John Donald Abney (March 10, 1923 – January 20, 2000) was an American jazz pianist.

Early life

Abney was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. He studied piano and french horn at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. He joined the United States Army where he played the French horn in the army band and achieved the rank of technician fifth grade.

Later life and career

After returning from the army he played in ensembles with Wilbur de Paris, Bill Harris,

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

, Chuck Wayne, Sy Oliver, and Louis Bellson. He had a sustained career as a

session 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 ...

, playing on recordings for

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 ...

, Benny Carter, Oscar Pettiford, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae,

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

, and

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

. He also played on many recordings for more minor musicians and on R&B, pop, rock, and

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

releases. After moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, he worked as a musical director for Universal Studios/MCA. He appeared as a pianist in the film '' Pete Kelly's Blues'' behind Ella Fitzgerald. Additional credits include recording and arrangements for the film ''Lady Sings the Blues''. He toured with Anita O'Day in the 1980s. Early in the 1990s, he moved to Japan and toured there with considerable success, playing weekly at the Sanno Hotel in Tokyo. Upon his return to the United States on January 20 2000, he died of complications from

kidney dialysis Kidney dialysis (from Greek , , 'dissolution'; from , , 'through', and , , 'loosening or splitting') is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions natura ...

in Los Angeles, California. He was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery, in Burbank, California. He is survived by 5 children.

Discography

As sideman

With Ella Fitzgerald *''Ella at Zardi's'' (Verve, 2017) With Louis Bellson *''

Louis Bellson Quintet ''Louis Bellson Quintet'' (also released as ''Concerto for Drums by Louis Bellson'') is an album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in 1954 for the Norgran label.Drumorama! ''Drumorama!'' is an album by American jazz drummer Louis Bellson featuring performances recorded in 1957 for the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) *'' Louis Bellson at The Flamingo'' (Verve, 1957) With Benny Carter *''

Benny Carter Plays Pretty ''Benny Carter Plays Pretty'' (also released as ''Moonglow'') is an album by jazz saxophonist Benny Carter that was recorded in 1954 and released by Norgran Records.New Jazz Sounds ''New Jazz Sounds'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Benny Carter featuring trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and trombonist Bill Harris recorded in 1954 and originally released on the Norgran label.Harry Edison *'' "Sweets" for the Sweet'' (Sue, 1964) With Carmen McRae *''

Birds of a Feather ''Birds of a Feather'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC One from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998, then revived on ITV from 2 January 2014 to 24 December 2020. The series stars Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, with Lesley Jos ...

'' (Decca, 1958) With Oscar Pettiford *'' Another One'' (Bethlehem, 1955) With Al Sears *''

Rockin' in Rhythm "Rockin' in Rhythm" is a jazz instrumental originally performed by Duke Ellington and his big band, and credited to Ellington, Harry Carney and Irving Mills. It was first recorded in January 1931 at the Cotton Club. Later recordings Ellington late ...

'' (Swingville, 1960) as The Swingville All-Stars with

Taft Jordan Taft Jordan (February 15, 1915 – December 1, 1981) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career He was born in Florence, South Carolina, United States. Jordan played early in his career with the Washboard Rhythm Kings, before becoming a me ...

and Hilton Jefferson *'' Swing's the Thing'' (Swingsville, 1960) With Carol Sloane *'' As Time Goes By'' (Four Star, 1990)

References

* Don Abneyat Allmusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Abney, Don 1923 births 2000 deaths Musicians from Baltimore American jazz pianists American male pianists American session musicians 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Maryland 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians United States Army soldiers