Doug Finke

Biography

Doug discovered jazz in the 1950's as a young band student at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. He was heavily influenced by the simple, gutsy style of Chicago trombonist Jim Beebe. By the early 1960's Doug was playing and touring with the Original Salty Dogs Jazz Band, the Smokey Stover Firehouse Band, Bob Scobey’s Frisco Jazz Band, Art Hodes and Wild Bill Davison. These early years took him to clubs and festivals in and out of the United States.

In 1964 he made a hard decision and left the music business to focus on raising a family and pursuing a corporate career. He made a brief return to music during the Vietnam years, playing and writing arrangements with the 3rd Marine Air Wing Band in El Toro, CA.

But it wasn’t until 1996, at the urging of drummer and longtime friend Wayne Jones, that he began studying anew. With the guidance of fellow trombonists Dan Barrett and Glenn Dodson, Doug immersed himself into the rigors of daily practice and the search for opportunities to play traditional jazz. He found few in Philadelphia, where he had resided since 1988.

In response, in early 1997 Doug merged his long dormant musical aspirations with his business acumen and assembled some of the finest musicians in the country to play classic jazz. He named it the Independence Hall Jazz Band, in honor of his adopted home. Shortly afterward, he formed the small group Sterling Jazz in response to the universal cry for refined performances of jazz standards. It also gave him a chance to explore his other love for the more modern jazz trombone sound. His mellow approach to jazz standards is refreshing.

In 2003 following a business move to Louisville, Kentucky, Doug put together a small group of seasoned professionals from the area to play a regular engagement at The Jazz Factory, Louisville’s premier jazz club. Years later they are still going strong as the West Market Street Stompers and inspiring audiences not only in Louisville, but in various locales in the Midwest region.

In addition to his own bands, Doug plays regularly with the Bob Schulz Frisco Jazz Band. He works alongside the likes of Ed Polcer, Jim Cullum, Dan Barrett, Warren Vache, Butch Thompson, Evan Christopher and John Bunch. He appears frequently at public venues in Louisville, Chicago, New York and in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. He also works steadily as a guest and sideman throughout the country at jazz festivals and parties, cruises, clubs and jazz societies.