George Orendorff Biography

Going to high school with fellows who turned out to be great jazz musicians—-not only Eddie South and Wallace Bishop but try on Lionel Hampton for classmate vibes—-may have been an overwhelming experience for George Orendorff, a talented trumpeter who subsequently made swinging music a part-time, if consistent, part of his life. He also served in the Army during the second World War, worked for the post office, became an official in the American Federation of Musicians, collaborated with Les Hite on a series of film soundtracks and published a score of poems. It all started with the guitar, like many life-long spurts of productivity, but by high school Orendorff had picked up the cornet, at the age of 17 joining a ballroom band led by Detroit Shannon. This engagement also led to out of town work when Shannon´s ensemble was nabbed to back up a performer named Ben Harney. The trumpeter established something of a glowing reputation on the Chicago jazz scene, to the point where as legend has it, he was even called in to replace King Oliver one night when some misfortune struck the New Orleans jazz kingpin. In the mid ´20s Orendorff left all this behind to tour with the Helen Dewey Show, a revue that subsequently dumped him in Los Angeles, something of a tradition in the music business. Paul Howard provided a regular west coast gig through 1930, a setting in which he was considered to be one of the best soloists. Next Orendorff joined up with Hite for a crowd-gathering run at the trendy Cotton Club. Louis Armstrong kept Orendorff in the same venue for an extended ensemble called the Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra, making recordings in 1931 and again in 1932, a period when film and studio assignments with Hite were also getting scribbled into the datebook. Orendorff´s last gig of note before the run with Uncle Sam was with guitarist Ceele Burke. The post-war period of his career can best be described as one of the better juggling acts involving musical and non-musical activities. This was not a jazzman who had put it all behind him, glumly punching the postal time clock whilst memories settle on past glories. Orendorff´s regular outings with his trumpet case included some fine recording sessions and performances with challenging bandleader Ben Pollack and the energizing Peppy Price and His Orchestra.