Matthew Gee

Matthew Gee (November 25, 1925, Houston, Texas – July 18, 1979, New York City) was an American bebop trombonist and part-time actor. Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army. Following this, he played with Dizzy Gillespie (1946–1949), Joe Morris, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt (1950), Count Basie (1951), Illinois Jacquet (1952–1954), Lou Donaldson (1954), Sarah Vaughan (1956), and Gillespie again in 1957. In 1956 he released his only record as a bandleader on Riverside Records. From 1959 to 1963 he played on and off with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Later in the 1960s, he played in small groups with Paul Quinichette and Brooks Kerr, as well as in big bands with Sonny Stitt and Johnny Griffin.