One of the important early jazz saxophonists, Frankie Trumbauer, was born in Carbondale, Illinois on May 30, 1901. Trumbauer had Cherokee ancestry and his mother directed theater orchestras. After serving in the United States Navy during World War I he became a professional musician, working first in local bands before moving to Chicago to play and record with the Edgar Benson Orchestra and with Ray Miller. In 1925 and 1926 he led a band in St. Louis with cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who became his close associate. The two men later worked together orchestras led by Jean Goldkette, Adrian Rollini, and Paul Whiteman. By this time Trumbauer's originality was easily discernible, and in 1927 he signed his own recording contract with Okeh Records, leading to the creation of some of the most important recordings of the era by white jazz musicians. These performances reveal Trumbauer and Beiderbecke, together with guitarist Eddie Lang, at the peak of their inspiration.

In 1934, while still with Whiteman, Trumbauer his led own recording band, which included several young swing stars, such as Bunny Berigan. After a brief spell in 1936 as a member of the Three Ts with Jack and Charlie Teagarden, he moved to California. As Frank Trombar, he occasionally led his own big band but was more occupied with studio work. During World War II he was a test pilot with North American Aviation and trained military crews in the operation of the B-25 bomber. He worked for the Civil Aeronautics Authority after the war and also played in the NBC Radio Orchestra. After 1947, although he continued to play and record, he earned most of his income in aviation.

Frankie Trumbauer played most members of the saxophone family but specialized in alto and C-melody saxophones. He was only successful jazz specialist on the C-melody instrument. His graceful, light-toned improvisations were extremely individual and were acknowledged to have influenced the tenor saxophone style of Lester Young who was greatly impressed with Trumbauer and Beiderbecke’s 1927 recording of Singin' the Blues. Trumbauer introduced delicacy into the art of jazz saxophone playing. His individuality was effectively displayed in many of his recordings with Paul Whiteman's orchestra, where his pithy sense of understatement and dry, delicate tone stood out against the lush backgrounds. Later, however, he had difficulty adjusting to the new swing style, and in his recordings from the mid-1930s his timing often appeared stiff and uneasy and his phrasing anachronistic. Trumbauer passed away in Kansas City on June 11, 1956 at the age 55.
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Here is a link to arguably Trumbauer's most famous recording:

"SINGIN' THE BLUES"