"I FIRST HEARD DEXTER GORDON ON A 78 RPM SAVOY SIDE "Settin The Pace;" a co-led date with Leo Parker on baritone. I was 14 years old at the time and I played this record until the surface turned to powder. Within a few years I had a small trove of Dexter on Dial and sundry independent labels. Later it was the Dexter Blue Notes contained in this retrospective (among the very favorites in my collection to this day.) Although I never saw him perform during this period, he became a real musical hero for me. He told beautiful stories with every solo. His sound was larger than life. The very essence of modern jazz, the very definition of hipness, and my favorite tenor saxophonist of them all."
- Bruce Lundvall, Recording Executive
"Love, warmth and sheer joy are all present in Gordon's sound and attack. It can be heard and felt in the tremendous drive of his up tempo work, the width and depth of his ballads, or anywhere in between. All these affirmative qualities are reiterated in this album. There is also evidence of change, harmonically, in the playing of a man who was known for his harmonic awareness back in the mid-Forties. This is the kind of record that has you starting again from side one, track one, immediately after you have played both sides in their entirety."
- Ira Gitler, Liner Notes to GO! [Blue Note 84112]
I could listen to Dexter Gordon play the tenor saxophone all night.
There was a time in my life when I often did.
Dexter made a batch of LP’s for Alfred Lion’s Blue Note label in the 1960s and his playing on them was a revelation.
His solos on these recordings were exciting and explosive, his time hard-driving and impeccable and his sound was big and wide-open.
Dexter’s ideas and inventions flowed so effusively that I couldn’t keep up with them; I couldn’t absorb them.
Anything that came into his mind came out of his horn; effortlessly.
Cascade after cascade of the hippest phrases simply flowed and flowed and flowed.
Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane received more public notice, awards and accolades, but Dexter was right up there with all of them.
When Jazz went to Europe to live, so did Dexter, performing and hanging out in Paris and Copenhagen for most of the last two decades of his life.
By the time of his triumphant return visits to the Village Vanguard in NYC and Keystone Korner in San Francisco in the late 1970s, he had become a different player; more laid back, lyrical and laconic, but still a force to be reckoned with.
Here are a few thoughts and observation about Dexter from Garry Giddins’ marvelous five-page essay on him in Visions of Jazz: The First Century [pp.330–335]:
“The King of Quoters, Dexter Gordon, was himself eminently quotable. In a day not unlike our own, when purists issue fiats about what is or isn't valid in jazz, Gordon declared flatly, ‘jazz is an octopus’—it will assimilate anything it can use. Drawing closer to home, he spoke of his musical lineage: Coleman Hawkins "was going out farther on the chords, but Lester [Young] leaned to the pretty notes. He had a way of telling a story with everything he played/' Young's story was sure, intrepid, daring, erotic, cryptic. A generation of saxophonists found itself in his music, as an earlier generation had found itself in Hawkins's rococo virtuosity. …
Gordon's appeal was to be found not only in his Promethean sound and nonstop invention, his impregnable authority combined with a steady and knowing wit, but also in a spirit born in the crucible of jam sessions. He was the most formidable of battlers, undefeated in numerous contests, and never more engaging than in his kindred flare-ups with the princely Wardell Gray, a perfect Lestorian foil, gently lyrical but no less swinging and sure. …
Gordon was an honest and genuinely original artist of deep and abiding humor and of tremendous personal charm. He imparted his personal characteristics to his music—size, radiance, kindness, a genius for discontinuous logic. Consider his trademark musical quotations—snippets from other songs woven into the songs he is playing. Some, surely, were calculated. But not all and probably not many, for they are too subtle and too supple. They fold into his solos like spectral glimpses of an alternative universe in which all of Tin Pan Alley is one infinite song. That so many of the quotations seem verbally relevant I attribute to Gordon's reflexive stream-of-consciousness and prodigious memory for lyrics. I cannot imagine him planning apposite quotations.”
Bruce Lundvall and Michael Cuscuna collected all of the albums that Dexter made for Blue Note into a six compact disc, boxed set that includes some omitted tracks along with photographs by Francis Wolff and selected commentary.
It’s great to have all of this music by Dexter in a digital format and it provides a convenient means to sample the music of this Jazz giant if you are not as yet familiar with it.
