Mr. Trumpet: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph of Bunny Berigan

by Michael P. Zirpolo

The life of jazz trumpeter Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (1908-1942) resembles nothing less than an ancient Greek tragedy: a heroic figure who rises from obscurity to dizzying heights, touches greatness, becomes ensnared by circumstances, and comes to a disastrous early end. Berigan was intimately involved in the commercial music business of the 1930s and 1940s in New York City. Berigan was a charismatic performer, one of the few musicians in the history of jazz to advance the art. His trumpet artistry made a deep and lasting impression on almost everyone who heard him play, while the body of recorded work he left continues to evoke a wide range of emotions in those who hear it.

Too often writings about the Swing Era skip over the interrelationship between the music business and the music that the giants of jazz created. In Mr. Trumpet: The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumph of Bunny Berigan, Michael Zirpolo takes on this difficult task, exploring connections between the business of music and contemporary music makers and the culture of social dancing that drove it all. Through detailed research and insightful analysis, Zirpolo rectifies many heretofore misunderstood events in Berigan's life and in the Swing Era more generally.

In this panoramic examination of Berigan's personal and professional lives, Mr. Trumpet maps the great musician's role in what was a truly golden age of American popular music and jazz, offering close looks at some of his greatest performances and film work, comprehensive listings of all known broadcast recordings made by Berigan and his bands, as well as numerous previously unpublished photos of the great jazz artist.

551 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2011

Reviews

[Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plain and simple: Bunny Berigan was one of the greatest musicians of all time. Technically gifted but with a jazz sensibility and talent for improvisation that enabled him to produce one memorable solo after another. I'm never bored when Bunny is playing. For starters try his solo on Benny Goodman's "King Porter Stomp" or "Marie" by Tommy Dorsey. Dramatic, exuberant...I could go on and on. This book is a good bio of Bunny, but redundant if you read the earlier bio by Robert Dupois. Then again, if a third bio of Bunny came out I'm sure I would read it. More important - go listen to some Bunny.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short version: Bunny Berigan was one of the best jazz trumpet performers ever, also an excellent leader and motivator of his band members, and thus able to put together and keep bands rolling even in the worst of situations. But he destroyed himself with booze and died at age 33 of internal bleeding caused by cirrhosis of the liver. Also, the booking agencies and the "system" of the time didn't help, either, as conditions guaranteed hard times for nearly all bands and musicians, and those "issues" are well covered in this book.

Zirpolo says that one significant factor in the hardships Berigan experienced trying to make his bands work was his lack of a personal manager for most of his bandleadling years. He needed a fiduciary who had Berigan's interests foremost. Without such a person, Berigan was not able to maintain the three "R" elements necessary for success during the Big Band years of the 1930s-40s -- a recording contract, radio exposure, and "The Road" -- steady bookings into venues that made the most of the band's time. Often the booking agency had Bereigan's band driving hundreds of miles overnight in bad weather or, almost worse, had gaps in the schedule that wasted opportunities to cover expenses.

This biography is nothing if not complete. Author Zirpolo has reported on virtually (if not literally) EVERY known performance of Bunny Berigan as band leader and also in great detail on Bunny's activity as a sideman. And it is NOT the least bit tedious, as primary sources abound and they are colorful!

While this is a biography of Berigan, it also provides tremendous insight into both the artistic side and the business side of the big-band era (late 1930s-early 1940s). The notes at the end of each chapter contain a paragraph or more about the significant persons we encounter along the way.

Zirpolo uses myriad primary sources and the author is never afraid to note when the sources speaking years after the fact are often not reliable, as they may mix recollections from one time with other experiences.

The writing is somewhat informal — but in this situation that’s a good thing, because the subject was elusive.

NOTE -- It took me a long time to digest this book because I wanted to listen to Berigan's music as it was discussed in the text (thank you, World Wide Web and YouTube). Also, there are many notes in the back that just opened up the desire to FIND OUT MORE (thanks, WWW again).

I learned of this book when it was mentioned by Dennis Spragg on “The Star-Spangled Radio Hour” when he presented a podcast on Berigan. I highly recommend Spragg's online show to anyone interested in big-band music.

Also, Mr. Zirpolo has lots of posts on the web about many musicians in addition to Bunny.