Dick Katz (jazz pianist, 1924)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Aaron "Dick" Katz (born March 13, 1924 in Baltimore , Maryland ; † November 10, 2009 in Manhattan , New York ) was an American jazz musician ( piano , composition , arrangement ), who was also important as a music journalist and producer would have. He was a co-founder of Milestone Records .

Life

Katz first studied music at the University of North Carolina before enlisting in the Navy in 1942, where he was involved in the Battle of Saipan . After the end of World War II, he moved to New York City , where he worked for his father's advertising agency and played with Ben Webster in 1948 . He also studied at the Peabody Institute , at the Manhattan School of Music (music theory and composition) and had piano lessons with Teddy Wilson at the Juilliard School .

In the early 1950s he starred in Minton's Playhouse with Tony Scott , with whom he also recorded. Then he was a member of the house band at Café Bohemia in New York , where he also accompanied Miles Davis . Then he played u. a. with Al Casey and worked in the bands of Ben Webster , Kenny Dorham , Oscar Pettiford and later with Carmen McRae . From 1954 to 1955 he was a member of the quintet of JJ Johnson and Kai Winding ("Jay And Kai").

Katz played in the 1960s with Jim Hall and in the Orchestra USA (1964/65). he worked on Benny Carter's Impulse album Further Definitions and accompanied the singer Helen Merrill on her European tour in 1964 and on recordings ( The Feeling Is Mutual , 1965), for which he also arranged. In the late 1960s he played with Roy Eldridge and Lee Konitz ; In 1968 his album A Shade of a Difference was created . In the 1970s his collaboration with Konitz continued; He also played with Teo Macero , Sonny Stitt and again with Kai Winding, worked as a jazz teacher and producer. In 1966 he founded the Milestone Records label with Orrin Keepnews .

In the 1990s, Katz worked as a pianist and arranger with the American Jazz Orchestra and Loren Schoenberg's Big Band . In 1992 he recorded two albums for the Reservoir label, on which Benny Golson , Ryan Kisor , Steve LaSpina and Ben Riley participated. As an author, he contributed fundamental chapters to Felix C. Lowe's anthology, Jazz Piano (1989).

Katz died of complications from lung cancer .

Discographic notes

Albums under your own name

Albums as a sideman

  • Kai Winding & JJ Johnson: Kai And Jay And Bennie Green with Strings (OJC, 1952–54)
  • Kai Winding & JJ Johnson: K & JJ (Bethlehem, 1955)
  • Milt Hinton : East Coast Jazz / 5 (Rhino, 1955)
  • Kenny Dorham: Kenny Dorham and the Jazz Prophets (Chess, 1956)
  • Sonny Rollins : Sonny Rollins And the Big Brass (Verve, 1958)
  • Benny Carter: Further Definitions (Impulse !, 1961–1966)
  • Ben Webster: Big Ben Time! (Philips, 1963)
  • Ben Webster: Remember ( Mercury 1967)
  • Lee Konitz: The Lee Konitz Duets (OJC, 1967)
  • Lee Konitz: Satori (OJC, 1974)
  • Ruby Braff : The There Eyes ( Sonet Records , 1976)
  • Helen Merrill: Chasin 'the Bird (Emarcy, 1979)
  • Jimmy Knepper : Dream Dancing (Criss Cross, 1986)
  • Nancy Harrow : Secrets (Soul Note, 1990/91)
  • Loren Schoenberg: Out of This World (TBC; 1997)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary New York Times November 13, 2009
  2. ↑ Jazz Piano. A Smithsonian Collection
personal data
SURNAME Katz, Dick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Katz, Richard Aaron
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician (piano, composition, arrangement) and music publicist and producer
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Baltimore , Maryland
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 2009
Place of death Manhattan , New York