Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) 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,

flugelhornist The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most fluge ...

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, saxophonist, and composer born in

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, United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

and

Lin Halliday Lin Halliday (June 16, 1936 – January 25, 2000) was an American saxophonist. He was born in De Queen, Arkansas and was raised in Little Rock, where he played the saxophone and clarinet in school. After he moved to Los Angeles in his teens ...

Biography

Sullivan was born on May 1, 1931, in

, United States. His father taught him to play the trumpet beginning at age 3, and his mother taught him saxophone. He played in 1950s

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, with such musicians as

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 ...

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 i ...

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chi ...

and

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...

, gaining a reputation as a fearsome

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 ...

soloist. After playing briefly with

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

in 1956, and mastering alto and baritone saxophone, Sullivan moved south to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and out of the spotlight in the early 1960s. His reluctance to travel limited his opportunities to play with musicians of the first rank, but Sullivan continued to play in the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

area, often in schools and churches. Contact with local younger players, such as

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...

and

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

led to teaching and to a broadening of his own musical roots to include the stylings of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

's jazz rock. With the addition of flute and soprano saxophone to his performing range, Sullivan moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and in 1980 formed a quintet with bop trumpeter

. Sullivan and Rodney worked on new material and fostered young talent. Sullivan and his longtime friend and collaborator Stu Katz, jazz

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, co-led a multi-night performance with Katz at

Joe Segal Jazz Showcase is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1947 by NEA Jazz Master Joe Segal, whose son Wayne now owns and operates the venue. Segal's various showcases have served as a launch pad for a number of career jazz mu ...

The Jazz Showcase Jazz Showcase is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1947 by NEA Jazz Master Joe Segal, whose son Wayne now owns and operates the venue. Segal's various showcases have served as a launch pad for a number of career jazz mu ...

in Chicago. A live recording of some of those performances, ''A Family Affair: Live At Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase'', was released in 2011. Sullivan taught at the Young Musicians Camp each summer at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. Ira Sullivan died on September 21, 2020, of

metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in his Miami home at age 89. Ira Sullivan's musical signature was "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

", the tune with which he closed every performance for decades. In the week following Sullivan's death, the jazz community produced a ''Love Letter to Ira Sullivan'', a compilation of more than forty performances of "Amazing Grace".
WDNA-FM 88

Discography

As leader/co-leader

*1958: ''

Nicky's Tune ''Nicky's Tune'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Ira Sullivan, which was recorded in 1958 but not issued until 1970 by Delmark. He leads a quintet with saxophonist Nicky Hill, pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Victor Sproles and drummer Wil ...

'' ( Delmark, issued 1970) *1959: ''

Blue Stroll ''Blue Stroll'' is an album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, which was recorded in 1959 and released on Delmark. He leads a quintet with saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Victor Sproles and drummer W ...

'' (Delmark) *1962: ''

Bird Lives! ''Bird Lives!'' is an album by trumpeter Red Rodney featuring performances of tunes by, or associated with, Charlie Parker which was recorded in 1973 and released on the Muse label.

'' (

Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

) *1967: '' Horizons'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

) *1976: ''

Ira Sullivan Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) was an American jazz trumpeter, Flugelhorn, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist, and composer born in Washington, D.C., United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with ...

'' (

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

) *1977: ''

'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird do ...

) *1978: ''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

'' (

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

) - released 1979 *1978: ''

Multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

'' (Galaxy) - released 1982 *1980: ''

The Incredible Ira Sullivan ''The Incredible Ira Sullivan'', (full title ''The Incredible Ira Sullivan Plays Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Alto and Tenor Saxes, Flute and Afuche Cabasa''), is an album by multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan which was recorded in 1980 and released on ...

'' ( Stash) *1981: ''

Ira Sullivan Does It All ''Ira Sullivan Does It All'' is an album by multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan which was recorded in 1981 and released on the Muse Records, Muse label in 1983.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 ...

) *1981: ''

Spirit Within ''Spirit Within'' is an album by trumpeter Red Rodney and multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan which was recorded and released on the Elektra/Musician label in 1982.

