Lucky Millinder

Serving primarily as a frontman and occasional vocalist, Lucky Millinder directed multiple standout large ensembles. Originating in Chicago, he began his career as a dancer before stepping into the bandleader role in 1931 under his birth name Lucius Venable, an identity he quickly abandoned. He operated independently until 1934, when he assumed direction of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and remained at its helm through 1938. His self-formed orchestra debuted in 1940 and secured regular engagements at the Savoy Ballroom. Among the players passing through his ranks stood the featured singer/guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, pianist Bill Doggett, and, for a brief 1942 interval, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie alongside altoist Tab Smith. Millinder guided ensembles into the studio from 1940 to 1952, with one final date in 1955; those later sides shifted toward an R&B emphasis while preserving jazz interest. Every selection from the 1940-1942 period appears on a single Classics compact disc. In subsequent years Lucky Millinder worked as a liquor salesman and disc jockey.