In line with Gary Giddins’ characterization of Dexter as “The King of the Quoters,” Dexter composed an homage to Lester Young by making a few minor [literally] chord alterations to “Tickle Toe,” an original composition that Lester made famous while performing with Count Basie’s Orchestra.
Dexter entitled his piece “Cheese Cake” and you can listen to his performance of it on the audio track to the following video on which he is joined by Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums.
To experience the sheer joy and delight of a brilliant Jazz tenor saxophonist “at work,” you can’t do much better than Dexter’s solos on “Cheese Cake.”
“Paul Horn — who, in Chico Hamilton's words, was a ‘man of many reeds and woodwinds’ — proves here that he was more concerned with playing music of differing emotional styles than he was in sticking to a certain, well-defined rut. There is constant change in this set; ebullience and restraint; soft, provocative swing and bucolic lushness. Everyone does extremely well, supporting and joining Horn in a variety of orchestral settings. Exceptional musicianship, fluidness, sensitivity and a thoughtful approach made these, Paul Horn's first recordings as a leader, a showcase of the range and the technical prowess of his playing.”
- Jordi Pujol, insert notes to Paul Horn Plenty of Horn
The title of this piece is derived from reed and woodwind player Paul Horn’s first two LPs as a leader on the Dot label - Plenty of Horn [DLP 9002] and House of Horn [DLP 3091].
Both have been reissued as a double CD - Paul Horn Plenty of Horn [FSR CD 523] - on Fresh Sound Records along with tracks from Paul’s Quintet September 15, 1958 appearance on the Stars of Jazz TV Show and his quartet’s part in a concert put on by Down Beat Magazine at Town Hall in NYC on May 16, 1958.
The LPs have been difficult to locate as they were originally issued in a very limited pressing so to have this music available again is a real treat.
You can preview excerpts from the 29 tracks that make up this CD 2-fer as well as locate order information on the Fresh Sound website by going here.
Paul Horn was born March 17, 1930, in New York City. Both his parents loved music. His mother, Frances Sper, was associated with Irving Berlin and was a well-known pianist and singer in Tin Pan Alley; his father, Jack Horn, gave Paul's career invaluable support. Paul began studying piano when he was four, but shelved that for the clarinet at eleven, and took up alto sax at thirteen. He played in the band and orchestra at high school, and took a Bachelor's Degree in Music at Oberlin College. He studied further at the Manhattan School of Music (with classmates including Max Roach, John Lewis and Julius Watkins) and earned his Master's Degree. After a term of military service Paul played with the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra (or nearly a year, where his skill on several reed instruments stood him in good stead). In September, 1956, Paul left the orchestra to join the Chico Hamilton Quintet, with which he achieved his greatest prominence, and was acclaimed as one of the most versatile reed players on the scene.
These recordings were Horn's first effort as a leader. He chose a variety of settings to present his considerable talents on flute, saxophone, and clarinet. His debut album "House of Horn" was recorded in September 1957, while Paul was still a member of Chico's quintet, and his efforts were highly praised by the trade papers. Metronome made a particularly fitting comment when they said ".-.it's an album that's meant to be music, with styles falling where they may."
Early in 1958, Paul left the drummer's unit to become a freelance, and in April he recorded "Plenty of Horn," another stimulating and elaborated album, full of musical contrasts. The imaginative writing that pervades this 2-CD set is admirable, in both jazz and non-jazz contexts, in which all concerned turn in superior performances, with ample room for wailing too.
Horn contributed five originals (House of Horn, Pony Tale, To a Little Boy, A Parable, Blues for Tom), and three arrangements (Chloe, Yesterdays, Invitation) -, Allyn Ferguson arranged Day by Day, and composed A Soldier's Dream and the ambitious Moods for Horn, a compositionally sound, brassily exciting showcase for the reedman on alto sax (Effervescence), moody alto flute (Reminiscence), soaring piccolo (Exuberance) and clarinet (Ebullience). Fred Katz wrote three non-jazz pieces, The Golden Princess,Siddhartha, Romanze. but in The Smith Family, he revealed an abrupt switch in content and mood, with a guileless, down-on-the-farm line that swings off into a simple blues theme; Pete Rugolo arranged Sunday, Monday or Always and composed Interlude.
