Jack Purvis lived a bizarre and legendary life. It has never been fully resolved. His music career was quite short. He started playing trombone and trumpet in a boy’s training school. He also worked in local bands as far back as 1921. Purvis was a member of the Original Kentucky Night Hawks in Lexington, KY for a few seasons in the mid-1920s. He also attempted to become an airline pilot and studied Chicago music. Purvis began freelancing in 1926. He worked with Whitey Kaufman’s Original Pennsylvanians. In 1928, he visited Europe with George Carhart. From 1929 to 1930, he was with Hal Kemp’s Orchestra (originally as a trombonist, before switching to trumpet). In 1930, he was with The California Ramblers. He also had short-term affiliations with Fred Waring (1932-33) or Charlie Barnet (1933). He also worked in radio orchestras. From 1929 to 1930, Purvis was the leader of three recording sessions that produced eight titles. These included “Copyin’ Louis” and “Mental Strain at Dawn.” Purvis also occasionally played the fourth trumpet in Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra, and briefly was a harpist. Purvis’s life outside music started to interfere with his musical career. He began to fly in smuggled cargo from Mexico to the U.S. and was also a mercenary in South America and a chef in San Francisco and Bali. Purvis was in California for a short time to arrange films. He recorded with Frank Froeba (1935), and briefly worked with Joe Haymes. After that, he moved back to Los Angeles, where he led a quartet. He was sentenced to a term in prison for robbery at El Paso, Texas, beginning June 1937. Purvis was a prisoner for robbery in El Paso, Texas. He also directed the Rhythmic Swingsters radio broadcasting on the radio in 1938. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for violating his parole. Purvis was a radio repairman, a chef, and a carpenter in the years following his release. There are many more Purvis stories that have been forgotten! All music
