Ralph Simon Sharon (September 17, 1923 – March 31, 2015) was a British-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 m ...

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 arranger. He is best known for working with

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

as his pianist on numerous recordings and live performances.

Biography

Ralph Sharon was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England, to a British mother and Latvian-born father. He

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in early 1954, becoming a naturalized

citizen of the United States Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

five years later. By 1958, Ralph Sharon was recording with

accompanist Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of ...

. That was the start of a more than 50 year working relationship as Bennett's "man behind the music" on many

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning studio recordings, and touring with Bennett for many years. Sharon found the song "

I Left My Heart in San Francisco "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" is a popular song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, with music by George Cory (1920–1978) and lyrics by Douglass Cross and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. In 1962, the ...

" for Bennett, a year after placing the sheet music in a bureau and forgetting about it. Sharon discovered the manuscript while packing for a tour that included San Francisco. While Bennett and Sharon liked the song, they were convinced it would only be a local hit. Instead, the tune became Bennett's signature song. On his recording of "

I'll Be Home for Christmas "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longe ...

" from the 1992 CD '' Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album,'' Bennett is heard at the end of the song exclaiming "Take me home, Ralph!" as Sharon plays the last notes of the song. Ralph Sharon was a

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

in his own right, recording a series of his own albums. But Sharon was best known as one of the finest accompanists who backed up popular singers, including Tony Bennett, Robert Goulet, Chris Connor and many others. Retiring to Boulder, Colorado, from on-the-road work with Bennett when he reached 80, Ralph Sharon continued to perform in the Denver metropolitan area until shortly before his death. Tony Bennett and the Ralph Sharon Trio performed at various jazz venues, including Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He died from natural causes on March 31, 2015.

Discography

Solo albums

*1953 ''Autumn Leaves and Spring Fever'' *1954 ''Easy Jazz (As The Ralph Sharon All-Star Sextet) *1956 ''The Ralph Sharon Trio'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1956 ''Mr. and Mrs. Jazz'' (With Sue Sharon) *1957 ''Around the World In Jazz'' (As The Ralph Sharon Sextet) *1958 ''2:38 A.M.'' *1963 ''Modern Innovations In Country and Western Music'' *1964 ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1965 ''The Tony Bennett Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1995 ''Swings the Sammy Kahn Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1996 ''Portrait of Harold: The Harold Arlen Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1997 ''Plays the Harry Warren Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *1999 ''Plays the Frank Loesser Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *2000 ''The Magic of Cole Porter'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *2001 ''The Magic of Jerome Kern'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *2001 ''The Magic of Irving Berlin'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *2001 ''The Magic of George Gershwin'' (As The Ralph Sharon Trio) *2001 ''Plays the Ralph Blane Songbook'' (As The Ralph Sharon Quartet) *2007 ''Always: The Music of Irving Berlin''

As sideman

;With

*1962 ''

*1963 ''

I Wanna Be Around "I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken. The song is credited to Sadie Vimmerstedt and Johnny Mercer. Origins Vimme ...

'' *1964 '' When Lights Are Low'' *1986 '' The Art of Excellence'' *1987 ''

Bennett/Berlin ''Bennett/Berlin'' is an album by the American musician Tony Bennett, released in 1987. It is a tribute to Irving Berlin. Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, and George Benson guested on the album. Critical reception The ''Chicago Tribune'' wrote t ...

'' *1989 '' Astoria: Portrait of the Artist'' *1992 ''

Perfectly Frank ''Perfectly Frank'' is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 1992 and recorded as a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Part of Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success, it achieved gold record status in the United States and won the Grammy ...

'' *1992 '' Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album'' *1993 '' Steppin' Out'' *1994 '' MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett'' (Live) *1995 ''

Here's To The Ladies ''Here's to the Ladies'' is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 1995. The theme of the album was songs made famous by female singers. The album won Bennett the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. It peaked at No. 1 on ''Bill ...

'' *1997 '' Tony Bennett on Holiday'' *1998 '' Tony Bennett: The Playground'' *1999 '' Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool'' *2001 '' Playing with my friends: Bennett Sings The Blues'' ;With

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer who specialized in ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his ...

*'' Songs from the Heart'' (1955) *'' All of Me: The Debonair Mr. Hartman'' (1956)

References

External links

Obituary for Ralph Sharon

Ralph Sharon interview, part 1
an
part 2

Steve Albin's Tony Bennett Discography

Tony Bennett Grammy winning recordings
*

Allmusic Biography 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 ...

Dazzle Jazz Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharon, Ralph 1923 births 2015 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists American music arrangers British emigrants to the United States English jazz pianists Musicians from London 20th-century English musicians 20th-century American pianists American people of Latvian descent English people of Latvian descent 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians