Al Killian was a great lead trumpeter, working in some of the finest bands of the 1940s - Basie, Hampton, Redman, Hopkins, Barnet. Here is Gunther Schuller's eloquent summary from The Swing Era: "Killian was without a doubt the greatest of the Late-Swing-Era high-note lead trumpeters. Not necessarily an outstanding jazz soloist, Killian specialized in stratospheric trumpeting which was totally consistent and often defied belief. His death in Los Angeles at the hands of a crazed landlord in 1950 was a stunning loss to jazz."