Cal Massey

Calvin “Cal” Massey (January 11, 1928 – October 25, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Massey studied trumpet under Freddie Webster, and following this played in the big bands of Jay McShann, Jimmy Heath, and Billie Holiday. After that he mainly worked as a composer. Growing up, Massey had two cousins in the Philadelphia area who were, like him, interested in jazz and the arts. Massey’s cousin Bill Massey, also a jazz trumpet player, composed music for and played on several Prestige recording sessions for alto saxophonist Sonny Stitt in the early 1950s. His cousin Calvin L. Massey (1926–2019), who also known professionally as Cal Massey (and who was a brother to Bill Massey) was a jazz pianist in the 1960s before becoming a visual artist. Calvin L. Massey worked as monument designer (with sculptures at Valley Forge and Ellis Island) and illustrator at Marvel Comics, and later was an independent painter and sculptor. Massey died from a heart attack at the age of 44 in New York City, New York. His son, Zane Massey (born 1957), is also a jazz musician.

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