Ronald Ball (December 22, 1927 – October 1984) was a

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 ...

pianist, composer and arranger, born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Biography

Ball moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1948, and in the early 1950s he worked both as a bandleader and under

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

Tony Kinsey Cyril Anthony Kinsey (born 11 October 1927) is an English jazz drummer and composer. Early life Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. He held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, studying while at port with Bill West i ...

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

, and

Harry Klein Harold "Harry" Klein (25 December 1928 – 30 June 2010) was an English jazz saxophonist. As a session musician, he played on recordings by the Beatles. Early in his career, Klein played with Nat Gonella in the late 1940s. He then played with Bi ...

. In 1952, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and studied with

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 ...

. At the time, it was his ambition to learn more about the American jazz scene and in the 1950s and 1960s he worked extensively with other jazz musicians. Among the musicians Ball performed with are

Chuck Wayne Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was an American jazz guitarist. He came to prominence in the 1940s, and was among the earliest jazz guitarists to play in the bebop style. Wayne was a member of Woody Herman's First Herd, the f ...

(1952),

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

(1953–55),

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to descr ...

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

(1956),

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 ...

(1956, 1958),

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

,(1956–57),

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

(1958),

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

(1958),

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 ...

(1959) and

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...

(1961–63). Ball plays on the Warne Marsh album ''

Jazz of Two Cities ''Jazz of Two Cities'', is an album by saxophonist Warne Marsh recorded in 1956 and originally released on the Imperial label.Edwards, D. & Chapman, MImperial Album Discography, Part 2 (1956–1958): LPs 9001-9050accessed May 12, 2017

'' (recorded during October 1956 in Los Angeles) with Marsh and Ted Brown (tenor saxophone), Ben Tucker (bass), and Jeff Morton (drums). It was later reissued on Tristano/Marsh Capitol compilation ''Intuition'' (Capitol CDP 7243 8 52771 2 2). During a two-year period (1961-1963), Ball occasionally accompanied American jazz singer

and made recordings with her on many occasions. As most of his adult life was spent in New York, he only made a small number of recordings in London and very little recorded material was reissued on CD. Later in the 1960s, Ball worked as part of the house trio at the Studio 51 Club on Great Newport Street in London. He ended his musical career to work completing transcriptions for a music publisher until his death in 1984.

Death

Ball died in New York City in October 1984, aged 56. His exact date of death is unknown. Ronnie Ball, ''JazzDisco.org''
Retrieved 24 April 2019

Discography

With

*''

Klook's Clique ''Klook's Clique'' is an album led by drummer Kenny Clarke recorded in 1956 and first released on the Savoy label.

'' (Savoy, 1956) With

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and then ...

*'' Sunset Eyes'' (Pacific Jazz, 1960) With

*'' Swingin' on the Town'' (Verve, 1960) ;With

*''

Lee Konitz at Storyville ''Lee Konitz at Storyville'' (also known as ''Jazz at Storyville'') is a live album by saxophonist Lee Konitz featuring performances recorded at the Storyville nightclub in Boston and which was originally released as a 10-inch LP on George Wein's ...

'' (Storyville, 1954) *''

Konitz Unterwellenborn is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

'' (Storyvile, 1954) *''

Lee Konitz in Harvard Square ''Lee Konitz in Harvard Square'' is an album by saxophonist and bandleader Lee Konitz featuring performances recorded in Boston in 1954 which was originally released as a 10-inch LP on George Wein's Storyville label. Reception In ''JazzTimes'', ...

'' (Storyvile, 1954) With

*''

'' (Imperial, 1956) *''

Art Pepper with Warne Marsh ''Art Pepper with Warne Marsh'' is an album by alto saxophonist Art Pepper and tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh which was recorded in 1956 but not released on the Contemporary Records, Contemporary label in Japan until 1986. The rhythm section is pia ...

'' (Contemporary, 1956

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 ...

with

*''

Music for Prancing ''Music for Prancing'' is an album by saxophonist Warne Marsh recorded in 1957 and originally released on the Mode label.Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

'' (Atlantic, 1958)

References

;Footnotes ;Further reading *

Ronnie Ball Ronald Ball (December 22, 1927 – October 1984) was a jazz pianist, composer and arranger, born in Birmingham, England. Biography Ball moved to London in 1948, and in the early 1950s he worked both as a bandleader and under Ronnie Scott, To ...

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 databas ...

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

and Ira Gitler, ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Oxford, 1999, p. 34. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Ronnie 1927 births 1984 deaths English jazz pianists People from Birmingham, West Midlands Savoy Records artists 20th-century pianists 20th-century English musicians