Jess Stacy

One of swing's foremost pianists, Jess Stacy earned lasting recognition through his extended improvisation on "Sing, Sing, Sing." Although omitted from the original studio version, the performance was preserved at Benny Goodman's landmark Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938 and first issued two decades later, in 1950. Largely self-taught, Stacy had played riverboats in the early 1920s before immersing himself in Chicago's thriving jazz community, where his approach reflected the combined impact of Earl Hines and Bix Beiderbecke. Still little known when he entered Goodman's orchestra in 1935, he quickly rose to prominence as one of the leader's most valued sidemen, remaining until 1939 and returning intermittently for the subsequent five years. He also performed with the ensembles of Bob Crosby, Horace Heidt, and Tommy Dorsey, collaborated on record with Eddie Condon, began making solo discs in 1935, experienced a brief marriage to vocalist Lee Wiley, and twice attempted to direct large ensembles of his own. After relocating to California in 1947, where he worked chiefly in piano bars, Stacy largely faded from view; he withdrew completely from music in 1963, appearing again only for isolated events and two Chiaroscuro sessions across the following twenty years.