Jimmy Rowles

Pianist Jimmy Rowles first attracted wide attention in Southern California in the early 1940s as a member of small groups led by Slim Gaillard and Lester Young. In the late '40s, he played with Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Woody Herman, and accompanied singers such as Peggy Lee, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. A highly gifted player with a deft touch and a seemingly endless store of ideas, Rowles was one of the best accompanists in jazz, yet he remains one of the least known of jazz players.