For Paul Horn, nominated by Playboy, Down Beat and Metronome magazines as one of the nation's top jazz musicians, this was obviously a worthy record debut.
The set is complemented with two appearances by the Paul Horn Quintet recorded during the TV show "Stars of Jazz" in Los Angeles, and a live performance at the Town Hall theater in New York, which was part of a concert organized by the "Down Beat" jazz magazine. For the latter, Paul Horn trekked east with bassist Don Bagley and they teamed with pianist Dick Katz and drummer Osie Johnson. This East/West quartet led by Paul Horn offered Give Me The Simple Life, a crisp and pulsing performance, and a moody rendition of Willow Weep For Me embellished by Horn's liquid-like variations.
-Jordi Pujol
The following are the unsigned original liner note; from the 12" album House of Horn Dot DIP 3091.
“As this album plainly indicates, Paul Horn is building a most impressive musical house. It rests, of course, on a solid foundation of academic training; appropriately for a House of Horn, the supporting members (he uses five here) are all of the woodwind family; and a formidable element in the structure is Paul's newly-revealed talent as a composer-arranger-leader. A versatile builder, this young man.
The five instruments Paul plays here are alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo, flute, and alto flute. Actually he has mastered even more of the woodwinds, and one might well wonder why this diversity of effort. Paul's answer is quite clear: "There are emotions you can register on a flute," he points out, "that just wouldn't come off on, say, a piccolo or alto sax. Each has an individual sound. And I never feel satisfied with substitutes."
This discerning musical taste has made Paul his own sternest taskmaster.
Having postponed earlier opportunities to record a first Paul Horn album, he now presents this album's inventive, wide-ranging program with the confidence of someone who knows at last where he stands, an artist who has clearly defined his terms.
The acquisition of this musical identity, Paul feels, came about when he left the relative anonymity of the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra for the creative explorations of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Though he credits every member of that group with stimulating help, Paul singles out Fred Katz (who, remarkably, works simultaneously as jazz cellist, classical cellist, and serious composer) as the most important influence of all.
"I live just two doors from Fred," he relates, "and we spend a great deal of time together. We talk about our kids, about politics, about people, places, and economics. But mostly we talk about music."
And, of course, they play music. The result, in both writing and performance, is an unusual amalgam of what most people call jazz and the classics, of improvisation and composition. To those who would ask what, really, to call his music, Paul has this reply:
"I think," he says, "that it's unfortunate when any music must carry a label.
"If a person begins to listen to music with preconceived notions of the category it ought to fall into, that person isn't giving himself or the music a fair chance.
"A musician has to satisfy his own musical desires and most of the time that can be difficult enough.
"In this particular case —in House of Horn— I'm doing what really satisfies me. I can't ask for more than that."
Three of the album's nine selections have been composed and arranged by Paul himself; for the six remaining, Paul has called on three superb young modernists, Fred Katz, Pete Rugolo, and Allyn Ferguson, to write a brace of selections each.
Pony Tale gives Paul a opportunity to demonstrate his amazing flute technique. He wrote the tune for his wife, who often ponytails her blonde tresses.
Day By Day is an Allyn Ferguson arrangement for a near-standard ballad. Horn's alto sax is set against cello, then bass, and finally against the string quartet. There are two notable drum passages in this tune, the drum being heard first with bass, then with piano.
A Soldier's Dream is another Ferguson work, an original composition based on a marching ballad of Civil War vintage. The theme is first stated m its marching context by Horn's piccolo and the drums. But Ferguson quickly brings guitar, vibes and piano into the picture and the proceedings take on a finger-snapping excitement. The addition of the string quartet fails to halt the rollicking, swinging feel which continues to the close. Shortly before the coda. Horn's piccolo and the drums again state the march theme while everyone else continues in the |azz groove. Another composer also utilized this theme with excellent results — listen to the final movement of Darius Milhaud's "Suite Provencale."
House Of Horn is another virtuoso flute performance designed by Paul. Except for a 16-bar establishment of tempo near the end, it is a completely improvised flute solo — and an amazingly minute detailing of Paul's capabilities on the instrument. He plays pensively, with gusto, uncovers an amazing vibrato and a consistently level double-tonguing of the flute; he even inserts a four-bar passage of very difficult flutter-tonguing.
