John T. ("Fess") Whatley was a young child living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama when he heard a passing circus street band. From that day on, he wanted to play the cornet. As a teenager, he entered Birmingham's Toggle Institute and joined the band. Long before Toggle days, Whatley had been exploring a new style of music called Jazz and developing his own soft sound that became known as the "Fess Whatley" tone. In 1917, at age 20, Whatley became an instructor at Industrial (now Baker) High School in the Smithfield neighborhood. Here he organized the city's first black brass band. At this time, his students nicknamed him "Fess," short for "professor." Whatley was a strict disciplinarian. With exceptional skill, he inspired and trained his students. During the 1930s and 1940s, big band leaders in Northern cities such as Lionel Hampton and Duke Ellington needed a musician. They ...