Irving "Babe" Russin was a tenor saxophone

Tenor saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...

 player.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, Russin played with some of the best known jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 bands of the 1930s and 1940s, including Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman

Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...

, Tommy Dorsey

Tommy Dorsey

Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...

 and Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller

Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...

. He led his own band briefly in the early 1940s. He solos in the recording the Glenn Miller band made of Jerry Gray

Jerry Gray

Jerry Don Gray is a former American Football cornerback who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1985 to 1991, the Houston Oilers in 1992, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.-Playing career:Jerry Gray was a two-time All American...

's composition, "A String of Pearls

A String of Pearls (song)

A String of Pearls is a 1942 #1 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird, composed by Jerry Gray with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. The song is a Big Band and jazz standard.-Background:...

" for Bluebird Records

Bluebird Records

Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...

 in 1941. In 1950, Russin was credited as a musician with the backup band on two Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

songs for Columbia records, "Should I?" and "You Do Something To Me". He co-wrote the instrumental "All the Things You Ain't" with Jimmy Dorsey

Jimmy Dorsey

James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...

 which was released as a V-Disc 78 single, No. 391B, in March, 1945. In 1953 he appeared briefly in the 1953 Universal-International movie The Glenn Miller Story

The Glenn Miller Story

The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration.-Plot:...

Russin plays on the soundtrack to the 1954 Warner Bros. Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

 movie A Star is Born

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born may refer to:* A Star Is Born , starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, directed by William A. Wellman* A Star Is Born , starring Judy Garland and James Mason, directed by George Cukor...

, playing "Cheating On Me" with a small group. He also appeared in the 1956 Universal-International movie The Benny Goodman Story.