Richie Kamuca

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard "Richie" Kamuca (* 23. July 1930 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania; † 22. July 1977 in Los Angeles , California) was an American jazz - tenor saxophonist .

Live and act

When Kamuca first heard Lester Young as a teenager , he asked his parents for a saxophone. He was then attending Mastbaum High School in Philadelphia; and his classmates and friends were Buddy DeFranco and Red Rodney . Richie played in the school orchestra and in a local dance band. His first tour took place in 1946, with his friend, Clifford Brown , who was only seventeen . They played with a rhythm section for two weeks in Newark (New Jersey) during the summer vacation . After that, Richie played with Philadelphia musicians like Ray Bryant , Red Garland , Specs Wright and Philly Joe Jones . In 1949 he played for two years in Stan Levey's band , which also included Garland and Nelson Boyd .

In his early years Kamuca played with bands Stan Kenton (1951–52, heard on his album New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm ) or Woody Herman (1954–55) Chet Baker and in 1957 with Maynard Ferguson . This year he created his first album under his own name for the small label Mode . He was a member of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars from 1957 to 1958 . In the 1958 melodrama Rivals , Kamuca had a small role as a member of a jazz band. Frank Sinatra , Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood were in the lead roles. In 1959 he played with Shorty Rogers and in the same year with Shelly Manne and his Men , of which he was a member until 1962. The concert recordings from the Black Hawk jazz club in San Francisco in 1959 will be remembered . He also recorded records with Manny Albam , Bill Perkins , Art Pepper , Johnny Richards , Jimmy Rowles and Cy Touff . Kamuca also released recordings under his own name. In 1962 Kamuca went to New York ; there he worked with Gerry Mulligan , Gary McFarland and Roy Eldridge . In 1972 he returned to the west coast and played there with local bands.

Richie Kamuca's playing has often been compared to Lester Young 's. He is counted among the leading exponents of West Coast Jazz , but also worked for a long time on the east coast of the USA .

Discographic notes

Albums as a leader

Albums as a sideman

literature

personal data
SURNAME Kamuca, Richie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kamuca, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1977
Place of death Los Angeles , California