French horn in Jazz

While the horn (also known as the French Horn) is primarily used in classical music pieces, in the mid-20th century the French horn broke into the jazz world. While the instrument remains relatively rare, the role of the horn in jazz has developed from its beginnings in the 1940s through to the 2010s. Note that the expression "horns" in jazz is often used colloquially to refer to all brass instruments used in jazz (e.g., trumpet, sax, trombone, etc.). This article focuses on the use of the French horn.

The Claude Thornhill Orchestra was the first group to incorporate the French horn into a jazz ensemble. In early 1940, the Claude Thornhill Orchestra had moved out to southern California. During this time, the Thornhill band was moving jazz in an entirely new direction, creating an entirely new sound. Thornhill's original band comprised twelve musicians, all playing traditionally "jazz" instruments. When Thornhill hired Bill Borden as an arranger, they created a group with a more orchestral style. Their new sound involved using instruments that were not typical to jazz and mixing unusual instrument voicing.

Around the same time, Julius Watkins joined a six-member jazz band playing horn. Watkins had previously worked and toured with Ernie Fields' band for three years, only playing extra trumpet parts as needed. The band played together for a short while, about a year, and then dissolved in 1943. After playing in dance bands for a few years, Watkins was offered to play in Milt Buckner's jazz band in Detroit. He then found himself in high demand, as the only jazz horn player in the Midwest. Watkins played not only with Buckner's band on recording dates but also with Milt Jackson's small group. He recorded his first featured solo tune with Buckner's band in 1949, a song titled "Yesterdays."

In the 1950s, hearing the horn in jazz was not as common as one might think, even though bands had been using them for almost a decade already. Lionel Hampton's band rather haphazardly picked up Willie Ruff on horn in 1954. After Hampton’s band played on The Ed Sullivan Show, Ruff called his friend Ivory Mitchell, the group’s pianist, who convinced Ruff to come play with the group for a gig the following evening. Immediately after the group finished the performance, Hampton hired Ruff into the group.

After the horn found a home in larger ensembles, many horn players were frustrated with being stuck in a supporting role. Many notable horn musicians struck out in smaller groups, giving the horn a headliner role in jazz combos. A good account of the presence of the French horn in jazz is Ronald Sweetman's study, A Preliminary Chronology of the Use of the French Horn in Jazz, Further Rev. 1991 Text, Montréal Vintage Society, 1991, ISBN .

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