Sherock, Shorty (originally, Cherock, Clarence Francis)

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Sherock, Shorty (originally, Cherock, Clarence Francis)

Sherock, Shorty (originally, Cherock, Clarence Francis), jazz trumpeter; b. Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 17, 1915; d. North Ridge, Calif., Feb. 19, 1980. Sherock began playing cornet as a child, and did local gigs while attending high school in Gary, Ind. He attended Ill. Military Academy in Abington. He worked with Charlie Pierce and Dell Coon before joining Ben Pollack in 1936. Sherock worked briefly with a series of leaders before joining Jimmy Dorsey (1937–39). He then worked with Bob Crosby (summer 1939 to January 1940), Gene Krupa (January 1940 to March 1941), Tommy Dorsey (April-July 1941), Raymond Scott (summer 1941), Bud Freeman (late 1941), Bob Strong (early 1942), Alvino Rey (July 1942), and Horace Heidt (late 1942-March 1945). He led his own band until June 1946, disbanded but reformed again in 1948. In the late 1940s, Sherock settled in Calif., rejoined Jimmy Dorsey for a brief spell in 1950, then worked as a freelance studio musician in Hollywood. He worked with George Auld in 1954 in Los Angeles, but during the 1950s and 1960s was mainly active as a studio musician.

—John Chilton , Who’s Who of Jazz/Lewis Porter

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Sherock, Shorty (originally, Cherock, Clarence Francis)

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