George Probert

George Probert, largely self-taught on soprano saxophone and an occasional clarinetist, ranked among the younger musicians in the Dixieland revival bands of the 1950s. Key associations linked him to Bob Scobey from 1950 to 1953, to Kid Ory in 1954, and most notably to the Firehouse Five Plus Two, whose lineup he joined in 1954 and stayed with until the ensemble’s final record in 1969. He assumed the post of musical director at the Walt Disney Studio in 1955. Across the following three decades the outspoken Probert, a forceful and colorful soprano saxophonist, performed at countless jazz festivals while issuing only a few leader dates on Fat Cat’s Jazz and, later, Jazz Crusade.