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 ...
– June 28, 2008 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
) was an American jazz pianist who worked with
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
from 1963 to 1968 and
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 ...
's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978–79. His most recent work was in 2008, as both a mentor and musician with Generations, a group of jazz musicians headed by veteran drummer
Jimmy Cobb
Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the band's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was a ...
. He contributed two new compositions for the album that was released by San Francisco State University's International Center for the Arts on September 15, 2008.
Critics have compared him to pianists
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", "B ...
,
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...
, and
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
.
Biography
In his twenties, Mathews toured internationally and recorded with Roach,
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
and
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...
. He was also a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s through the 1960s. By thirty, he began teaching jazz piano and led workshops, clinics and master classes at Long Island University in New York City. Besides
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 ...
and
Clark Terry
Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.
He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...
, he toured and recorded on two
Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...
projects in the 70's (i.e. the Louis Hayes-
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
Quintet and the Louis Hayes-
Junior Cook
Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player.
Biography
Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook was a member of the Horace Silver Quin ...
Quintet).
One of the highlights of his career, and one of his longest associations, was with the
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...
Quartet. For almost five years (1978-1982) he was an integral part of this band and forged lasting relationships with Griffin, Kenny Washington (drums) and Ray Drummond (bass). ''The New York Times'' described Mathews as "a constant and provocative challenge to Mr. Griffin. ..Heis the energizer of the group". One of the few Johnny Griffin recordings that features Mathews' original compositions is "To the Ladies" (Galaxy).
In the 1980s, Mathews began honing his role as a front man. He performed as a leader in duo, trio and quartet configurations around the world (from New York City to Genova, to the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and more). He also toured with
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
and
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 ...
's United Nations Band. Mathews was also involved in cross-media projects: he was pianist for the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, ''Black and Blue'' in 1989, and, in 1990, he was one of the artists who recorded for Spike Lee's movie, '' Mo' Better Blues''.
After a stint touring and recording with the
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...
Big Band in the early 1990s, Mathews joined T.S. Monk for eight years of touring and recording. The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' stated that "The soul of the band ..is pianist Ronnie Mathews, whose angular romanticism provides the horn players with a lush and spicy foundation for their improvising". Three albums were recorded with the T.S. Monk, Jr. Band, including ''Charm''. Mathews died of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2008 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
In 1998, Hal Leonard Books published his collection of student arrangements: "Easy Piano of Thelonious Monk".
Discography
As leader
* 1963: ''
Doin' the Thang!
''Doin' the Thang!'' is the debut album by jazz pianist Ronnie Mathews featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard recorded for the Prestige label in 1963.
Reception
Alex Henderson of AllMusic said "the LP's focus is modal post-bop and non-soul-jazz h ...
'' (
Prestige
Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.)
Prestige may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
* ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
) with
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
* 1975: ''Trip to the Orient'' (
East Wind
An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in mythology, poetry and literature.
In mythology
In Greek mythology, Eurus, the east wind, was the only wind not associate ...
) with
Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...
Bee Hive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
Al Foster
Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster ...
Legacy
In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property.
Legacy or legacies may refer ...
'' (Bee Hive) with
Ricky Ford
Ricky Ford (born March 4, 1954) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Ford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States,) and studied at the New England Conservatory. Ricky Ford AllMusic In 1974, he recorded with Gunther Schulle ...
,
Bill Hardman
William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege.
Career
Hardman was born and grew ...
,
Walter Booker
Walter Booker (December 17, 1933 – November 24, 2006) was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and ...
,
Jimmy Cobb
Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. At the time of his death, he had been the band's last surviving member for nearly thirty years. He was a ...
* 1980: ''Song for Leslie'' (
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
Tony Reedus
Tony Reedus (22 September 1959 – 16 November 2008) was an American jazz drummer.
Reedus first gained attention performing in Woody Shaw's band during the 1980s. He played with Dave Stryker, Mulgrew Miller, Art Blakey, Mike Nock, Kenny Garre ...
* 1989: ''At Cafe Des Copains'' ( Sackville)
* 1990: ''Dark Before the Dawn'' ( DIW) with Ray Drummond,
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
Frank Gant
Frank Gant (born May 26, 1931- July 19, 2021) was an american jazz drummer.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Gant recorded with Donald Byrd, Sonny Stitt, and extensively with Yusef Lateef in the late 1950s and then Red Garland before becoming a me ...
