Mickey Tucker (born Michael B. Tucker; April 28, 1941) is an 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 majo ...

pianist and organist.

Biography

Tucker was born in Durham, North Carolina in 1941. He grew up in Rankin, Pennsylvania before moving back to North Carolina aged 12. When he was six, he started learning piano, eventually playing in church. While at high school, Tucker played in the school band as well as in a trio that included

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated '' Schoolho ...

. Aged 15, Tucker received an early admission scholarship to attend

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliation ...

. He became a teacher and taught at a high school in

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales ...

and

Mississippi Valley State College Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi. Tucker left Mississippi in 1964 and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In New York, he performed with

Damita Jo Damita Jo may refer to: * ''Damita Jo'' (album), a 2004 album by Janet Jackson and her middle name **"Damita Jo", a song from the album above *Damita Jo DeBlanc (1930–1998), aka Damita Jo, American actress, comedian, and singer *Damita Jo Freeman ...

, with whom he toured London. He moved on to have stints working with comedian Timmy Rogers,

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

and as organist for James Moody. He entered the jazz world in 1969, working for the next several years with Eric Kloss,

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year ...

the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965.Lisik/Allen. 50 Years at the Village Vanguard:Thad Jone, Mel Lewis and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Sky Dec ...

Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims ...

, and

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

. He was music director for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. During the 1980s, he appeared on albums by

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doubl ...

, Richie Cole, and

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/ hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launc ...

. In 1989, Tucker move to

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In an interview with

Cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards. Don Michael Randel ( ...

magazine, Tucker explained that he moved to Australia following the murder of two women in his apartment complex in 1987. Tucker's friend, who Tucker says was with him at the time of crime, was accused of the murders. The stress caused by trying to help his friend led him to decide to move to Australia - where his wife was from. In Melbourne, Tucker worked at the Victorian College of the Arts' School of Music.

Discography

As leader

* '' Triplicity'' (

Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...

, 1975) * ''Doublet'' (Dan, 1976) * ''

Sojourn Sojourn may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Sojourn'' (comics), a CrossGen comic book series * ''Sojourn'' (journal), a journal of social and cultural issues in Southeast Asia * ''Sojourn'' (novel), the 1991 novel in the Dark Elf Trilogy by R. ...

'' (Xanadu, 1977) * ''

Mister Mysterious ''Mister Mysterious'' is an album by pianist Mickey Tucker which was recorded in 1978 and released on the Muse label.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 ...

, 1978) * '' The Crawl'' (Muse, 1979) * ''Blues in Five Dimensions'' ( SteepleChase, 1989) * ''Sweet Lotus Lips'' (

Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

, 1989) * ''Hang in There'' ( SteepleChase, 1994) * ''Gettin' There'' ( SteepleChase, 1995)

As sideman

With Richie Cole * '' New York Afternoon'' (Muse, 1977) With Junior Cook *''

Pressure Cooker Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam and water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a ''pressure cooker''. High pressure limits boiling, and creates higher cooking temperatures which c ...

'' (Catalyst, 1977) *'' The Place to Be'' ( SteepleChase, 1988) *''

On a Misty Night ''On a Misty Night'' is an album by saxophonist Junior Cook recorded in 1989 and released on the SteepleChase label.SteepleChase, 1989) *'' You Leave Me Breathless'' ( SteepleChase, 1991) With Frank Foster * 1968 ''Manhattan Fever'' * 1978 ''Twelve Shades of Black'' * 1979 ''Non-Electric Company'' * 1998 ''Swing'' * 2007 ''Well Water'' With Bill Hardman *''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

'' (Muse, 1978) * '' What's Up'' ( SteepleChase, 1989) 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 ...

*'' The Crawl'' (Candid, 1989) With Willis Jackson * 1973 ''

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

'' * 1974 ''

Headed and Gutted ''Headed and Gutted'' is a live album by saxophonist Willis Jackson which was recorded in 1974 and first released on the Muse label.Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims ...

*''

Things Are Getting Better ''Things Are Getting Better'' is the 11th album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, and his second release on the Riverside label, featuring performances with Milt Jackson, Wynton Kelly, Percy Heath and Art Blakey.Still on the Planet ''Still on the Planet'' (also released as ''Godfather of Vocalese'') is an album by vocalist Eddie Jefferson recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse label.Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year ...

* 1971 ''Blacknuss'' * 1978 ''The Vibration Continues'' * 1999 ''Left Hook Right Cross'' With Eric Kloss * 1974 ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it