Trombonist Jimmy Cleveland was a versatile musician whose work was largely confined to other artists' sessions, pit orchestras and broadcasting. Among the artists he backed were Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, James Brown, Billie Holiday, Cannonball Adderley, Ray Charles, and Dinah Washington. His fluency and precision on the valve trombone, together with his warm tone and rich blues feel, made him greatly in demand for several decades. He was born in Wartrace, Tennessee on May 3, 1926.

Cleveland began playing trombone at age 16 and, after a stint in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II, he enrolled at Tennessee State University in Nashville where he played in the college’s jazz band. On April 10, 1949, Cleveland was with the TSU band at New York's Carnegie Hall for the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper’s Poll Winners' Jazz Concert. Another artist on the bill, big band leader Lionel Hampton, hired him on the spot. In October 1950 Cleveland made his recording debut with Hampton and can be seen briefly in Hampton's 1950 movie short to promote the song Vibe Boogie. After a 1953 tour of Europe Cleveland left Hampton and settled in New York, where he worked as a session man for recordings and radio.

Cleveland continued to work sessions and played in the pit orchestra for “Funny Girl” when Barbra Streisand held the lead. In 1967 he joined Thelonious Monk's group for a European tour and he made short forays on the road with other jazz artists., although his regular employment was in the studios.

Called to the west coast by arranger-producer Quincy Jones, Cleveland worked for many studio orchestras, commuting between New York and Los Angeles until 1974 when he and his wife, singer Janet Thurlow, settled in Los Angeles. He played in the house band on The Merv Griffin Show from 1969 until 1977, and also worked sessions for Motown and other record labels.

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