outstanding African-American JAZZ trumpeter; b. Pittsburgh, Jan. 30, 1911; d. Valley Stream, N.Y., Feb. 26, 1989. In 1930 Eldridge went to N.Y., where he worked with various musicians, including Teddy Hill, and became a featured member of FLETCHER HENDERSON'S orchestra during 1935-36. With his brother Joe, a saxophonist and arranger, he formed his own band in Chicago in 1936. He then took it to N.Y. in 1939, where he gained fame as a master instrumentalist of the SWING era. He played with the bands of GENE KRUPA from 1941 to 1943 and ARTIE SHAW from 1944 to 1945, and also worked with Norman Granz's touring Jazz at the Philharmonic shows from 1948.

From the 1950s through the early 1980s, Eldridge later worked with BENNY CARTER, JOHNNY HODGES, ELLA FITZGERALD, and COLEMAN HAWKINS, and also led his own BIG BAND and combos. Although plagued by ill health after 1980, he made occasional appearances as a singer, drummer, and pianist.