Russell Procope
Russell Procope (born August 11, 1908 in New York City , † January 21, 1981 ) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist , known for his long membership in Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was alongside Jimmy Hamilton as a soloist Clarinetist could be heard.
The early years
Procope grew up in San Juan Hill, Manhattan , where he went to school with Benny Carter . His first instrument was the violin , which he played at the age of six, then he switched to the clarinet and the alto saxophone . He began playing professionally at the age of twenty, first with Billy Freeman in 1926 and with Jelly Roll Morton in 1928, then played with bands from Benny Carter, Chick Webb , Fletcher Henderson , Tiny Bradshaw , Teddy Hill and Willie Bryant .
In 1938, Procope replaced Pete Brown in John Kirby's sextet, in which he played alto saxophone until 1945 (with a brief interruption due to his conscription to the US Army). Procope first became known through his work at Kirby. In 1938 he played in the studio band of the "jazz baron" Timme Rosenkrantz .
In the Ellington Band and after
Procope joined the Ellington Orchestra in 1946 after taking Otto Hardwick's place for a gig in Worcester, Massachusetts , and remained with the band until Ellington's death in 1974. Like all members of the Ellington wind group (except for alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves ) Procope played both saxophone and clarinet, and this was the instrument Ellington preferred to use. Although he was a skilled saxophonist on both tenor and alto saxophone, Procope was most admired for his clarinet solos, a warm contrast to the wind section around Jimmy Hamilton . The contrast between the two clarinetists can be heard on Ellington's three-part suite "Idiom '59"; Ellington let Procope do the solo for the slower opening part before Hamilton played his first clarinet solo and the transition blues solo to the more swinging second part. Procope was also personally highly regarded by Ellington and the band members for his reliability, as Ellington wrote in his autobiography Music is My Mistress , "an utterly sober and reliable musician, always to be depended upon."
After Ellington's death, Procope toured with the Brooks Kerr Trio and played with Sonny Greer . From 1970 to 1973 he won the Down Beat Critic's Poll. In 1976 he played with Wild Bill Davis and Chris Barber in England.
In addition to recordings with the Duke Ellington Band, Russell Procope also recorded albums with Billy Strayhorn , Ella Fitzgerald , Fletcher Henderson , John Kirby , Lionel Hampton , maxine Sullivan and Teddy Hill .
Russell Procope incorporated influences from Omer Simeon , Sidney Bechet and Johnny Dodds in his clarinet style , but above all from his predecessor at Ellington: Barney Bigard . His playing on the alto saxophone is influenced by Benny Carter and Hilton Jefferson .
literature
- Jazz: the Rough Guide (2nd edition). The Rough Guides, 2000. ISBN 1-85828-528-3
- Russell Procope - by Scott Yanow for the All Music Guide
Individual evidence
- ^ John S. Wilson: Russell Procope, 72, Clarinetist with Ellington 29 Years, Dead . In: The New York Times . January 23, 1981, ISSN 0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed June 13, 2020]).
- ↑ cit. according to Kunzler, p. 945
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Procope, Russell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bank, Daniel Bernard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 11, 1908 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 21, 1981 |
| Place of death | New York City |