Biography
John Graas ranked among the earliest soloists on jazz French horn, sharing that distinction with Julius Watkins. His path began in classical settings before he joined the Claude Thornhill Orchestra in 1942. Military service from 1942 to 1945, followed by engagements with the Cleveland Orchestra and Tex Beneke’s big band, led to his initial prominent role in Stan Kenton’s Innovations Orchestra between 1950 and 1951. Once that association ended, Graas relocated to Los Angeles, where he balanced studio work with appearances on West Coast jazz sessions led by Shorty Rogers and additional figures. An accomplished composer intent on merging jazz and classical idioms well before the third-stream movement emerged, he issued sessions under his own name on a fairly steady basis from 1953 through 1958; aside from a lone V.S.O.P. reissue, those recordings remain unavailable. Graas suffered a fatal heart attack at age 45.
Albums
