Adapting and surviving the unforeseeable trials and tribulations of the Great Depression in the 1930s and early 1940s were painful and disheartening for all that experienced it. Despite these horrible economic times, Buffalo born-and-bred, first-generation Italian America Sam Noto persevered and never gave up on his dream to become a jazz trumpet player. 

Everyone, including his family, thought trumpeting was “his pipe dream,” but Noto’s burning desire to succeed motivated him to eventually achieve recognition as a world-class jazz trumpet virtuoso. “When it comes to jazz trumpet players, one man’s achievements eclipses them all.