A technically skilled trumpeter and an underrated trumpeter, Bernie Privin spent most of his career working in the studios, emphasizing his skills as a lead and section trumpeter. Self-taught, Privin was still a teenager when he played in the bands of Harry Reser (1937), Bunny Berigan and Tommy Dorsey (1938). He gained some recognition for his work with the orchestras of Artie Shaw (1938-39), Benny Goodman (1941-42) and Charlie Barnet (1940-41 and 1943). While in the military, Privin was an important part of the Glenn Miller Army Air Force band. After a second stint with Benny Goodman (for whom he would rejoin several times in later years for tours), Privin became a staff musician at CBS in 1950 and he worked steadily in the studios for the next three decades. The trumpeter recorded prominently with Al Caiola (1955), toured with the Tommy Dorsey ghost band and worked with the New York Jazz Repertory Company in the mid-1970's. He only led two albums in his career, a set for Regent in 1956 and a very obscure date for HMT in Sweden in 1969. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
