent warranted. As of 2005 none of his own albums had reached CD, yet his strong contributions to Teagarden survive on the Mosaic collection The Complete Roulette Jack Teagarden Sessions, and the four original Roulette LPs remain worth seeking.