The Golden Princess is a colorful musical picture painted by Fred Katz. Paul's flute works against a piano-vibes unison that creates a celeste-like pattern and there is a remarkable shuffling of twelve-tone figures near the halfway mark. Another mark of the keen Katz pen is noted in the vivid piano-flute-vibes counterpoint shortly before the close.
Sunday, Monday, Or Always almost fails to fall into the "standard" category with this reworking by Pete Rugolo's pen. Alto and guitar are most prominent here, and the cello blends nicely with both. Toward the end a little fugue-ish theme alternates between 2/4 and 4/4, creating an intriguing and eccentric movement.
To A Little Boy is Paul's third composition for this album and it is dedicated to his very young son. Marlen. Flute is spotlighted against string section, augmented by "chiming" vibes.
Siddhartha is a monumental composition for Paul's clarinet and string quartet. Using the twelve-tone system, Fred Katz has fashioned a work that ignites in flashing emotional fire between cello and clarinet. The scoring for the viola and twin violins is masterfully subtle. Near the conclusion there is a certain moroseness that suggests Alban Berg or Bela Bartok: Katz admits to heavy influence from both of these modern masters — an influence that in this case is solid and vital. Especially noteworthy are the enormous clarinet passages Paul plays here, passages made more remarkable by the fact they are almost all (80 percent, says Katz) total improvisation.
Interlude, an original composition by Pete Rugolo, belies its title by concluding the album, Rugolo employs Paul's alto flute, in company with cello and rhythm, for a melody that is wholly new, yet continues at each rehearing to sound mysteriously evocative.
The following are the unsigned original liner notes from the 12" album Plenty of Horn Dot DLP 9002 Paul Horn's recent album debut was select by Metronome magazine as "Best of the Month" in March 1958. This and other similar recognition constituted a challenge when it came to preparing a second album, for such an auspicious bow could hardly be followed by anything less than a notable encore. Paul Horn has met the challenge head-on in Plenty of Horn, in which there is, indeed, plenty of Paul—Paul playing flute, alto flute, piccolo, clarinet and alto sax; Horn set in trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, and a brass choir; Horn composing; Horn arranging; Paul conducting. The cornucopia is bountiful with Paul Horn and friends in a wide range of moods and tempi.
The acknowledged virtuosity of the young woodwinder, who has since left the Hamilton group to freelance, is again evident in these well-charted courses, which this time wend their way almost exclusively through the realm of "jazz of the day-in-day-out variety." Romanze, by Fred Katz, is this album's only venture into the domain of atonality-sans-rhythm, but that is not to say that there exists any dearth of imagination; only that the beat continues throughout, solid and exciting.
One side is largely devoted to an ambitious jazz composition by Allyn Ferguson, Moods for Horn, each part of which frames a different Horn. Effervescence, for example, features Paul playing his alto sax with increased assurance and maturity, and with great drive. Reminiscence evokes a more appropriately lush mood for the contemplative sounds of his alto flute, while in Exuberance Paul and his piccolo engage in a rollicking romp. The moods are rounded out with Ebullience, which features both the clarinet and the alto sax. All four of these are cushioned, punctuated and enhanced by the brass choir, for which Ferguson has created a demanding score.
This balanced and rewarding second collection serves as a marker in the development of a talented man en route to his goal: consummate artistry in all the facets of jazz—as instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and judicious organizer. This development and the certainty of that goal are amply demonstrated here.”
Mention should be made of the many wonderful West Coast based musicians who accompany Paul on these recordings including drummers Chico Hamilton and Shelly Manne, guitarists John Pisano and Billy Bean, pianist Gerald Wiggins, vibraphonist Larry Bunker and bassist Red Mitchell.
I was particularly impressed with Paul Horn’s alto sax playing on these recordings, especially with the edginess of his tone and the fluid expression of his improvised ideas which all full of original phrases. It is regrettable that he would give up reed instruments in the later years of his career to concentrate almost exclusively on flute.
Gordon Jack is a frequent contributor to the Jazz Journaland a very generous friend in allowingJazzProfilesto re-publish his insightful and discerning writings on these pages.
Gordon is the author of Fifties Jazz Talk An Oral Retrospectiveand he also developed the Gerry Mulligan discography in Raymond Horricks’ bookGerry Mulligan’s Ark.
