Jim Lanigan 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...

 bassist and tubist.

Lanigan learned piano and violin as a child, and played piano and drums in the Austin High School

Austin Community Academy High School

Austin Community Academy High School was a public high school located at 231 N Pine Avenue in the Austin community on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. The school opened in 1890, and was named after Henry W. Austin, a local real estate developer The online newsletter Chicago-Catalyst.org called...

 Blue Friars before specializing on bass and tuba. Lanigan was a member of the Austin High Gang, and played with Husk O'Hare (1925), the Mound City Blue Blowers

Mound City Blue Blowers

The Mound City Blue Blowers were an American jazz ensemble, formed in Saint Louis and given its nickname. It was co-founded by Red McKenzie and Jack Bland and performed during in the 1920s and 1930s....

, Art Kassel (1926-27), the Chicago Rhythm Kings, the Jungle Kings, and the 1927 McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans

McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans

McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans was a jazz band from Chicago, led by banjo player Eddie Condon and sponsored by singer and comb player Red McKenzie. Their four recordings in December 1927 were important influences on early Chicago style jazz....

 recordings.

From 1927 to 1931 he played with Ted Fio Rito and worked in orchestras for radio, including NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 Chicago. He played as a sideman in the 1930s and 40s with Jimmy McPartland

Jimmy McPartland

James Dugald McPartland , better known as Jimmy McPartland, was an American cornetist and one of the originators of Chicago Jazz...

 (1939), Bud Jacobson's Jungle Kings (1945), Bud Freeman

Bud Freeman

Lawrence "Bud" Freeman was a U.S. jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He had a smooth and full tenor sax style with a heavy robust swing. He was one of the most influential and important jazz tenor saxophonists of...

 (1946), and Danny Alvin

Danny Alvin

Danny Alvin was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.Alvin was the father of guitarist Teddy Walters. He played with Sophie Tucker at the New York club Reisenweber's in 1919, then moved to Chicago in the early 1920s...

 (1950), but began to concentrate more on music outside of jazz at that time. He played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...

from 1937 to 1948, and did extensive work as a studio musician.

Lanigan never recorded a date as a leader. He played in reunion gigs for the Austin High Gang nearly up until the time of his death.