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Mr. Inge was a well-known Buffalo saxophonist, who played with and taught jazz musicians in the Western New York area since the 1940s. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri on May 7, 1906 and learned to play clarinet when he was 12 years old. In 1930 he became a member of McKinneyâ??s Cotton Pickers. In 1931 he was offered a position in Don Redmanâ??s band, where he played until 1939.
He moved to Buffalo in the 1940s from Cleveland where he led his band. He played saxophone for a number of area big bands whose leaders included C.Q. Price and Cecil Johnson. He also played and arranged for Andy Kirkâ??s Clouds of Joy. He also arranged for Louis Armstrong, Redford and Jimmie Lunceford among others. For many years, Mr. Inge performed in the Anchor Bar with the group, Four Quarters.
He also appeared in the former Club Moonglow on Michigan Avenue and the Cotton Club on Broadway. A member of the Colored Musicians Club, Inge was listed in the British edition of â??Whoâ??s Who in Musicâ?. Inge's recording credits include work with The Mills Brothers and Cab Calloway. He worked at the West Seneca Developmental Center before retirement. His wife, the former Adele Childers, predeceased him.
He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery and was 82 years old at the time of his death on October 8, 1988.