Began his career as a band leader at a restaurant during the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. For the remainder of the decade, he led a society dance band. In the 1940s, he re-organized his outfit, first playing swing (1940-1944), then more innovative jazz (1944-1950). Top musicians in the band included Dizzy Gillespie, Trummy Young, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Berman, Al Cohn, Dodo Marmarosa, Ralph Flanagan, Don Lamond and Johnny Mandel.