This trumpet was made by Frank Ellsworth Olds & Son in Fullerton, California around 1955 to 1956. It is a B-flat trumpet, Ambassador model, serial #178587, made of brass with 3 piston valves. This trumpet was previously owned and used by American jazz trumpeter, Andrew Blakeney. This trumpet is engraved:
AMBASSADOR
MADE BY
F.E. OLDS & SON
FULLERTON
CALIF.
Andrew “Andy” Blakeney (1898-1992) began playing professionally in Chicago around 1925. He moved to California the next year and would perform and record with several bands including Sonny Clay and Lionel Hampton. In the late 1930s, Blakeney played with Monk McKay’s band in Hawaii and would return to the mainland to perform in California throughout the 1940s to the 1950s. Blakeney’s later years were spent playing with groups including the Young Men of New Orleans and the Eagle Brass Band.
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