Ernest Mitchell Andrews Jr. (December 25, 1927 – February 21, 2022) 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 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and pop singer.

Life and career

Andrews was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, but grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and is said to have been discovered by songwriter

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1 ...

in 1945. Greene wrote his biggest hit, "Soothe Me". He was a member of the

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

orchestra, debuting on November 26, 1958, at the Blue Note jazz club in Chicago. He recorded with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and others.
His career declined in the 1960s and 1970s but would rebound in the 1980s. He recorded with the Capp/Pierce Juggernaut Band,

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

, and the Harper Brothers. Andrews played a leading part in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, ''Blues for Central Avenue''. Andrews died on February 21, 2022, at the age of 94.

Discography

As leader

* ''In the Dark'' (GNP, 1957) * ''The Importance of Being Ernest'' (GNP, 1959) * '' Live Session! Cannonball Adderley with Ernie Andrews'' (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, 1965) * ''This Is Ernie Andrews'' ( Dot, 1967; CD reissue:

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 2005) * ''Soul Proprietor'' (Dot, 1968) * ''Ernie Andrews Sings with the Fuzzy Kane Trio'' (Phil-L.A. of Soul, 1970) * ''Travelin' Light'' (

GNP Crescendo The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

1975) compilation * ''Hear Me Now!'' (LMI, 1979) * ''Sings from the Heart'' (

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

, 1981) * ''No Regrets'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, 1993; CD reissue: 32 Jazz, 1998) * ''The Great City'' (Muse, 1995) * ''The Many Faces of Ernie Andrews'' (

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

, 1998) * ''Girl Talk'' (HighNote, 2001) * ''Jump For Joy'' (HighNote, 2003) * ''How About Me'' (HighNote, 2006)

As sideman

With

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

* '' Ellington Is Forever'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, 1975) * ''

Ellington Is Forever Volume Two ''Ellington Is Forever Volume Two'' is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label.Frank Capp Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous rock and roll sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography ...

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

* Frank Capp & Nat Pierce: ''Juggernaut'' (

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, 1977) * The Frank Capp-Nat Pierce Orchestra: ''Juggernaut Strikes Again!'' (Concord, 1982) With

* "Blue Baiao" b/w "She's Got to Go" 5rpm single(

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, 1959) Andrews sings on the B-side * ''Live at the Riverboat'' ( Dot, 1966) * ''Our Leader!'' (Dot, 1967) * ''Duke Ellington, Harry James, Herb Pomeroy, Jon Hendricks'' (Europa Jazz, 1981). Live with Harry James & His Orchestra at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1965 * ''One Night Stand with Harry James at the Blue Note'' (Joyce, 1983) With others * Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, ''The L.A. Treasures Project: Live at Alvas Showroom'' with Barbara Morrison (

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

, 2014) * Bob Cooper and

Snooky Young Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young (February 3, 1919 – May 11, 2011) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds. Biography Young was lead trumpeter of t ...

, ''In a Mellotone'' (

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

, 1986) *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, ''Live at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre'' (Phillip, 1998 001 2-CD * The Harper Brothers, ''You Can Hide Inside the Music'' (Verve, 1992) *

& the Philip Morris Superband, ''Live at Town Hall, N.Y.C.'' (Concord, 1989) * Gene Harris & the Philip Morris All-Stars, ''Live'' (Concord, 1998) *

Al Hibbler Albert George Hibbler (August 16, 1915 – April 24, 2001) was an American baritone vocalist, who sang with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having several pop hits as a solo artist. Some of Hibbler's singing is classified as rhythm and blue ...

, I Surrender Dear (Score laddin subsidiary 1957) *

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

, ''Christmas in Hollywood'' (Carell, 2000) * Saskia Laroo, '' Sunset Eyes 2000'' (Laroo, 1999) * The Legacy Band, ''The Legacy Lives On'' (

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

, 2000) *

& the Paris All-Stars, ''Paris All-Star Blues: A Tribute to Charlie Parker'' (MusicMasters/BMG;

Musical Heritage Society Musical Heritage Society was an American mail-order record label founded in New York City in 1962 by Michael "Mischa" Naida (1900–1991), co-founder of Westminster Records, and T. C. Fry Jr. (1926–1996). Background After a small initial group ...

, 1991)

References

External links

* *
LA Times notice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Ernie 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians American jazz singers American blues singers Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from Philadelphia American soul musicians Dot Records artists Muse Records artists Singers from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut members Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra members Aladdin Records artists HighNote Records artists