Clarinetist and saxophonist Russell Procope was born on August 11, 1908 in New York City. Procope is best known as a reedman in the Duke Ellington Orchestra, but during his career he played with some of the greatest groups in jazz history.

Born into a middle-class family that valued classical music, young Russell played violin in an award-winning high school orchestra. He also persuaded his mother to purchase him a clarinet and an alto saxophone even though his father was not enthused about the idea. In the mid-1920s Russell heard Louis Armstrong playing with the Fletcher Henderson outfit and “right then…I decided what I was going to do with the rest of my life.”

By 1928 Procope was playing and recording with Jelly Roll Morton and followed that gig up with some time performing in Benny Carter’s ensemble before moving on to the Chick Webb band. In 1931 there was a trade of musicians not unlike one might see in professional sports between Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Webb got Benny Carter and trombonist Jimmy Harrison from Henderson who got Chick’s trombone player Benny Morton and Procope in return. Henderson’s band broke up in 1934 and Procope moved on to Teddy Hill’s organization where he played with a 19-year-old Dizzy Gillespie.

In 1937 Russell Procope was playing in the John Kirby Sextet along with Buster Bailey and Charlie Shavers. He left the group to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. After his return from the war, Procope was contacted to replace Otto Hardwick in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Procope accepted the offer and stayed with Ellington for the next 28 years until the bandleader’s death. Russell Procope was described by Ellington as "an utterly sober and reliable musician, always to be depended upon." Procope died in 1981 at the age of 72.

Here is a link to an Ellington Orchestra recording of Indian Summer featuring Russell Procope on saxophone:

"INDIAN SUMMER"