Ralph Martin (pianist)
Ralph Lawrence Martin (born October 28, 1926 in Paterson , New Jersey , † April 18, 2018 in Gulfport , Mississippi ) was an American musician ( piano , arrangement ) of modern jazz and easy listening .
Life
Martin started playing the piano at the age of six. He did his military service in the US Navy and was deployed in the South Pacific during World War II. There he played in his own group until 1946. After the war he attended Syracuse University (1946-48), the University of Miami Music School (1948-50) and the Juilliard School (1950/51). He studied piano and saxophone there and graduated in composition . He then moved to New York City, where he had lessons from Henry Brant and became a member of the Local 802 musicians' union. In the following years he worked mainly as a soloist in clubs and lounges. He also worked with Don Elliott , with whose quintet the first recordings were made in 1954, and also with Louis Bellson and Sal Salvador . He also toured Europe in 1957; with the American Jazz Group (with Jim Fleming , Lenny Hambro , Ronnie Craig , Jim Thorpe , Miroslaw Ufnalewski ) he made guest appearances in Warsaw. A performance in the Soviet Union was prevented by the local authorities by detaining the members of the group in a train wagon for several days.
After returning to the United States, Martin worked with Eddie Shu , Buddy Rich , Zoot Sims , Al Cohn , Kai Winding , Bobby Hackett and Terry Gibbs , as backing musicians with vocalists Anita O'Day , Jackie Paris , Helen Merrill , Sue Ramey , Anne Marie Moss , Tony Bennett , Johnny Mathis and Johnny Desmond . In the field of jazz he was involved in five recording sessions between 1954 and 1963.
Ralph Martin's brother was Don Martin , who became known as a cartoonist for the satirical magazine Mad . The pianist should not be confused with the American doo-wop singer of the same name (1935–2010).
literature
- Leonard Feather : The Encyclopedia of Jazz . Bonanza, New York 1960, ISBN 0-517-01421-1 , pp. 324 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Obituary. Legacy.com, April 27, 2018, accessed April 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Ralph Martin at Discogs (English)
- ↑ Leonardo Acosta: Cubano Be, Cubano Bop: One Hundred Years of Jazz in Cuba . Smithsonian Institution, 2016
- ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed April 28, 2018)
- ↑ Stephen Spotte: The Smoking Horse: A Memoir in Pieces . 2012, page 103
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Martin, Ralph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Martin, Ralph Lawrence (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician (piano, arrangement) of modern jazz and easy listening |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paterson , New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 18, 2018 |
| Place of death | Gulfport , Mississippi |