* Al Grey; Trombonist for Gillespie and Basie

Al Grey, 74, a master trombonist known for his often humorous use of the plunger mute. He played with a number of the top orchestras of the postwar jazz era, including Benny Carter, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford and Lionel Hampton. Born in Aldie, Va., Albert Thornton Grey grew up in a musical family in which trumpet, piano, organ, saxophone and clarinet were all played. During World War II, he played trombone in a Navy band that included several professional musicians who recommended him to Carter, whom Grey joined on his discharge. He went on to become a featured soloist with the Dizzy Gillespie orchestra, which toured extensively in the United States and Europe in 1956 and ’57. Grey then joined the Count Basie Orchestra and performed with it in three separate stints over the next three decades. He began using the plunger mute while playing with Lionel Hampton from 1948 to 1952. A master of the plunger style, Grey had begun playing the marching trombone, a compact valve instrument, over the last few years. An educator as well as a player, he wrote a leading book on his instrument, “Plunger Techniques,” and conducted summer camps for trombone players in Pottstown, Pa., where he had graduated from high school. Recordings under his name include “Me and Jack,” “Matzoh and Grits,” “Centerpiece,” “Fab” and “Echoes of New Orleans.” On Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz., of complications from diabetes, according to publicist Virginia Wicks.