Jimmy Forrest
James Robert "Jimmy" Forrest, Jr. (Born January 24, 1920 in St. Louis , Missouri , † August 26, 1980 in Grand Rapids , Michigan ) was an American jazz musician ( tenor saxophonist ).
Live and act
Forrest became famous for his composition Night Train and was long considered a typical rhythm and blues tenor saxophonist. He combined stylistic elements from Coleman Hawkins , Ben Webster and Chu Berry with the melodic elegance of Lester Young .
Jimmy Forrest played with Dewey Jackson , Fate Marable and the Jeter-Pillars Band in the 1930s . He came to New York in 1940 with Jay McShann and played with Andy Kirk (1941–47). After founding his own ensemble in St. Louis , he worked as successor to Ben Webster at Duke Ellington from 1949-50 and again had his own groups. From 1951 he recorded in Chicago for United / Delmark for the first time under his own name and played from 1958 to 1960 with Harry Sweets Edison . Forrest composed the piece "Night Train" and Ellington's "Happy-Go-Lucky Local". In the course of his career he made recordings with Miles Davis , with groups from the circle of Edison and Buck Clayton , with Bennie Green and the Prestige Blues Swingers . From 1973 to 1977 he was a soloist in the Count Basie Band . From 1977 until shortly before his death, Forrest performed regularly with his former Basie colleague, trombonist Al Gray .
Discographic notes
- Night Train ( Delmark , 1951-53)
- All the Gin is Gone (Delmark, 1959); Black Forrest (Delmark, 1959) with Grant Green, Harold Mabern, Gene Ramey , Elvin Jones
- Sit Down And Relax with Jimmy Forrest (Prestige / OJC, 1961) with Hugh Lawson , Calvin Newborn , Tommy Potter
- Soul Street (OJC, 1961) with Art Farmer , Idrees Sulieman , Jimmy Cleveland , King Curtis , Oliver Nelson , Seldon Powell , Pepper Adams
- Live At Rick’s 1980, with Al Gray
- OD (1980, with Al Gray)
literature
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
- Martin Kunzler : Jazz-Lexikon , Reinbek, Rowohlt, 1988.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Forrest, Jimmy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Forrest, James Robert Jr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz musician (tenor saxophonist) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 24, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 26, 1980 |
| Place of death | Grand Rapids , Michigan |