Ernie Fields

The career of trombonist and bandleader Ernie Fields seems quite typical for the jazz scene of the '30s and '40s, the hornman leading his own roving territory band. In the '50s, Fields moved over to a more elite rank, at least in terms of selling records. His cover version of the big-band chestnut "In the Mood," drenched in R&B as if the song had literally fallen into a river full of soul, was a massive hit in 1959. After that it was his son, Ernie Fields Jr., who carried the torch -- or more appropriately the horn cases -- into the genres of soul and funk and the bands of artists such as Marvin Gaye and Fred Wesley. Discographers sometimes miss this distinction, creating the unfortunately inaccurate image of a cat born in 1905 who was still comfortable holding forth in the heyday of Rick James.



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