During his bebop period, DeFranco also often led his own, excellent groups. (Video below.) Eventually bebop led to post-bop, and jazz continued to evolve into a lot of different sub-genres, but DeFranco was usually in the middle of most of it. When the popularity of jazz faded a little during the 1960s pop explosion, DeFranco took over as leader of the reconstituted Glenn Miller Orchestra and did a solid job for almost a decade.
In the years since, he's continued to appear occasionally as the leader of his own small jazz combos, has written a popular book, and has also lent support to the annual Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival. His honors include being named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, and induction into the American Jazz Hall of Fame.
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