Jerome Richardson

Jerome Richardson (born November 15, 1920 in Oakland , California , † June 23, 2000 in Englewood , New Jersey ) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist who mastered the various instruments of both families with virtuosity.

Live and act

Richardson, who grew up with adoptive parents, began playing the saxophone at the age of eight. He studied music at San Francisco State College and also performed with musicians such as Ben Watkins and Wilbert Baranco . An engagement as an alto saxophonist with Jimmy Lunceford was broken up because he was drafted into military service. During his military service from 1942 to 1945 he played in a dance band of the Kriegsmarine under Marshall Royal .

His first solo recordings on the flute were made under Lionel Hampton , to whose band he belonged from 1949 to 1951. Then he led his own combo, which u. a. George Morrow , and was a member of Earl Hines' band until 1954 . He then performed with Lucky Millinder , Cootie Williams , Oscar Pettiford , Chico Hamilton , Gerry Mulligan and Gerald Wilson and went on a European tour in 1959/60 as a member of the Quincy Jones Big Band . In the next few years he mainly worked as a studio musician and developed into a master of the soprano saxophone in the 1960s, but continued to play the baritone saxophone (e.g. in 1962 at the Townhall Concert by Charles Mingus and in 1989 with Epitaph ) . 1963/64 he worked on the album The Individualism of Gil Evans .

From 1969 to 1970 he was a member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra . Then he went to Hollywood , where he mainly worked as a studio musician. In 1984 he was brought in by Quincy Jones, along with other jazz greats, to record the album LA is My Lady with Frank Sinatra .

Discographic notes

• Midnight Oil (OJC, 1958) with Hank Jones , Joe Benjamin , Kenny Burrell , Charli Persip
• Quincy Jones: This Is How I Feel About Jazz (1956)
• Jerome Richardson Sextet (1958)
• Roamin 'with Richardson (OJC, 1959) with Richard Wyands , George Tucker , Charli Persip
• Going to the Movies with Richard Wyands, Les Spann , Grady Tate , Henry Grimes , 1962
• Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady , Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus , ( Impulse! Records , 1963)
• Groove Merchant with Alan Raph , Warren Smith , Chuck Rainey , Buddy Lucas , Grady Tate , Snooky Young , Joe Newman , Carl Lynch , Eric Gale , 1967
• Frank Sinatra: LA is My Lady with Quincy Jones, u. a.
• Jazz Station Runaway with Russell Malone , Lewis Nash , Frank Colon , Dennis Mackrel , George Mraz , Howard Aiden , 1996

literature

• Peter Westbrook The Flute in Jazz: Window on World Music Harmonia Books, Rockville 2011, pp. 22-28; ISBN 978-0-615-31087-9 (2nd edition)

Web links

• obituary
• Jerome Richardson at Allmusic (English)