The Ellington Tribute Jam Session: Military Band

Military musicians joined the jam session following the White House tribute to Duke Ellington, April 1969.

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History, someone once said, is never complete. Whenever it is recorded, there are always particulars one is never able to uncover. In time, these details seem to rise from their hidden places to the light of day.
           
​In assembling Ellington at the White House 1969, I searched unsuccessfully for the names of the military musicians who participated in the after-show jam session with the celebrity front liners: trumpeters Bill Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Clark Terry; trombonist Urbie Green; clarinetist Leonard Garment; saxophonist Gerry Mulligan; pianists Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Leonard Feather, Hank Jones, Marian McPartland, Billy Taylor, Willie “the Lion” Smith, and George Wein; and singers Billy Eckstine, Lou Rawls, and Joe Williams.

Courtesy of Kira Wharton, Gunnery Sergeant, US Marine Corps, Assistant Chief Librarian, US Marine Band, we now have the names:
 
Marine tenor saxophonist Phil Dire
Navy tenor saxophonist Larry Kreitner
Marine drummer Jim Nelson
Marine Bassist Dave Wundrow
Navy bongoist Gary Elliot
Navy bongoist Frank Carrusso
 
Members rank not indicated.