George T. Cohn (Chicago, March 14, 1925 - November 7, 2006) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played at Red Saunders and in the orchestra of Count Basie.
Cohn was playing trumpet when he was nine years old. He acted with several small groups in Chicago and was adopted by band leader Red Saunders in 1945, on the recommendation of bandwoman Leon Washington, a saxophonist. Cohn played the first recordings of Saunders, featured on Savoy. In the early 1950s, he also heard of Saunders' recordings, for Okeh Records, Parrot Records and Blue Lake Records. At Saunders he was noticed by band leader Count Basie, for which he would work from 1960 to 1984. As Basics, the first trumpet player is heard on numerous albums that made the band, including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. He also arranged for Basie and he was also a long time roadmanager. After Basic Death, he spent another six years active in the orchestra. Then he played in the band of Morris Ellis and with saxophonist Von Freeman. With Basie or as a studio musician, he played on 185 albums.
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