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A 'bandleader' is the director of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays either a popular music dance band or a big band, such as one which plays swing music.
Most bandleaders also were performers with their own band. The bandleader role was dependent on a variety of skills, not just musicianship. A bandleader needed to be a music director, promoter, and performer. In general the bands were named after their bandleaders. Some bands have continued operating under their bandleaders' names long after the death of the original bandleader.
==Noted American bandleaders and their instruments have included:==

★ Lew Soloff - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

★ Buddy Rich - drum kit

★ Count Basie - piano

★ Terence Blanchard - trumpet

★ Will Bradley - trombone

★ James Brown - singer

★ Les Brown - saxophone

★ Dave Brubeck - piano

★ Cab Calloway - singer

★ Jimmy Dorsey - saxophone

★ Tommy Dorsey - trombone

★ Duke Ellington - piano

★ Percy Faith

★ Benny Goodman - clarinet

★ Woody Herman - clarinet

★ Glenn Miller - trombone

★ Buck Owens - guitar

★ Arthur Pryor - trombone

★ Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - guitar

★ B.A. Rolfe - trumpet

★ Artie Shaw - clarinet

★ John Philip Sousa - violin, flute, cornet, baritone, trombone and alto horn

★ George Paxton - tenor saxophone

★ Lew Tabackin - tenor saxophone, flute

★ Ernest Tubb - singer, songwriter

★ Paul Whiteman - violin

★ Miles Davis - trumpet

★ Charles Mingus - bass

★ Jimmie Lunceford - saxophone

★ Bruce Springsteen - singer

★ Barry White

★ Maurice White - percussion

★ Isaac Hayes - singer

★ Phil 'crazy' Tedson - trumpet

★ Frank Zappa - Guitar
==British bandleaders have included:==

★ Bert Ambrose

★ Acker Bilk - clarinet

★ John Barry

★ Elvis Costello - singer

★ Billy Cotton

★ Fred Elizalde

★ Ted Heath - trombone

★ Julian Miles "Jools" Holland - piano

★ Spike Hughes

★ Jack Hylton

★ Geoff Love

★ Johnny Pearson

★ Simon Park

★ Les Reed

★ Gary Barlow - singer
==Italian bandleaders have included:==

★ Pippo Barzizza

★ Renato Carosone - piano

★ Gorni Kramer

★ Mantovani
==Dutch bandleaders have include:==

★ Michiel Borstlap

★ Willem Breuker - trumpet

★ Tonny Eijk

★ Pim Jacobs

★ Erik van der Luijt

★ Malando - violin

★ Rogier van Otterloo

★ André Rieu - violin

★ Cees Schrama - keyboards

★ Joop Stokkermans - piano

★ Lajos Veres - multi-instrumentalist, mostly violin
==German bandleaders have included:==

★ Peter Herbolzheimer

★ Bert Kaempfert

★ James Last - double bass

★ Max Raabe - singer
==French bandleaders have included:==

★ Raymond Lefevre

★ Paul Mauriat

★ Franck Pourcel
==Belgian bandleaders have included:==

★ Francis Bay
==Argentine bandleaders have included:==

★ Waldo de los Rios
==Japanese bandleaders have included:==

★ Toshiko Akiyoshi - piano
==Australian bandleaders have included:==

★ Stuart Lang - Cornet

★ Mark "Slim" Roberts - Cornet