Snub Mosley

Snub Mosley is perhaps best known for having invented the "slide saxophone," a horn that had both a saxophone mouthpiece and a slide; his 1940 recording "The Man with the Funny Little Horn" shows off his odd axe a bit. Mostly, however, Mosley made his living as a trombonist. He started playing in high school and then was a key soloist with Alphonso Trent's highly rated but infrequently documented territory band from 1926-33. After leaving Trent (with whom he recorded), Mosley worked with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra (1934), Claude Hopkins (1934-35), Fats Waller, the Luis Russell Orchestra under Louis Armstrong's direction (1936-37) and his own relatively low-profile groups. Mosley mostly played in the New York area (including a regular gig at Frolic from 1955-61) into the late 1970s. As a leader, Mosley cut a dozen titles with a sextet for Decca from 1940-42, four songs for Sonora in 1946, six numbers for Penguin in 1949, two songs for Columbia in 1959 and a full album for the British Pizza label as late as 1978. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide