Boots Mussulli

Boots Mussulli spent much of his career in the Boston area but he had some notable musical experiences along the way. He started on clarinet when he was 12. After working in Massachusetts with Mal Hallett, his first name job came when he was in his mid-twenties: a year with Teddy Powell's big band (1943-1944). Mussulli gained some fame for his work on alto with Stan Kenton's Orchestra from 1944-1947 and he would rejoin Kenton for tours in 1952 and 1954. Other associations included work with Vido Musso, Gene Krupa (1948), Charlie Ventura's "Bop for the People" band (1949), Serge Chaloff, Toshiko Akiyoshi (with whom he recorded in 1955) and Herb Pomeroy. Mussulli became a part-time player and a full-time educator by the mid-'50s, heading the Milford Youth Band, which played at the Newport Jazz Festival less than three months before his death at age 49 from cancer. Mussulli led two albums, one apiece for Storyville (which has also been released under Serge Chaloff's name) and Capitol, both in 1954. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi