Herbie Fields was a fine swing era musician who couldn’t fully switch to bop. He attended Juilliard from 1936-1938, and then played with Raymond Scott and Leonard Ware. While serving in the Army, Fields led a Fort Dix band. After his discharge, Fields joined Lionel Hampton’s band and worked with him until 1945. From 1944 to 1950 Fields led large and small bands. He won Esquire magazine’s New Star award for alto sax in 1945 and later recorded with Miles Davis. Fields’ career fell in the 1950s and Fields began to make straight pop music. He retreated from jazz. Allmusic