The following article was first published in Jazz Journal November 2018.
“Ronnie Ross was born to Scottish parents in Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal on 2 October 1933. The family returned to the U.K. in 1946 and he was privately educated at the Perse School in Cambridge where Spike Hughes had been a former student. He learnt the alto and tenor before joining the Grenadier Guards where he played clarinet in the regimental band. On leaving the army he studied at the Ivor Mairants School of Music where he came into contact with Tommy Whittle and Don Rendell.
In 1954 Rendell added him to his group on tenor and they performed at the Festival Hall in February in a concert promoted by the National Jazz Federation. On another occasion there they accompanied Annie Ross (no relation) who performed her celebrated Twisted routine. Don wanted to extend the tonal range of the quintet so one night at the Jazz Centre in Greek Street he persuaded Ronnie to switch to the baritone. Finding one in a Covent Garden shop he said later, “As soon as I tried it, I knew it was for me and have not looked back since”. Eight months later the group were again at the Festival Hall with Dickie Hawdon added on trumpet and Ronnie at last on baritone. Around this time he was also working with Tony Crombie but in August 1955 at Bill Le Sage’s recommendation, Tony Kinsey added him to his quartet as a replacement for Joe Harriott who had joined Ronnie Scott’s band.
Over the next year the quartet recorded 12 titles for Decca and on numbers like Close Your Eyes, Body And Soul, Makin’ Whoopee, and A Smooth One Ronnie demonstrates a mature approach with a unique sound and timbre on the baritone. Although clearly inspired by Lars Gullin and Gerry Mulligan he reminds me a little of Gil Melle’ on these early recordings. The quartet appeared at the Gaumont State Kilburn in October 1955 in a Jazz Jamboree concert prompting Melody Maker’s Tony Brown to say, “This is a powerful little group”. There was talk of trips to the U.S.A. and Japan which did not materialise but a year later when Don Rendell was added to the quartet they did a three week tour of army bases in Cyprus. They were also featured on BBC’s Jazz Club performing Wednesday Night Special, Supper Party and Love For Sale for an enthusiastic audience compered by David Jacobs. One of their recordings – Introducing The Tony Kinsey Quintet – was favourably reviewed in Jazz Forum as, “One of the finest jazz albums to come out of England in the last few years”.
By this time Ronnie Ross was becoming very well known. The 1957 issue of Jazz Today called him, “A Titan of British Jazz…his sensitivity, sound and technique impress more with each hearing.” Later that year Rendell and Ross were part of the bill that toured the U.K. with the MJQ. Early in 1958 Ronnie performed on Ken Moule’s celebrated Jazz At Toad Hall soloing on – Messin’ About In Boats and Wind In The Willows. His next date a few weeks later was even more prestigious. After hearing him at a concert in West Germany John Lewis invited him to perform with members of the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra on his European Windows album. This elegant showcase became Ronnie’s own favourite recording. Nat Hentoff in his sleeve-note described him as a “Major find on baritone”. Lewis was so impressed with his inspired performance that he said, “Ross is all music. He is one of the best of the baritone saxophonists …perhaps the best.”
Don Rendell left Ted Heath in 1956 soon after making a big impression on one of the band’s popular hits – Cloudburst. In 1958 he formed his Jazz Six which he called, “The most mature and satisfying group I’ve ever had”. The instrumentation replicated the popular Gerry Mulligan sextet – Bert Courtley (trumpet), Eddie Harvey (trombone and piano), Rendell (tenor), Ross (baritone), Pete Blannin (bass) and Andy White (drums). Their Playtime recording features an interesting mix of originals and standards like Hit The Road To Dreamland, Tickletoe, The Lady Is A Tramp and Johnny Come Lately. A few months later Ross made one of his very few recordings as a leader on a Parlophone date supervised by George Martin. The irrepressible Bert Courtley’s warm sounding trumpet is a particular delight here and Ronne has an outstanding ballad outing on Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. The group also revisit The Serpent by Tubby Hayes, an intriguing original which the Jazz Couriers had introduced at their live date at the Dominion Theatre four months earlier.
