James Ralph Spaulding Jr. (born July 30, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. Born in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United states, Spaulding attended the Chicago Cosmopolitan School of Music. Between 1957 and 1961, he was a member of

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

's band. In the 1960s, he worked as a

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

at Blue Note Records, recording with Wayne Shorter,

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 ...

, and

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

. He was also a member of Freddie Hubbard's quintet and the World Saxophone Quartet. He went on to work with some post-bop musicians such as

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz 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 history. He work ...

, Randy Weston and Woody Shaw. Under the leadership of

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

, in the 1970s, Spaulding played in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1980s, Spaulding worked 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 ...

and, as part of an octet, with David Murray.

Discography

As leader

* 1976: ''

James Spaulding Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington ''James Spaulding Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington'' is an album by saxophonist James Spaulding featuring compositions by Duke Ellington which was recorded in 1976 and released on the Danish Storyville label.Storyville) * 1988: '' Gotstabe a Better Way!'' (

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 ...

) * 1988: '' Brilliant Corners'' (Muse) * 1991: '' Songs of Courage'' (Muse) * 1993: '' Blues Nexus'' (Muse) * 1997: '' The Smile of the Snake'' (

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 ...

) * 1999: '' Escapade'' (HighNote) * 2001: ''Blues Up & Over'' (Speetones) * 2005: ''Round to It Vol. 2'' (Speetones) * 2006: ''Down With It'' ( Marge)

As sideman

With Louis Armstrong *'' Louis Armstrong and His Friends'' (Flying Dutchman/Amsterdam, 1970) With Kenny Barron *''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

'' (Muse, 1975) With Art Blakey * '' Golden Boy'' (

Colpix Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement o ...

, 1964) With Richard Davis * '' Harvest'' (Muse, 1977

979 Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...

With

*'' Loxodonta Africana'' (New World, 1977) *'' Shorter Ideas'' (Muse, 1984) *'' Looking Ahead'' (Muse, 1986) *''

Saxotic Stomp ''Saxotic Stomp'' is an album by saxophonist Ricky Ford which was recorded in 1987 and released on the Muse label.Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

* ''

Solid Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy. A solid is characterized by structural ...

'' (

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 ...

, 1964) With Freddie Hubbard * '' Hub-Tones'' (Blue Note, 1962) * '' Breaking Point!'' (Blue Note, 1964) * '' Blue Spirits'' (Blue Note, 1964) * '' The Night of the Cookers'' (Blue Note, 1965) * ''

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

'' (

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 ...

, 1967) * '' High Blues Pressure'' (Atlantic, 1967) * '' The Black Angel'' (Atlantic, 1969) With Bobby Hutcherson * '' Components'' (Blue Note, 1965) * ''

Patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

'' (Blue Note, 1968) *'' Ambos Mundos'' (Landmark, 1989) With Hank Mobley * '' A Slice of the Top'' (Blue Note) * '' Third Season'' (Blue Note) With Lee Morgan * '' Standards'' (1967) (Blue Note) With David Murray * '' Hope Scope'' (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1987) * '' David Murray Big Band'' ( DIW/ Columbia, 1991) * '' Picasso'' (1993) * '' Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead'' (1996) * '' Octet Plays Trane'' (1999) With William Parker * '' Wood Flute Songs'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2013) With Duke Pearson * ''

Wahoo! ''Wahoo!'' is an album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, featuring performances recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label in 1964.

'' (Blue Note 1964) * '' Honeybuns'' (Atlantic 1965) * '' Prairie Dog'' (Atlantic 1966) * ''

Sweet Honey Bee ''Sweet Honey Bee'' is an album by American jazz pianist and composer Duke Pearson, released on the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label in 1967. The woman on the cover was Pearson's fiancee Betty. Reception Allmusic awarded the album with 4 star ...

'' (Blue Note 1966) With Sam Rivers * '' Dimensions & Extensions'' (1967) With

* '' Drums Unlimited'' (Atlantic, 1965) With Pharoah Sanders * ''

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'' (1969) With Woody Shaw * '' Woody III'' (Columbia, 1979) * '' For Sure!'' (Columbia, 1979) With Wayne Shorter * '' The Soothsayer'' (Blue Note 1965) * '' The All Seeing Eye'' (Blue Note 1965) * ''

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

'' (Blue Note 1967) With

* '' The Jody Grind'' (Blue Note 1966) With

* '' Visits Planet Earth'' (1957–1958) * '' The Nubians of Plutonia'' (1958) * '' Jazz in Silhouette'' (1959) * '' Sound Sun Pleasure!!'' (1959) * '' Somewhere Else'' ( Rounder, 1988–89) * '' Purple Night'' ( A&M, 1990) With

Leon Thomas Amos Leon Thomas Jr. (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999), known professionally as Leon Thomas, was an American jazz and blues vocalist, born in East St. Louis, Illinois, and known for his bellowing glottal-stop style of free jazz singing in the ...

*'' Spirits Known and Unknown'' (Flying Dutchman, 1969) *'' The Leon Thomas Album'' (Flying Dutchman, 1970) With Charles Tolliver * '' The New Wave in Jazz'' (Impulse!, 1965) * '' Impact'' ( Strata-East, 1975) With

* '' The Return of the Prodigal Son'' (1967) * ''Rough n'Tumble'' (Blue Note 1966) * ''The Spoiler'' (Blue Note 1967) With

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 ...

* '' Tender Moments'' (Blue Note, 1968) With Tyrone Washington * ''

Natural Essence ''Natural Essence'' is the debut album by American saxophonist Tyrone Washington featuring performances recorded in 1967 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note 1967) With Larry Young * '' Of Love and Peace'' (Blue Note 1966) With Kamal Abdul-Alim * ''Dance'' (1983)

References

External links

Interview at All About Jazz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, James American jazz flautists American jazz alto saxophonists American male saxophonists 1937 births Living people Musicians from Indianapolis Sun Ra Arkestra members Muse Records artists HighNote Records artists World Saxophone Quartet members 21st-century saxophonists American male jazz musicians 21st-century flautists