Boomie Richman

An excellent tenor soloist with a booting sound and a hard-driving style, Boomie Richman was best known for his association with Tommy Dorsey. Richman began his career playing locally in Boston. He moved to New York in 1942, freelanced, had stints with Jerry Wald (1942), Muggsy Spanier (1944) and George Paxton (1945), and then spent six years as a key soloist with Dorsey's big band (1945-51). Richman appeared on many records with Dorsey. After leaving the band he became a studio musician but still appeared often in jazz settings including with Benny Goodman (off and on during 1951-55), the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Ruby Braff, Al Cohn, Red Allen and Cootie Williams among many others. Richman was active into the 1970s although he did not play jazz much in his later years, retiring in the 1980s; his swing-based style remained unchanged. Despite his talents, Richman never had an opportunity to lead his own record date. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi