Milt Herth Trio

Trio led by Milt Herth (Hammond organ), usually accompanied by a pianist and a drummer, sometimes supplemented by a guitar. From late 1937 to the end of 1938, the piano part was played by Willie "The Lion" Smith. Other pianists playing with Milt Herth were Frank Froeba (late 1938-1939), Billy Kyle (Oct. 1939), Lionel Rand (1940), and Morty Jacobs (1940 and 1946) The trio's drummers varied as well. Between late 1937 and 1939, it was O'Neil Spencer, who also contributed many vocals. Once, he was replaced by Terry Shand (March 1, 1939). After Spencer, drummers changed frequently, including Jack Conner (April 15, 1940), Roger Halliver (April 19, 1940), and others. In 1938, the trio was sometimes supplemented by Teddy Bunn on guitar, but then it usually appears on labels as the Milt Herth Quartet. Between 1937 and 1948, the Milt Herth Trio recorded dozens of jazz and pop standards exclusively for Decca. In 1949, it issued 4 records with Decca-subsidiary Coral. In addition, the Herth group released two albums with Capitol Records, in 1947 and 1953. It also performed in several films, for example the mid-1939 Vitaphone short "Swing Styles" (with all-white personnel, Frank Froeba on piano and Dick Ridgely on drums), the 1941 Gloria Jean short "Jingle Belles," and the 1942 film "Juke-Box Jenny."