Photo of Billy Mackel

Billy Mackel

Biography

John William Mackel (December 28, 1912 – May 5, 1986) was an American jazz guitarist. Mackel was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He played banjo early in his career, but like many banjoists of his time he switched to guitar. He led his own band early in the 1940s, then joined Lionel Hampton in 1944 and spent the next thirty years with him. In the 1940s he also recorded with Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Herbie Fields, and others, and worked with Billy Williams in the 1960s. He played left-handed.

Bio from Wikipedia

Discography

Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Credited work

536 releases · 113 albums · active 1950–2025

  • Performance · 680
  • Other credits · 17

Studios: L'Olympia · Newport Jazz Festival · Apollo Theater-New York City · Studio Condorcet

Frequent collaborators

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