Gene Krupa in Chicago. Bartłomiej was an immigrant from Poland. Anna was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania and was also of Polish descent. His parents were Roman Catholics who groomed him for the priesthood. He spent his grammar school days at parochial schools. After graduation he attended Saint Joseph's College for a year but decided the priesthood was not his vocation. Krupa studied with Sanford A. Moeller and began playing drums professionally in the mid-1920s with bands in Wisconsin. In 1927 he was hired by MCA to become a member of Thelma Terry and Her Playboys, the first notable American jazz band—all-girl bands
Al Morgan (musician) with Louis Armstrong in "Going Places" (1938), and in "The Gene Krupa Story" (1959). In the 1930s, Morgan led his own band and played as a sideman with Fats Waller, Les Hite, Zutty Singleton, Louis Jordan, and Sabby Lewis. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Morgan played extensively with Buddy Banks in a duo. Morgan also appears on record with Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Jack Teagarden, Jay McShann, Red Allen, and T-Bone Walker. Al Morgan (musician) Albert Morgan (August 19, 1908 in New Orleans – April 14, 1974 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz double-bassist, who played