Ronald Patrick Escheté (born August 19, 1948) is an American seven-string jazz guitarist. He is the first person to record a cover version of "

Christmas Time Is Here "Christmas Time Is Here" is a popular Christmas standard written by Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson for the 1965 television special ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'', one of the first animated Christmas specials produced for network television in t ...

", which

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this series includ ...

wrote for the Charlie Brown television program.

Career

When Escheté was fourteen, he began playing guitar. During the late 1960s, he studied classical guitar and flute at Loyola University in New Orleans. From 1969–1970, he worked in Las Vegas supporting singer

Buddy Greco Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up ...

. He moved to Los Angeles, where he played with

Dave Pike David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as le ...

and

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 ...

. Escheté has been an educator since the early 1970s when he taught at community colleges in southern California. In the mid 1970s, he began teaching at the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

in Hollywood and in the 1990s at California State University at Long Beach. He has written several instruction books, such as ''The Jazz Guitar Soloist'' and ''Melodic Chord Phrases''. His early influences were jazz guitarists

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, Jim Hall, and

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early years Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 - a ...

. He has played with Ray Brown,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson, and

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard'' maga ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Spirit's Samba'' (JAS, 1977) * ''To Let You Know I Care'' (

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 ...

, 1979) * ''Line-Up'' (Muse, 1981) * ''Christmas Impressions'' (Music Is Medicine, 1982) * ''A Beautiful Friendship'' (Discovery, 1982) with Dewey Erney * ''The Second Set'' (Sounds Great, 1984) with Dewey Erney * ''Stump Jumper'' (Bainbridge, 1986) * ''Mo' Strings Attached'' (The Jazz Alliance, 1993) * ''A Closer Look'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1994) * ''Rain or Shine'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) * ''Soft Winds'' (Concord Jazz, 1996) * ''The Sunset Hour'' (Holt, 1998) * ''Live at Rocco'' (RevJazz, 2000) * ''No Place to Hide'' (SMS Jazz, 2002) with Mort Weiss * ''Homeward Bound'' (RevJazz, 2003) * ''In the Middle: Live at Spazio'' (RevJazz, 2006) * ''All Too Soon'' (SMS Jazz, 2008) with Mort Weiss * ''How My Heart Sings: Live at Steamers'' (BluePort, 2017)

As sideman

With

* ''Hot Lips'' (JAM, 1982) * ''Nature's Way'' (JAM, 1984) * ''Listen Here!'' (Concord Jazz, 1989) * ''Black and Blue'' (Concord Jazz, 1991) * ''Like a Lover'' (Concord Jazz, 1992) * ''A Little Piece of Heaven'' ive(Concord Jazz, 1993) * ''Funky Gene's'' (Concord Jazz, 1994) * ''Brotherhood'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) * ''It's the Real Soul'' ive(Concord Jazz, 1996) * ''In His Hands'' (Concord Jazz, 1997) * ''Down Home Blues'' (Concord Jazz, 1997) with Jack McDuff With

Stix Hooper Stix or STIX may refer to: People * Stix Hooper (born 1938), American jazz musician * Gary Stix, American journalist * Thomas H. Stix (1924–2001), American physicist * Christine Stix-Hackl (born 1957), Austrian jurist Arts and entertainment ...

* ''We Went West'' (Stix Hooper Enterprises, 2015) * ''Friends Across the Pond (A Tribute to the

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

Quintet)'' (Stix Hooper Enterprises, 2016) With

* ''Times Out of Mind'' (Muse, 1976) * ''On a Gentle Note'' (Muse, 1978) * ''Let the Minstrels Play On'' (Muse, 1980) * ''Moon Bird'' (Muse, 1983) With others *

Ernestine Anderson Ernestine Anderson (November 11, 1928 – March 10, 2016) was an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall, ...

, ''Be Mine Tonight'' (Concord Jazz, 1987) * Ernestine Anderson, ''Now and Then'' (Qwest/WB, 1993) *

Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...

, ''1988 & All That Jazz'' (Aero Space, 1988) * Lanny Aplanalp, ''Natural Colors'' (Autumn Down, 2002) *

Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz fusion bassist. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 1953, in Quee ...

