Richard Durant Cary (July 10, 1916 – April 6, 1994) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

trumpeter, composer and arranger. He was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, United States. Cary earned a bachelor's degree in music from Wesleyan University in 1938 and started working in Connecticut and New York. He landed full-time solo work at Nick's in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

in New York City in 1941 (through 1943) and played with

Joe Marsala Joseph Francis Marsala (January 4, 1907 – March 4, 1978) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter. His younger brother was trumpeter Marty Marsala and he was married to jazz harpist Adele Girard. Music career He was born in Ch ...

in 1942. In 1943, he also worked as a staff

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

for

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

and played with the

Casa Loma Orchestra The Casa Loma Orchestra was an American dance band active from 1929 to 1963. Until the rapid multiplication in the number of swing bands from 1935 on, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the top North American dance bands. With the decline of the b ...

and

Brad Gowans Arthur Bradford "Brad" Gowans (December 3, 1903, Billerica, Massachusetts – September 8, 1954, Los Angeles) was an American jazz trombonist and reedist. Gowans' earliest work was on the Dixieland jazz scene, playing with the Rhapsody Make ...

. During a stint in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1944-46 stationed on Long Island, he managed to continue recording with

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swing ...

and

Wild Bill Davison William Edward Davison (January 5, 1906 – November 14, 1989), nicknamed "Wild Bill", was an American jazz cornetist. He emerged in the 1920s through his work playing alongside Muggsy Spanier and Frank Teschemacher in a cover band where they p ...

among others. After his discharge he worked with

Billy Butterfield Charles William Butterfield (January 14, 1917 – March 18, 1988) was an American jazz bandleader, trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. Early years Charles William Butterfield was born in Middletown, Ohio and attended high school in Wyoming ...

, then was pianist in the initial formation of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's All-Stars in 1947–48. In 1949–50 he was in

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

's orchestra, and in the 1950s worked with

Eddie Condon Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang. Early years Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...

Pee Wee Russell Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell (March 27, 1906 – February 15, 1969), was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet. With a highly individualistic and sp ...

, Max Kaminsky,

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sch ...

Jimmy McPartland James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married to ...

, and starting in 1957 a long-term collaboration with

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

at the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York. When that engagement ended in 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, where he became an active freelance, touring, and

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. He also began writing and arranging music for the Tuesday Night Friends, who convened at his home every Tuesday for decades, a tradition that continued following his passing. The band was rarely heard by the public except for annual appearances at the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival and Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. In the latter days of his life some of these rehearsals were recorded, forming the basis of the posthumous release ''Dick Cary and His Tuesday Night Friends Playing Dick Cary Originals''. The ongoing group, directed by Dick Hamilton, recorded the album ''Dick Cary's Tuesday Night Friends: Catching Up'' in 1997. Cary also provided an extended interview to Floyd Levin in 1991. His life is the subject of the bio-discography ''Strictly a Musician: Dick Cary'' by Derek Coller, published in 2012. Dick Cary died in April 1994, in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, at the age of 77.

Discography

As leader * ''Dixieland Goes Progressive'' (Golden Crest, 1957) * ''Hot and Cool'' (Stereo-Craft, 1958) * ''Dick Cary & His Dixieland Doodlers'' ( Columbia, 1959) * ''The Amazing Dick Cary'' (Riff, 1975) * ''California Doings'' (1981) * ''Dick Cary & His Tuesday Night Friends'' ( Arbors, 1996) * ''Catching Up'' (Klavier, 1999) * ''Got Swing?'' (Arbors, 2001) As sideman * 1947 ''Town Hall Concert: The Unissued Part'',

* 1950 ''Dixie by Dorsey'',

* 1953 ''Jam Session: Coast to Coast'',

* 1954 ''Satchmo at Symphony Hall'', Louis Armstrong * 1955 ''Bixieland'', Eddie Condon * 1955 ''Jazz Great'',

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

* 1956 ''Barbara Lea'', Barbara Lea * 1956 ''My Memories of You'',

Maxine Sullivan Maxine Sullivan (May 13, 1911 – April 7, 1987), born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer. As a vocalist, Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just be ...

/Jack Teagarden * 1956 ''We're in the Money'',

* 1957 ''

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

'' * 1957 ''Dixieland Heaven'',

Lee Castle Lee Castle (February 28, 1915 – November 16, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He was born Lee Aniello Castaldo, and performed under this name early in his career. His first major professional job was with Joe Haymes in 1935 ...

* 1957 ''Gotham Jazz Scene'',

* 1958 ''

Rendezvous with Rex ''Rendezvous with Rex'' is an album by cornetist Rex Stewart which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

(Felsted) * 1958 ''

Henderson Homecoming ''Henderson Homecoming'' is a live album performed by cornetist Rex Stewart with the Fletcher Henderson Alumni that was recorded at the Great South Bay Jazz Festival in 1958 and released on the United Artists label.Edwards, D., Eyries, P. & Calla ...

'' Rex Stewart (United Artists) * 1959 ''Rumpus on Rampart Street'',

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

* 1960 ''Play TV Themes'',

* 1962 ''Midnight in Moscow'', Eddie Condon * 1964 ''In Japan'', Eddie Condon * 1965 ''That Happy Dixieland Jazz'', Jimmy McPartland * 1973 ''Clarinet Gumbo'',

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Ale ...

* 1978 ''Midnight Believer'',

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

* 1980 ''Pee Wee in Hollywood'',

Pee Wee Erwin George "Pee Wee" Erwin (May 30, 1913 – June 20, 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography He was born in Falls City, Nebraska, United States. Erwin started on trumpet at age four. He played in several territory bands before joining the gr ...

* 1994 ''1936–1942'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cary, Dick 1916 births 1994 deaths American jazz horn players American jazz pianists American male pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians United States Army personnel of World War II Columbia Records artists Arbors Records artists