Thomas James "Tommy" Ladnier (May 28, 1900 – June 4, 1939) was an American jazz trumpeter. French jazz critic Hugues Panassié rated him second only to Louis Armstrong.Ladnier was born in Mandeville, Louisiana across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. He played in the local Independence Band led by clarinetist Isidore Fritz (a.k.a. Frick) from c. 1914. Trumpeter Bunk Johnson sometimes also played with this band and gave young Ladnier tuition. In 1917, he moved with his mother to Chicago.