Tommy Gwaltney

Who was Tommy Gwaltney?

Thomas O. "Tommy" Gwaltney is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. He has played clarinet, saxophone, and vibraphone.

Gwaltney studied under Ernie Caceres and Peanuts Hucko, playing clarinet in college bands and while serving in the military. Due to lung injuries during the war he played vibraphone for a time in the 1940s. In 1946-47 he studied at New York University and played in an ensemble with Charlie Byrd and Sol Yaged. Between 1951 and 1955 he seldom played, concentrating on helping with a family business in Norfolk.

In 1956 he joined Bobby Hackett, playing on his album Gotham Jazz Scene in 1957. He then worked with Wild Bill Davison, Billy Butterfield, Buck Clayton, Charlie Byrd again, and with his own ensembles. He owned his own nightclub in Washington, D.C. called Blues Alley from 1965 to 1969, but even after selling it performed there regularly with Steve Jordan. Gwaltney organized several jazz festivals, including the Virginia Beach Jazz Festival and the Manassas Jazz Festival; he led bands at Manassas with Davison, Ed Polcer, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Eddie Condon, Doc Evans, Bobby Hackett, Vic Dickenson, Maxine Sullivan, and Jimmy McPartland.