Jimmy Rushing

Affectionately nicknamed "Mister Five-By-Five" for his height and build, Jimmy Rushing emerged as a blues shouter who both shaped and moved beyond the style's limits. His powerful voice projected pure delight across any song he tackled, letting him groove fluidly with diverse partners while commanding even the most thunderous large ensembles. Peak visibility arrived during his years fronting the Count Basie band from 1935 to 1950, yet he avoided the fate of many vocalists tethered to one outfit by issuing a string of independent recordings that cemented his status as a premier jazz singer.

Born into a household steeped in music, he studied violin, piano, and theory during his early years, then launched his performing career in California nightspots after relocating there in the mid-'20s. He signed on with Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927 and traveled with Bennie Moten from 1929 until Moten's death in 1935, transferring to Basie as the pianist reassembled the remnants of the Moten group. Basie's irrepressibly swinging rhythm section proved an ideal complement, showcased first on their joint 1936 recording of "Boogie Woogie," which introduced both Rushing and Lester Young to a national audience. His Basie sides appear across multiple reissues on Decca, Columbia, and RCA, while he also took part in several film shorts and features during that period.

Once the Basie orchestra disbanded in 1950 amid declining prospects for big bands, Rushing stepped away briefly before assembling his own septet. He launched a run of solo albums for Vanguard in the mid-'50s and delivered notable Columbia sessions alongside Dave Brubeck, Coleman Hawkins, and Benny Goodman—the last pairing captured at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958 on "Brussels Blues." Additional dates paired him with Basie veterans Buck Clayton and Jo Jones, as well as the Duke Ellington band on Jazz Party. Television appearances included The Sound of Jazz in 1957, while stage work featured in Jon Hendricks' The Evolution of the Blues; he later took a combined singing and acting part in the 1969 film The Learning Tree.