Serge Chaloff was a fleeting star on the baritone saxophone during his brief lifetime, one of Woody Herman’s “Four Brothers” and a bebopping legend as well.   He was a sophisticated musician and swinging performer.  Serge possessed a lithe, fleet, flowing conception propelled with a lighter tone and nimble execution on the big horn.

Raised by his prominent classical musician and educator parents in Boston, Serge Chaloff was born November 24, 1923.  His father Julius Chaloff was a pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and ran his own music school; his mother Margaret Stedman Chaloff, revered  by her many famous classical and jazz musician students as “Madame Chaloff”, was a long time teacher with her own studio and also at the New England Conservatory and other schools.

As a young child his parents taught him the piano, and he received formal lessons on the clarinet.  Inspired by Harry Carney he was self taught on the baritone saxophone and began performing in big bands.  Chaloff was also influenced by Charlie Parker and informed by the contemporary bebop scene, and he incorporated those styles as a major component of his expression.

Chaloff was hired by Woody Herman for the “Second Herd” band in 1947-1949 and excelled as part of its legendary saxophone section memorialized by the Four Brothers song and sound.

Unfortunately, Chaloff also absorbed another lesson from the bebop era and many contemporaries, succumbing to heroin addiction.  Chaloff was smitten and suffered more intensively than most, harming his physical health and inspiring erratic behavior to an extent that almost cost him his musical career, and his life.

Let go by Herman, Chaloff spent the early 1950's basically in local Boston clubs and with some brief prominent spots such as a stint in Count Basie’s octet.  He also spent some time on the road with low profile gigging.

By 1954, Chaloff began getting some treatment, and friends eventually  prevailed upon him to enter an intensive in patient rehab program.  Chaloff emerged totally clean and renewed his career with vigor.  Highlights included appearances at George Wein’s Storyville nightclub and his record label.  The “Fabel Of Mabel” album is a storied endeavor and a cult classic.  Chaloff went on significant national tours, appeared on the Steve Allen TV show, and recorded with Capitol Records - two LPs “Boston Blow Up” and “Blue Serge”- that are now considered masterpieces.

However later in 1956 Chaloff was stricken with cancerous tumors on his spine and after some initial surgeries that allowed him to endure, the tumors spread and he died in July 1957 at the age of 33.

With his short life span and limited body of recordings, Chaloff is not well remembered, but he was a significant figure who deserves lasting recognition.

originally broadcast February 15, 2026