Serge Chaloff was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 baritone saxophonist

Baritone saxophone

The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...

.

The son of noted Boston piano teachers, Margaret and Julius Chaloff

Julius Chaloff

Julius Chaloff was an American pianist and composer. Born of Russian parentage in Boston, Massachusetts, Chaloff was the father of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff. Serge gained his earliest prominence as a member of Woody Herman's second herd also known as the Four Brothers. Chaloff was...

, he was among the few major jazz performers on his instrument. Until Chaloff the only prominent baritone player in jazz was Harry Carney

Harry Carney

Harry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...

 of the Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

 Orchestra. Originally influenced by Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

, Chaloff became the first major bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

 baritonist and opened the way for others to follow.

Chaloff first became well known as one of the "Four Brothers" reed section in Woody Herman

Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...

's Second Herd. He also played with Boyd Raeburn

Boyd Raeburn

Albert Boyd Raeburn was an American jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist.Boyd Raeburn was born in Faith, South Dakota, and became one of the greatest and least-known of jazz bandleaders during the 1940s...

, Georgie Auld

Georgie Auld

Georgie Auld was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist and bandleader.Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto...

, 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"...

, and Count Basie

Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...

, as well as recording as a leader.

Serge Chaloff's career was greatly limited by addiction to heroin. After successfully giving up drugs, he developed cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 of the spine which caused his early death.

Discography

• Boston 1950 - radio recordings
• The Fable of Mabel (1954)
• Boston Blow–Up!
  Boston Blow–Up!
  Boston Blow–Up! is an album by jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff. Capitol Records released the album in 1955, which was recorded on April 4 and 5, 1955 at Capitol Studios in New York City...
  
   (1955) - produced by Stan Kenton
  Stan Kenton
  Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
  
  
• Blue Serge
  Blue Serge
  Blue Serge is an album by jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, and released by Capitol Records in 1956. It was recorded on March 14 and 16, 1956 at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California.- Reception :...
  
   (1956) - with Sonny Clark
  Sonny Clark
  Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.-Biography:...
  
  , Leroy Vinnegar
  Leroy Vinnegar
  Leroy Vinnegar was an American jazz bassist.Born in Indianapolis, the self-taught Vinnegar established his reputation in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s. His trademark was the rhythmic "walking" bass line, a steady series of ascending or descending notes, and it brought him the nickname...
  
   and Philly Joe Jones
  Philly Joe Jones
  Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
  
  
• Metronome All-Stars 1956 Verve
  Verve Records
  Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
  
  MGV 8030