Jimmy Strong (musician)

Jimmy Strong (August 29, 1906 – April 1977) was an American jazz reedist. While he is best known as a clarinetist, he occasionally played tenor saxophone as well.

Strong was based in Chicago as a teenager, performing in Lottie Hightower's Nighthawks; around 1925 he did a national tour with a traveling revue and stayed in California for a time, freelancing with several groups. Upon his return he joined Carroll Dickerson's orchestra, where he worked with Louis Armstrong; he appears on Armstrong's Hot Fives recordings. In 1928 he also worked briefly with Clifford King. In the 1930s he played with Cassino Simpson, Zinky Cohn, and Jimmie Noone, in addition to his own bands. Around 1940 he relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey, and founded a new ensemble, playing at a club called the Blue Room. Following this he appears to have left music; he was living in South Carolina in the 1970s.

References

• "Jimmy Strong". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.