Gene Ramey (April 4, 1913 – December 8, 1984) 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 m ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

ist. Ramey was born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, United States, and played trumpet in college, but switched to contrabass when playing with George Corley's Royal Aces, The Moonlight Serenaders, and Terrence Holder. In 1932, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri and took up the bass, studying with Walter Page. He became a fixture on the Kansas City

swing jazz Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

scene in the 1930s, and played with

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 ...

's orchestra from 1938 to 1943. In 1944, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he played with

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Hot Lips Page Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist. Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sha ...

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

(as a member of Monk’s first trio in 1947, together with drummer Art Blakey),Texas State Historical Association
Retrieved 2012-08-27 and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

. He transitioned into the

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

style ably, but also continued to play in more swing-oriented outfits. Later in his life he toured Europe with

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...

, and played 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 swin ...

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

Dick Wellstood Richard MacQueen Wellstood (November 25, 1927 – July 24, 1987) was an American jazz pianist. Career He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. Wellstood's mother was a graduate of the Juilliard School who played church organ. Wellst ...

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

, and

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

, in addition to doing several reunion gigs with McShann. In 1976, he moved back to Texas, playing occasionally up until his death from a heart attack in 1984.

Discography

As sideman

With

* ''

Songs for Swingers ''Songs for Swingers'' is an album by trumpeter Buck Clayton which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Columbia label.Buck & Buddy'' (Swingville, 1960) * ''

One for Buck ''One for Buck'' is an album by trumpeter Buck Clayton which was recorded in 1961 and released on the British Columbia label.Buck & Buddy Blow the Blues'' (Swingville, 1961) * '' Copenhagen Concert'' (SteepleChase, 1979) With others *

Buster Bailey William C. "Buster" Bailey (July 19, 1902 – April 12, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career history Early career Buster Bailey was taught clarinet by classical teacher Franz Schoepp, who also taught Benny Goodman. Bailey gained his s ...

, ''

All About Memphis ''All About Memphis'' is an album by clarinetist Buster Bailey which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.

'' (Felsted, 1958) *

, ''

Basie Jazz ''Basie Jazz'' is an album by pianist/bandleader Count Basie recorded in 1952 and released on the Clef label in 1954.The Swinging Count! ''The Swinging Count!'' is an album by jazz pianist Count Basie in small group sessions recorded in 1952 and released in 1956 on the Clef label.Johnny Costa Johnny Costa (born John Costanza; January 18, 1922 – October 11, 1996) was an American jazz pianist. Given the title "The White Art Tatum" by jazz legend Art Tatum, Costa is best known for his work as musical director of the children's televisi ...

, ''The Amazing Johnny Costa'' (Savoy, 1955) *

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

and Joe Thomas, ''Mainstream'' (Atlantic, 1958) *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (Columbia, 1963) * Jimmy Forrest, '' All the Gin Is Gone'' (Delmark, 1965) * Stan Getz, '' Stan Getz Quartets'' (Prestige, 1955) *

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, ''Dexter Rides Again'' (Savoy, 1958) *

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on " Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of ...

, '' Groovin' with Jacquet'' (Clef, 1956) * J. J. Johnson, ''J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets'' (Columbia, Savoy, 1961) * Sonny Rollins, ''

Sonny Rollins, Volume 1 ''Sonny Rollins, Volume 1'' is a jazz album by Sonny Rollins, his first effort for the Blue Note label. Cook, Stephen & Campbell, Al at allmusic/ref> The original LP record, Blue Note release BLP-1542, did not distinguish the volume number in th ...

'' (Blue Note, 1957) *

, ''Lullabies'' (Columbia, 1959) *

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

, '' The Brothers'' (Prestige, 1949) *

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

, ''Lennie Tristano'' (Atlantic, 1955) *

, ''

I Got Rhythm "I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the " rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes suc ...

'' (Verve, 1956) *

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

, '' Goin' to Kansas City Blues'' (RCA Victor, 1958) *

, ''Pres'' (Norgran, 1956) *

, ''Lester Swings Again'' (Norgran, 1956) * The

Quartet, ''Pres and Teddy'' (Verve, recorded 1956, released 1959)

References

Other sources

* Scott Yanow, Gene Rameyat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

External links

Interview with Gene Ramey, July, 1980. University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collection, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramey, Gene 1913 births 1984 deaths American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Musicians from Austin, Texas 20th-century American musicians Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians