Billy Mackel

Billy Mackel
Billy Mackel, c. 1953
Background information
Birth name	John William Mackel
Born	December 28, 1912
Died	May 5, 1986 (aged 73)
Genres	Mainstream jazz
Occupation(s)	guitarist
Instruments	guitar, banjo
Years active	1944–1986
Associated acts	Lionel Hampton

John William "Billy" Mackel (December 28, 1912 – May 5, 1986) was an American jazz guitarist.^[1]

Mackel played banjo early in his career in his home town of Baltimore, but switched to guitar (like many banjoists of the day) in the 1930s. He played left-handed. He led his own band early in the 1940s, then joined Lionel Hampton in 1944. Mackel worked with Hampton, with occasional intermissions, for over thirty years, touring and recording with him copiously. In the 1940s he also recorded with Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Herbie Fields, and others, and worked with Billy Williams in the 1960s.^[2]

References

1. Biography of Billy Mackel on Classic Jazz Guitar, 2005 (accessed December 9, 2014).
2. Bebop, Hans (October 18, 2013). "The Billy Mackel Story". lionelhampton.nl.

• "Billy Mackel". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd ed. Oxford, 2003.