Georgie Auld’s saxophone shows up on some of the greatest sides of the Big Band Era. Be it small group settings or in the backdrop of a big band, Auld could adapt his expressive style to a wide variety of moods and contexts.

Georgie switched from alto to tenor in 1935 after hearing a Coleman Hawkins recording. He became a member of Bunny Berigan’s orchestra in 1937 and remained with Bunny Berigan until early December of 1938. Later that same month Auld joined Artie Shaw’s orchestra and began a grueling schedule of record dates and engagements at the most popular hotels and ballrooms in the country. This band was at the top of its game, broadcasting often from the Cafe’ Rouge of the Hotel Pennsylvania and The Blue Room of the Hotel Lincoln in New York as well as the Summer Terrace Room of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston. It was also heard regularly on the Old Gold “Melody And Madness” radio show. Auld eventually led the band for nearly three months after the moody Artie Shaw took one of his sojourns away from the music business. The record Juke Box Jump was one of the great songs recorded by the group under the leadership of Auld in January of 1940.

Georgie Auld was with Jan Savitt briefly in 1940. However, what grabbed the attention of jazz buffs was his participation on several sessions with a cast of all-stars who backed Billie Holiday in September and October of 1940. In November he joined Benny Goodman’s aggregation remaining with him for about a year. Goodman immediately used Auld as part of the Benny Goodman Sextet. On November 7th the group waxed the tune Wholly Cats.

Along with Charlie Christian, Cootie Williams, and on occasion Count Basie on piano, this group created some of the most brilliant and exciting small group jazz sides to come out of the big band era. After departing Goodman, Auld joined another band led by Artie Shaw from from 1941 to 1942. After a stint in the Army in ’43, he formed his own big band leading it from 1944-6.

The Georgie Auld Orchestra recorded some interesting sides in the mid 1940s that at times used elements of bebop but for the most part still retained a melodic flowing rhythm. In 1946 doctors discovered that Auld had tuberculosis. He was only semi active for a few years, until his health recovered, but in 1948 formed a 10-piece band, his style having changed to that of the more modern bebop style players. Later that year, he disbanded and opened his own club in New York, called The Troubadour, on 52nd Street and appeared in the Broadway show The Rat Race. In 1950 he briefly worked with Count Basie’s sextet.

In 1951 Auld moved back to California because of health issues and while living in Hollywood in 1954 opened another night club called the Melody Room. In 1955 and ’56 he once again had his own big band, this a 20-piece group that featured Jimmie Lunceford style arrangements written by Billy May. In 1958 he returned to New York City to do studio work and record, making numerous appearances on Art Ford’s TV “Jazz Party”

Several of the Auld releases of the late 1950s and early 1960s are noteworthy, especially the 1959 Georgie Auld Septet release Good Enough To Keep. On this album Auld revisited, with his own group, twelve recordings he previously cut with the Goodman Sextet. A Smooth One, Airmail Special and Rose Room are all great performances with Larry Bunker handling vibes; midway through Rose Room the band subtly breaks into Ellington’s In A Mellotone without missing a lick on this medium tempo groover.

Georgie Auld has had releases under his own name on Emarcy, Savoy, Coral, Brunswick, Capitol, Alladin, Roost and Grammy Award. He can be heard on releases with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Barney Kessel, Dinah Washington, Anita O’ Day, Maynard Ferguson, and Buddy DeFranco.

A 2004 double CD release from Fresh Sound Records in Spain features four Auld Septet and Quintet albums from the late 50s and early 60s. This CD, called Airmail Special, is highly recommended listening for those interested in this very underrated saxophone giant’s later career.