The bandleader's plea used to be: "Give me a great drummer and a great lead trumpet and I'll give you a great band." Trumpeter Pete Candoli, who has died, aged 84, from prostate cancer, fulfilled the role to perfection, his endurance and range a source of wonder to other players.
Candoli's power and bandstand flamboyance earned him the title of "Superman with a horn" - so much so that, while with the Woody Herman orchestra in the 1940s, he began to appear on stage in a Superman costume (which his first wife had made for him), leaping out from the wings to electrifying effect.
Candoli was born and brought up in Mishawaka, Indiana, with his younger brother Secondo, known to the jazz world as Conte Candoli, also a renowned trumpeter and soloist. Their father, a factory worker of Italian descent, played cornet in a local marching band and was keen for his sons to take up music as a way to a better life.
Growing up in a household littered with instruments, it was little wonder that both boys showed promise, with Pete proficient on bass and French horn by the age of 12, before he changed to the trumpet, on which he was self-taught. So remarkable was his progress that he was soon playing local Polish weddings and dance jobs, qualifying for his musician's union card while still in his early teens.
His first real break came when he joined the popular Sonny Dunham orchestra in 1941 for two years, before moving on to play lead trumpet with the Will Bradley, Ray McKinley and Tommy Dorsey orchestras. These were among the best bands of their day, but Candoli's greatest triumphs came when he joined the explosive Woody Herman big band in summer 1944, his 16-year old brother briefly alongside in the trumpet section until their mother hauled him back home to finish his education.
The Herman orchestra (aka the First Herd) was then at the height of its fame, packed with star jazz soloists and great section players, Candoli paramount among them. As its pianist and arranger Ralph Burns said: "We called Pete Candoli 'Superman' because of all the high notes he'd play way above the band."
This led to Candoli's routine as the superhero, described by Herman as: "One of our most successful gimmicks, which he initiated on his own. We were playing the last chorus of Apple Honey when he jumped out on stage in time to play his walloping passages. It brought the house down and remained part of our act." At the Paramount theatre in New York, Candoli refined his gimmick by sliding down a wire from a high balcony, arriving with split-second timing to play his high notes.
He won many awards, notably his selection as one of Esquire magazine's new stars of 1946. He can be heard screeching boppishly on many of the Herman Herd's greatest recordings, and played first trumpet when Igor Stravinsky premiered his Ebony Concerto, written specially for Herman. After the clarinettist disbanded the Herd temporarily, Candoli moved on again to play lead for a couple of years with the Tex Beneke and Jerry Gray bands.
After a stopover with Stan Kenton's New Concepts orchestra, where he teamed up with brother Conte once more, Candoli made for Los Angeles, where he stayed for the rest of his life.
He entered fully into studio life, taking part in more than 5,000 recording sessions; and his lead talents were in constant demand for jazz dates, movie soundtracks (notably the Frank Sinatra vehicle, The Man with the Golden Arm), and television series, such as the Peter Gunn show. He also found time to perform with Les Brown's Band of Renown and formed several combos with his brother, continuing intermittently until Conte's death in 2001.
At other times, he was a member of the studio orchestra, again with his brother, for the Johnny Carson television show, and backed such singers as Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. He also managed to imitate Louis Armstrong, vocally and instrumentally (and somewhat inappropriately); this act was launched during a tour of Japan with Benny Carter.
Candoli's three marriages, all to fellow performers, ended in divorce. He was married first to the actor Vicky Lane; then briefly to actor Betty Hutton in the 1960s; and finally to actor and singer Edie Adams, with whom he had appeared in nightclubs. As well as leading her orchestra and playing trumpet with them, Candoli also sang and danced on stage.
He is survived by his partner of 22 years, Sheryl Deauville, by his daughters, Tara and Caroline, and by a sister.
· Walter Joseph 'Pete' Candoli, musician, born June 28 1923; died January 11 2008