John William "Billy" Mackel (December 28, 1912 – May 5, 1986) was an American 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...

 guitarist.

Mackel played banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

 early in his career in his home town of Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, but switched to guitar (like many banjoists of the day) in the 1930s. He led his own band early in the 1940s, then joined Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton

Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...

 in 1944. Mackel worked with Hampton, with occasional intermissions, for over thirty years, touring and recording with him copiously. In the 1940s he also recorded with Milt Buckner

Milt Buckner

Milt Buckner was an American jazz pianist and organist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was orphaned as a child, but an uncle in Detroit taught him to play...

, Arnett Cobb

Arnett Cobb

Arnett Cobb was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Cobb was born Arnette Cleophus Cobbs in Houston, Texas. His musical career began with the local bands of Chester Boone, from 1934 to 1936, and Milt Larkin, from 1936 to 1942...

, Herbie Fields

Herbie Fields

Herbie Fields was a jazz musician. He attended New York's famed Juilliard School of Music and served in the U.S. Army from 1941–1943.-Career:...

, and others, and worked with Billy Williams

Billy Williams

Billy Williams may refer to:* Billy Williams , Yorkshire cricketer* Billy Williams , Hall of Fame baseball player for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland A's...

in the 1960s.