King Perry

Oliver Hazart "King" Perry (October 10, 1914 – February 5, 1990) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, and bandleader.

Biography Perry was born in Forrest City, Arkansas, United States. He played violin as a child, but switched to alto saxophone, after witnessing Johnny Hodges playing with Duke Ellington's Orchestra, and then wishing to join a local band. He attended Starr College in West Virginia, studying piano there, and had his own band in Gary, Indiana, by 1940. In 1945, he relocated to Los Angeles, appearing in a show with Dorothy Donegan and Nat King Cole; while there he made his first recordings in July that year as a leader.

He later moved into selling real estate. He died in Bakersfield, California, aged 75.