Richard Sudhalter
Richard Merrill "Dick" Sudhalter (born December 28, 1938 in Boston , Massachusetts , † September 19, 2008 in Manhattan , New York ) was an American trumpeter ( cornet ) of traditional jazz and jazz author, journalist and jazz historian.
Life
Sudhalter grew up in Newton, Massachusetts . His father played the alto saxophone, and Sudhalter began learning the cornet when he was 12. As a teenager he played in Boston nightclubs. He then studied music and English literature at Oberlin College . In 1960 he went to Europe (England, Austria, Germany), where he worked simultaneously as a musician and journalist (sometimes under the pseudonym Art Napoleon). 1964 to 1972 he worked for United Press International in London and u. a. their correspondent during the crackdown on the Prague Spring in 1968, reporting on Great Britain, Yugoslavia and Germany. He also played with his "Anglo American All Stars" and helped to build the "New Paul Whiteman Orchestra" in England. He also wrote as a freelancer for Newsweek and other magazines. He also used the pseudonym Art Napoleon in jazz magazines .
He played u. a. with Ben Webster , Dexter Gordon , Vic Dickenson , Pee Wee Russell , Roger Kellaway and with his role model Bobby Hackett on his England tour. After his return to the USA he worked as a freelancer a. a. with the “New York Jazz Repertory Company” and the “Classic Jazz Quartet” (with Dick Wellstood and Marty Grosz ) as well as own groups (a New Paul Whiteman Orchestra, “Primus Inter Pares Jazz Ensemble”). He also wrote for the " New York Post " and had his own radio show on American Public Radio about traditional jazz from the "Vineyard Theater" in New York. He toured Europe regularly until the 2000s.
Sudhalter was also known for his books on jazz history. In 1974 he published his much acclaimed biography (with co-authors Philip Evans and William Dean-Myatt) about Bix Beiderbecke "Bix - Man and Legend" (he played Beiderbecke's solos on his tour with Hackett). In 1999 his "Lost Chords - White Musicians And Their Contribution to Jazz 1915-1945" was published. In 2001 "Stardust Melody", his biography of Hoagy Carmichael (for whom he also arranged a tribute concert in 1979), was released. He received several Grammys for Liner Notes in the 1980s .
As a concert promoter, he played a decisive role in shaping the Nice jazz festivals in the mid-1970s - as the extended arm of festival impresario George Wein , he combined new and often daring compositions from the musicians present every day, which mostly produced results that were worth listening to.
In 2003 he suffered severe strokes, then continued teaching at Dix Hills College in New York, but then fell ill with multiple system atrophy (MSA). Several benefit concerts were held for his hospital expenses.
The saxophonist Carol Sudhalter is his sister.
literature
- M. Kunzler "Jazz-Lexikon" vol. 2. Reinbek 2002
- Richard Sudhalter Lost Chords: White musicians and their contribution to Jazz 1915-1945 , Oxford University Press 1999
- Richard Sudhalter Stardust Melody: the life and music of Hoagy Carmichael , Oxford University Press 2002
- Richard Sudhalter, Philip R. Evans Bix. Man and Legend , Quartet Books 1974
Web links
- Richard Sudhalter at Allmusic (English)
- Obituary New York Times
- Richard Sudhalter at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sudhalter, Richard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sudhalter, Richard Merrill (full name); Sudhalter, Dick (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American traditional jazz trumpeter (cornet) and jazz author, journalist and jazz historian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Boston , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 19, 2008 |
| Place of death | Manhattan , New York |