Al Klink


Al Klink was an American swing jazz tenor saxophonist.

Career

Klink played with Glenn Miller from 1939 to 1942, and is a featured soloist, along with Tex Beneke, on the most well-known version of "In the Mood". When Miller started playing in the U.S. military, Klink played with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, and did work as a session musician after the war ended. Klink appeared in the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade and 1942 film Orchestra Wives.
From 1952 to 1953 he played with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. In 1955, he recorded his only session as a bandleader, performing six songs for a Bob Alexander album that won a Grammy award. In the late-1960s to early-1970s, he was a tenor saxophone doubler on the staff of NBC's Tonight Show Band under Doc Severinsen where he was an occasional featured soloist. After a hiatus, he returned in 1974 when he began playing with the World's Greatest Jazz Band. In the 1970s, he played with Glenn Zottola and George Masso, and continued playing until the mid-1980s, when he retired to Florida.

Death

Klink died in Bradenton, Florida in 1991.

Discography

With Mundell Lowe
With Gerry Mulligan
With Cootie Williams