Biography
Although Jimmy Shirley stood out as a skilled swing guitarist and among the pioneers of the electric guitar, widespread recognition eluded him throughout his extensive career and evident abilities, save for esteem among fellow players. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he received his first guitar lessons from his father. Between 1934 and 1936 he performed in Cincinnati alongside J. Frank Terry and Hal Draper, later forming his own ensemble prior to relocating to New York. From 1937 to 1941 he belonged to the Clarence Profit Trio, the group with which he first appeared on record. Following a stint with Ella Fitzgerald from 1942 to 1943, he maintained an intermittent association with Herman Chittison that lasted until 1954 while simultaneously leading his own groups and collaborating with Phil Moore and several lesser-known artists. In the early 1960s he began doubling on electric bass, an instrument he played with Buddy Tate in 1967. Over the years Shirley also contributed to sessions led by Sidney DeParis in 1944, Johnny Guarnieri in 1975, and Stephane Grappelli in 1978, among others. As a leader he cut only one track, the 1945 Blue Note selection “Jimmy’s Blues,” and released a solitary album, a quartet date for Black & Blue, in 1975.