* 1995: ''Shades of Monk''
* 2001: ''Once I Love'' with Walter Booker, Alvin Queen
* 2008: ''Fortuna'' with
Roni Ben-Hur
Roni Ben-Hur is an Israeli jazz guitarist who immigrated to the United States in 1985. His parents were Tunisian-Jewish from Tunisia.
Biography
Roni Bohobza grew up in Dimona, Israel. He is the youngest of seven children and one of two born a ...
As sideman
With
Roland Alexander
Roland Alexander (September 25, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American post-bop jazz musician.
Early life
Born in Boston, Alexander grew up with his parents and sister, Gloria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in mus ...
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...
*'' Live! at Slug's NYC (1968)'' (Everest 1977 as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers)
*'' Moanin' (Live)'' (Laserlight CD 1997) (completely different tunes than Slug's)
With
Thomas Chapin
Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist. Though primarily an alto saxophonist, he also played sopranino, as well as soprano, tenor, baritone saxes and flute. Many o ...
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention or public ...
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
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 the ...
*''
Ladies Man
A ladies' man or lady's man is a man who enjoys spending time socially with women, who strives to please them and that women find attractive.
Ladies' man or lady's man may also refer to:
Literature
* ''Ladies' Man'' (novel), a 1978 novel by R ...
'' (HighNote, 2000)
With
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 ...
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...
To the Ladies
''To the Ladies'' is a 1923 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1922 Broadway play, ''To the Ladies'', by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly.
The film was directed b ...
'' (Galaxy 1980)
*'' Live / Autumn Leaves'' (Recorded 1980-1981) (Polydor Gitanes CD 1997)
With
Bill Hardman
William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege.
Career
Hardman was born and grew ...
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
1961)
With
Louis Hayes
Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He ...
Ichi-Ban
''Ichi-Ban'' is an album by the Louis Hayes – Junior Cook Quintet featuring Woody Shaw recorded in 1976 and released on the Dutch Timeless label and on Timeless Muse in the U.S.Junior Cook
Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player.
Biography
Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook was a member of the Horace Silver Quin ...
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
*''
The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to:
Film and television
* The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film
* ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...
'' (Muse, 1977)
*''
Blue Lou
"Blue Lou" is a 1933 jazz standard. It was written by Edgar Sampson and copyrighted in 1935 with the help of the publishing company of Irving Mills.
The first recording was made by Benny Carter and his Orchestra on October 16. 1933. Followed by ...
'' (SteepleChase, 1993)
With
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...
* ''
Cracklin'
''Cracklin is an album recorded by American jazz drummer Roy Haynes with tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin and released in July 1963 by Prestige Records.
The two tracks written by pianist Ronnie Mathews–"Honeydew" and "Dorian"– were also released ...
Cymbalism
''Cymbalism'' is an album recorded by American drummer Roy Haynes in 1963 for the New Jazz label.Roy Hayne ...
'' (New Jazz, 1963) with
Frank Strozier
Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist.
Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Litt ...
With
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
* ''
Big Band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
'' (Verve, 1997)
With
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
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 c ...
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...
997
Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...
T. S. Monk
Thelonious Sphere "T. S." Monk III (born December 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. He is the son of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.
Biography
Born in New York City, he began his music career early in his life, honin ...
Changing of the Guard
Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...
'' (Blue Note, 1993)
*''
The Charm
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (Blue Note, 1995)
*'' Monk on Monk'' (N2K, 1997)
With
Frank Morgan
Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.
One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' (1 ...
* ''
The Rumproller
''The Rumproller'' is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded mainly on April 21, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins.
Rece ...
'' (Blue Note, 1965)
With
Sal Nistico
Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to:
Personal name
* Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
Places
* Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality
* Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Ca ...
Bee Hive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
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 ...
, 1965)
With
Woody Shaw
Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...
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 ...
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 ...
, 2016)
With
James Spaulding
James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United states, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music. Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of Sun ...
*''
Blues Nexus
''Blues Nexus'' is an album by saxophonist James Spaulding which was recorded in 1993 and released on the Muse Records, Muse label.Sonny Stitt
Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his ...
Primitivo Soul!
''Primitivo Soul!'' is an album by American saxophonist Sonny Stitt, recorded in 1963 and issued on Prestige Records in 1964.
Track listing
''All compositions by Sonny Stitt except as indicated''
#"Slave Maidens" (Mussapere) - 7:34
#"Baion Ba ...
'' (Prestige, 1963)
References
External links
*
All Music
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 ...