Pony Poindexter

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Norwood "Pony" Poindexter (born February 8, 1926 in New Orleans , Louisiana, † April 14, 1988 in Oakland , California) was an American jazz musician ( soprano saxophone , alto saxophone and tenor saxophone , clarinet and vocals ).

Live and act

Poindexter began playing the clarinet at the age of seven and played in a rhythm and blues band at the age of twelve . He eventually switched to alto and then soprano saxophone and began his career in 1940 with Sidney Desvigne , then played in San Francisco with Jerome Richardson and accompanied Billy Eckstine in 1947/48 and 1950 . He also attended the Candell Conservatory of Music in Oakland in 1948/49 . In 1950 he played in the Quartet of Vernon Alley , 1951/52 with Lionel Hampton and 1952 with Stan Kenton . After that, Poindexter had his own groups and also played with Dexter Gordon , Charlie Parker , Nat King Cole , T-Bone Walker and Jimmy Witherspoon on the west coast. From 1959 he worked with the Montgomery brothers and Jon Hendricks and from 1961 to 1963 was a member of the ensemble of Lambert , Hendricks & Ross , with whom he performed at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival .

In 1963 he and his quartet released their first album Pony's Express under their own name and a live album Live at the Basin Street East . In 1964 Poindexter moved to Europe, worked in Paris with Kenny Clarke, among others, and played from Barcelona and later from Ibiza with countless musicians on festivals and tours. The album Annie Ross & Pony Poindexter was recorded at the 10th German Jazz Festival in 1967 . In 1969 he recorded The Happy Life of Pony . He lived in Germany in the 1970s. In 1977 he returned to San Francisco. In 1985 his autobiography Pony Express was published .

Poindexter provided decisive impulses for the establishment of the soprano saxophone in modern jazz. His saxophone style is strongly influenced by the blues and processes influences from Charlie Parker, but also from Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Dorsey . As a singer he is influenced by Eddie Jefferson .

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cit. according to Kunzler, p. 930
personal data
SURNAME Poindexter, pony
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Poindexter, Norwood
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist
DATE OF BIRTH February 8, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans , Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH April 14, 1988
Place of death Oakland , California