Freddie Bellinger

American tenor saxophone player and band leader (born July 22, 1897 in Watertown, NY - died February 25, 1969 in Watertown, NY) Bellinger played not just the saxophone, but also trombone, piano, and organ but "could play nearly every known brass and woodwind instrument, including the baritone, cornet, and reeds, with equal ability." From age 5, Bellinger began playing the alto sax in Bellinger's Ladies Band, which, apart from his father Ezra on cornet and young Freddie consisted only of female musicians, including his mother Augusta on E-flat bass and Freddie's three sisters. After founding his own Bellinger's Saxophone Band in April 1922, Freddie Bellinger joined The Collegians (4), a group that was soon promoted by the "King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman and recorded several sides for Victor in 1923. From 1923 to 1924, Bellinger also served as the featured saxophone soloist of another Whiteman group, the S.S. Leviathan Orchestra, again making several Victor records. Around 1925, Bellinger returned to Watertown and formed the nine-member Bellinger's Society Orchestra. With this group, he performed all over upstate New York and on the radio until he was stricken by tuberculosis in 1931. In later years, after recovering from his illness, Bellinger resumed his musical career, led several local orchestras, and taught music both in schools and out of his home.