Marty Bell

American jazz vocalist and trumpet player. Born in 1925 in Newark, New Jersey but grew up in New York City. He started playing trumpet when he was about 15, and began singing just a few years later, while he was part of an Army band. In 1946 he joined Johnny Bothwell's band, playing and singing. From 1946, and for several years thereafter, he toured as a big band singer, but never neglected his trumpet work entirely. He sang with Billy BUtterfield, Sam Donahue, and Freddy Slack. With that experience under his belt, he made the break away from trumpet playing and band vocalizing--and started working as a solo singer. His debut album was released in 1956 for the Riverside label. Working with him on eight of the tracks —and taking off on their own on four others was multi-instrumentalist jazzman Don Elliott.