Joe Bishop

American jazz multi-instrumentalist (piano, trumpet, tuba, flugelhorn, mellophone) and songwriter. Born November 27, 1907 in Monticello, Arkansas. Died May 12, 1976 in Houston, Texas. Bishop's compositions include "Midnight Blue", "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blue Prelude". Bishop began on the piano as a child before learning the trumpet and tuba. He played tuba with Al Katz's Kittens, switching to the flugelhorn with Austin Wylie (1930) and Isham Jones Orchestra (1931-36). He played tuba for Woody Herman and His Orchestra, which he co-founded with the co-operative including some other Isham Jones Orchestra members after Jones retiring in 1936. Though he had a brief career, Bishop was the first significant soloist on the flugelhorn in jazz history, 20 years before Clark Terry and Art Farmer. Other compositions include "Blue Flame", "Jealousy", "Blue Evening", "Out of Space", "Blue Lament", "New Orleans Twist", "The Cobra and the Flute", "Is Love That Way?", "Blues Upstairs and Downstairs", "Gotta Get to St. Joe", "Be Not Discouraged", "Ain't It Just Too Bad?" and "Indian Boogie Woogie".