Biography
Sterling Bose stood out as a skilled cornetist in his formative period, shaped by the example of Bix Beiderbecke, yet he retained his original approach without modification even inside swing ensembles. Early on he gained playing time by sitting in with New Orleans-style outfits, then relocated to St. Louis in 1923. Over the following years he performed and recorded with both the Crescent City Jazzers and the Arcadian Serenaders. In 1927-1928 Bose joined Jean Goldkette's Orchestra in Detroit after Beiderbecke had already left. He next served in the house band at Chicago radio station WGN before linking up with Ben Pollack from 1930 to 1933. Additional Chicago work came with Eddie Sheasby, after which Bose turned to studio work in New York. He stayed with Joe Haymes from 1934 to 1935 and remained after Tommy Dorsey assumed leadership of the group. In 1936 Bose functioned as a central voice in Ray Noble's American Band and also spent several months in Benny Goodman's Orchestra before Harry James arrived, though his Bix-derived style sat uneasily there. Later engagements included periods with Lana Webster, Glenn Miller in 1937, Bob Crosby from 1937 to 1939, and the short-lived Bobby Hackett big band in 1939. He also appeared with Bob Zurke's Orchestra, Jack Teagarden's big band, Bud Freeman's Orchestra in 1942, George Brunies, and Bobby Sherwood in 1943. Further associations brought him alongside Miff Mole and Art Hodes, followed by a brief stretch with Horace Heidt in 1944; after that he worked mainly as a freelancer in New York and Chicago. Bose moved to Florida in 1948 and led his own groups there until prolonged illness ended in his suicide at age 52 in 1958. Although he never led a record date under his own name, Bose participated in sessions by numerous ensembles throughout the late 1920s and the 1930s.