Gene Porter

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Eugene Porter (June 7, 1910 – February 24, 1993) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. He was born in Pocahontas, Mississippi, and started on cornet, but when his instrument was stolen he switched to saxophone and clarinet, studying clarinet with Omer Simeon. He moved to Chicago in high school and left school early to pursue music.

Porter played around New Orleans and on riverboats, working with Papa Celestin, Joe Robichaux (1933), and Sidney Desvigne (1935). He joined the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra from 1935 to 1937, then briefly played with Don Redman before returning to Jeter-Pillars until 1942. He played with Jimmie Lunceford (1942) and Benny Carter (1942–44), serving as an assistant bandleader and appearing in films with Fats Waller. He served in the Army in 1944–45 as part of an Army band. Afterward he worked with Carter again and recorded with Dinah Washington (1945), Charles Mingus (1946), and Lloyd Glenn (1947).

Porter moved to San Diego in 1948, played with Walter Fuller (1948–60), and led his own group at the Bronze Room in La Mesa, California beginning in 1967. He was named a member of the St. Louis Jazz Hall of Fame in the 1980s. He died in San Diego County, California, on February 24, 1993.