, ''Taking Notes'' (Denon, 1997) * Ray Brown, ''Don't Forget the Blues'' (Concord Jazz, 1986) * Judy Chamberlain, ''Road Trip'' (JazzBaby, 2002) *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

Jeff Clayton Jeff Clayton (February 16, 1954 – December 16, 2020) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. Clayton studied oboe at California State University before dropping out to undertake a tour with Stevie Wonder. Following this he reco ...

, ''The Clayton Brothers'' (Concord Jazz, 1979) *

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

, ''This One's from the Heart'' (Concord Jazz, 1999) *

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, ''Falling in Love Again'' (Concord Jazz, 2003) * Jan Deneau Trio, ''Different Shades of Blue'' (Maria, 1973) *

The Four Freshmen The Four Freshmen is an American male vocal quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, and The Mel-Tones, founded in the barbershop tradition. The singers accom ...

, ''Four Freshmen and Friends'' (Four Freshmen Society, 2015) * Tommy Gumina, ''Polycolors'' (Polytone, 1990) *

Niki Haris Niki Haris (born April 17, 1962) is an American singer and dancer of pop, R&B, dance music and jazz, perhaps best known for having been one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001, and as being the guest lead vocalist on various Snap! s ...

, ''Dreaming A Dream'' (BMG, 1997) * Luther Hughes, ''Luther Hughes & Cahoots'' (Contemporary, 1987) * Jacintha, ''Jacintha Is Her Name'' (Groove Note, 2003) * Milt Jackson, ''Big Mouth'' (Pablo, 1981) * Rick Jarrett, ''Back to Romance'' (Soulful Sonance, 2001) *

, ''Live in Paris'' (Verve, 2002) n bonus track (of Canadian release)* Craig Larson Trio, ''Legacy'' (Larson Jazz, 2002) *

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 ...

, ''Two Days in the Life of...'' (Interplay, 1987) * Jack McDuff, ''Color Me Blue'' (Concord Jazz, 1992) * Don Rader, ''Anemone'' (Jet Danger, 1980) * Don Rader, ''A Foreign Affair'' (L&R/Bellaphon, 1991) * Herman Riley, ''Herman'' (JAM, 1984) *

Charlie Shoemake Charlie Shoemake (born July 27, 1937) is an American jazz vibraphonist. He played in George Shearing's Quintet for seven years, starting in 1967. He also played vibes on the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood film ''Bird''. He is the director of th ...

, ''Strollin' '' (Chase, 1991) *

Andy Simpkins Andrew Simpkins (April 29, 1932 – June 2, 1999) was an American jazz bassist. Born in Richmond, Indiana, he first became known as a member of the group The Three Sounds, with which he performed from 1956 to 1968.allmusic biography/ref> After ...

, ''Calamba'' (Discovery, 1989) * Keely Smith, ''I'm in Love Again'' (Fantasy, 1985) *

Mary Stallings Mary Stallings (born August 16, 1939) is an American jazz vocalist and mother of soul singer Adriana Evans. Biography One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in the neighborhood of Laurel Hei ...

, ''I Waited for You'' (Concord Jazz, 1994) * Mary Stallings, ''Spectrum'' (Concord Jazz, 1996) * Dan St. Marseille, ''Retrospection'' (Resurgent, 1995) *

Mort Weiss Mort Weiss was a jazz clarinet player. On his first album as leader he performed with Joey DeFrancesco on the Hammond B3 organ, featured also on his second album ''B3 and Me'' (recorded in 2003 but not released until 2006). According to Scott Yan ...

, ''Mort Weiss Meets Joey DeFrancesco'' (SMS Jazz, 2002) * Mort Weiss, ''The Three Of Us: The Mort Weiss Trio'' (SMS Jazz, 2003) * Mort Weiss, ''The Four of Us: The Mort Weiss Quartet Live at Steamers'' (SMS Jazz, 2005) * Steve Wilkerson & Joey DeFrancesco, ''It's A Blues Sorta Thing'' (Dane, 1999) * James Zollar, ''Soaring With Bird'' (Naxos, 1997)

References

External links

Ron Escheté Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eschete, Ron 1948 births Living people People from Houma, Louisiana Loyola University New Orleans alumni American jazz guitarists Seven-string guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from Louisiana