Henry Busse was a trumpet player whose career peaked just before the Swing Era officially began but still managed to remain quite popular into the 1940's.
In 1917, Busse joined the Frisco "Jass" Band and then went on to form his own Busse's Buzzards. In 1918, Busse joined up with Paul Whiteman's band as a co-leader. Paul Whiteman eventually went on to become the sole leader of the band partly due to Whiteman's charisma, but also due to the fact that Busse was still learning to master the English language. Henry still had a very strong German accent in those years, and post-World War I America wasn't the place to have a strong German accent.
He played with Whiteman for ten years and helped the band become one of the most popular dance orchestras throughout the 1920's. It was such a talented band that also included both Dorsey Brothers and Bing Crosby.
In 1928, after mastering the English language and becoming more confident in the spotlight, Busse formed the "Henry Busse and the Shuffle Rhythm Band" which later became known as "The Henry Busse Orchestra". This group was more of a sweet dance band than a jazz band and enjoyed some pretty good success in the 1930's and '40s.
You can hear the trumpet playing and shuffle rhythms of Henry Busse and his band right here on Swing City radio.
Watch: Henry Busse and His Orchestra from 1940
