10 July 1916, Hartford, Connecticut, USA, d. 6 April 1994, Glendale, California, USA.
     A formally trained violinist, Cary played with a local symphony orchestra while still in his teens but by the early 40s was regularly playing piano in various Dixieland bands, notably those led by Joe Marsala and Wild Bill Davison.  Around this time Cary also arranged music for Benny Goodman and other big bands of the day, playing briefly with the Casa Loma Orchestra, but his heart was in the more traditional areas of jazz. Throughout the 40s he worked extensively, sometimes as a soloist, occasionally with Muggsy Spanier, Eddie Condon and Davison.  In 1947 he became a founder-member of Louis Armstrong's All Stars but left, ostensibly pleading boredom, to advance his musical studies.  From the 50s Cary worked as a freelance, arranged and played with a wide range of artists, always exhibiting considerable skill and refusing to compromise his exacting standards.  In addition to his keyboard skills he also practised trumpet, trombone and alto horn. He relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 1959, where he also arranged as well as playing with top-flight Dixieland teams.  His scores, often accentuated by oboes and bassoons, included a transcription of Bix Beiderbecke's "In A Mist" for Jimmy McPartland.  The band Tuesday Night Friends continue the legacy alive today.