Lyrics | Artists | Gene Ammons

Gene Ammons

American jazz tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons was the son of boogie-woogie jazz pianist Albert Ammons. He studied with Walter Dyett at DuSable High School and was already being noticed for his talent before he left the school. In 1943 he went on tour with trumpeter King Kolax and his band. He then became a member of Billy Eckstine's Big Band in 1944 playing alongside musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dexter Goodman, with whom he featured in a saxophone duel on the track 'Blowing the Blues Away' in 1944. He was given the nickname 'Jug' by Eckstine, reportedly because the hats whi...