'' (

Elektra/Musician Elektra/Musician was a jazz record label founded as a subsidiary of Elektra Records in 1982. The label was headed by Bruce Lundvall and released its first batch of albums on February 12, 1982. The label ceased when Lundvall left Elektra to start ...

) with

*1982: ''

Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

'' (Elektra/Musician) with Red Rodney *1983: '' Strings Attached'' (

Pausa In linguistics, pausa (Latin for 'break', from Greek παῦσις, ''pausis'' 'stopping, ceasing') is the hiatus between prosodic declination units. The concept is somewhat broad, as it is primarily used to refer to allophones that occur in cer ...

) *1986: ''Gulfstream'' (Pausa) with Ted Shumate *1993: '' The Breeze and I'' (Ram) with

Joe Diorio Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 – February 2, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist. He performed with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, Anita O'Day, and Freddie Hubbard. In recent ye ...

*1996: ''After Hours'' (Go Jazz) *2010: ''A Family Affair'' (Origin) with Stu Katz

As sideman

With

* ''

Originally ''Originally'' is an album by drummer Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers recorded in 1956, but not released on the Columbia label until 1982.Columbia, 1956

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tara ...

With

Frank Catalano Frank Catalano is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Frank Catalano began playing saxophone at age 7. When he was 16, his right middle finger was severed while working on a car engine. Following reconstructive surgery, he forced his hands t ...

* ''Cut It Out'' (Delmark, 1997) With

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

*'' Red Alert'' (Galaxy, 1977) With

* ''

Delayed Exposure ''Delayed Exposure'' is the debut album by American jazz saxophonist Lin Halliday, which was recorded in 1991 and released on Delmark. He leads a quintet with trumpeter Ira Sullivan, pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Geo ...

'' (Delmark, 1991) * '' East of the Sun'' (Delmark, 1992) With

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

* '' Come on Down'' (Atlantic, 1970) With

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was ...

*''

Philly Mignon ''Philly Mignon'' is an album by drummer Philly Joe Jones that was recorded in 1977 and released on the Galaxy label.Roland Kirk Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Franks, Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known ...

* '' Introducing Roland Kirk'' (

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

, 1960) With

Roberto Magris Roberto Magris (born 19 June 1959) is an Italian jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Magris was born in Trieste, Italy, on 19 June 1959. He had piano lessons between the ages of four and sixteen. He became interested in jazz after h ...

* '' Sun Stone - Roberto Magris Sextet feat. Ira Sullivan'' (JMood, 2019) With J. R. Monterose * '' J. R. Monterose'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 1956) With

Rita Reys Rita Reys (born Maria Everdina Reijs; 21 December 1924 – 28 July 2013) was a jazz singer from the Netherlands. She was promoted as "Europe's First Lady of Jazz". In the 1980s, Rita returned to the American Songbook, recording albums such as ...

* ''

The Cool Voice of Rita Reys ''The Cool Voice of Rita Reys'' is the debut album by Dutch jazz singer Rita Reys which features sessions recorded with bands led by drummers Art Blakey and her husband Wessel Ilcken. The sessions are divided over each side of the original LP whic ...

'' (Columbia, 1956) With

*'' Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Muse, 1980) *''

Hi Jinx at the Vanguard ''Hi Jinx at the Vanguard'' is a live album by trumpeter Red Rodney with multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan which was recorded at the Village Vanguard and released on the Muse label in 1984.984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ( ...

*'' Alive in New York'' (Muse, 1980

986 Year 986 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil ...

*'' Night and Day'' (Muse, 1981) With

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

* ''The Billy Taylor Trio Introduces Ira Sullivan'' (

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

, 1956) With

Brad Goode Bradley Mitchell Goode (born October 10, 1963, in Chicago) is an American jazz trumpeter, bassist, drummer, composer and music educator. Career Goode worked as a sideman with Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Barrett Deems, Ernie Krivda, Jack DeJo ...

* ''Toy Trumpet'' (

SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, 2000)

References

External links

* – official site *
Ira Sullivan
discography at JazzDiscography.com
Ira Sullivan
- Family First (interview)
Ira Sullivan Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Ira 1931 births 2020 deaths American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Bebop trumpeters Hard bop trumpeters American jazz flugelhornists Delmark Records artists Galaxy Records artists 21st-century trumpeters 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Discovery Records artists