Taswell Joseph Baird Jr. (June 24, 1922 - November 22, 2002) was an American jazz trombonist who towered among the pre-eminent trombonists of bebop's heyday, collaborating with giants including Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
Born in St. Louis, Baird -- often called "Little Joe" per his middle name -- acquired his first trombone at age 12 and by his mid-teens was regularly touring throughout the Midwest, making his recorded debut on an April 30, 1941, Dallas-based session headlined by Jay McShann and featuring Parker on alto saxophone. Baird remained with McShann through a July 1942 session in New York City. In 1943 he joined Andy Kirk and His Clouds Of Joy.
The trombonist made the Big Apple his permanent home and in early 1944 joined Louis Armstrong's orchestra, later that same year backing singer Billy Eckstine for a session that also featured such emerging greats as trumpeter Gillespie, tenorists Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons, and drummer Art Blakey.
Baird later rejoined Gillespie for a November 12, 1946, session for Musicraft as well as the trumpeter's now-legendary September 29, 1947, big-band performance at Carnegie Hall. He also toured with Lena Horne. In the field of jazz, he was involved in 33 recording sessions between 1941 and 1947. But a long battle with drugs undermined Baird's ascent, and while he continued to find work as a touring musician, his run as a session player was largely over by the late '40s.
Little is known of his life until the late '70s, when he settled in Oakland, CA. In the autumn of his years Baird moved into a retirement home and took up piano when his lips could no longer finesse his trombone. During an interview with his daughter, she said “that he still loved to listen to Jazz and meeting with musician friends at clubs. He used a motorized scooter to get around because of arthritis in his legs. He was still active and often ran errands for other senior citizens. He loved to tell stories about his 50 years on the road or teach other residents about musical instruments. He was well known for his collection of Jazz records.”
He was vaulted back into the headlines under tragic circumstances in 2002, when three attackers threw him from his wheelchair, beat him, and robbed him of 80 dollars. After three weeks in the Oakland hospital, California, Baird died November 22, 2002, at the age of 80. His grim demise was the subject of headlines and outrage throughout the Bay Area and across the jazz world.
(Scant information edited from All Music, Trombone USA & Wikipedia)
P.S. It seems that here is only one photograph of Little Joe on the internet.