Later that year he was the only British representative to be selected by Marshall Brown for the International Youth Band that performed two concerts at the Newport Jazz Festival. Gerry Mulligan who was also appearing at Newport was particularly taken with Ross describing him as, “The first important new challenge on baritone”. In a 1982 interview for Jazz Forum Ronnie said, “Gerry helped me a hell of a lot at Newport. He was starting a new quartet with Art Farmer and I used to go round to his flat to hear them rehearse. He taught me the importance of being able to project the sound from one end of the room to the other, no matter how loud a rhythm section might be”. They became very friendly over the years and Gerry once told me how disappointed he was that Ross who had been in the audience at the Festival Hall had not come back-stage to see him when Mulligan was appearing there in 1984.
In October 1958 Ronnie was a guest on Leonard Feather’s Blindfold Test in Down Beat. Manny Albam’s session with Al Cohn, Phil Woods and Mulligan turned out to be one of his favourite albums. He was also very receptive to Lars Gullin’s Foggy Day calling him, “One of the most original baritone players”. He was understandably stumped by Mulligan and Stan Getz performing Anything Goes. On that track the protagonists had swapped instruments - “I liked the tenor player very much and some of the baritone” he said.
In 1959 he won Down Beat’s coveted New Star Award on baritone and in April that year he became a member of Woody Herman’s saxophone section in the Anglo-American Herd together with Art Ellefson, Don Rendell and Johnny Scott. The remarkable Harold Pendleton handled the tour. He not only ran the N.J.F. and the Marquee club but he was also Chris Barber’s manager and a few months before he died he told me, “Woody had just disbanded when I met his manager Abe Turchen in his office. He was placing bets on the telephone while listening to horse- racing on the radio but he was intrigued when I asked if Woody would be interested in bringing a few of his sidemen to the U.K. for a tour with some of our best local musicians. Woody agreed and he included at my request the great lead trumpeter Reunald Jones who had impressed me when I heard him with Basie’s band.
“The new Herd rehearsed at the Marquee and I was there when they tried Four Brothers for the first time. The saxes were an unknown quantity to Woody and when they finished he said, ‘You guys can certainly sight-read but can you play with some BALLS!’ He really wanted them to roar and create far more impact which they proceeded to do of course. The tour lasted for sixteen nights and Woody loved the band. He was particularly impressed with Ronnie and wanted to take him back to the States. Later that year I arranged a tour for the MJQ with Ronnie and Joe Harriott as guests. John Lewis thought Ronnie was exceptional and like Woody, he encouraged him to try his luck in America”. Tapes of the MJQ’s Manchester concert with Ross and Harriott performing Django, How Long Has This Been Going On?, A Night In Tunisia, Bag’s Groove, Body And Soul and All The Things You Are have circulated for years.
In 1959 he and his good friend Allan Ganley formed the Jazzmakers with Art Ellefson on tenor. Along with the Jazz Couriers they were probably the finest of all our small groups. Keith Christie was occasionally added on trombone but he never recorded with them. Reviewing their performance at New York’s Town Hall where they shared the bill with Thelonious Monk, Anita O’Day, Lennie Tristano and George Shearing, Burt Korall highlighted, “The excellence of their unisons and natural flowing interchanges”. Nesuhi Ertegun was so impressed that he recorded them for his Atlantic label and Down Beat awarded the album three stars although it should have been more. The Jazzmakers appeared at Newport in 1959 but they disbanded a year later. Ross then joined the Vic Lewis band for an American tour which included an appearance at Birdland. Ronnie Scott took Jimmy Deuchar and Ross with him for an engagement at the Half Note in 1963 with a New York rhythm section featuring Roger Kellaway on piano. Ronnie also worked regularly until 1966 in a quartet with Bill Le Sage. There is a superb World Record Club album reflecting their time together which has yet to be reissued on CD.
He was once quoted in the Melody Maker saying, “The continent is where it’s all happening now” and in the early 60s he often worked in Germany at workshops in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Recklinghausen which were very well paid. However he was becoming increasingly aware of the changes occurring in the local jazz scene – “If you weren’t playing avant-garde you weren’t required” was one of his rueful comments at the time. On another occasion he said, “The jazz scene is smaller than ever now the Marquee has closed the Saturday night session. We have to make do with provincial clubs and they mostly close in the summer. It’s difficult to make a living in this country by playing here and there for peanuts”. (Major London venues like the Flamingo, the 100 Club and the Marquee had started featuring R’n’ B acts like Georgie Fame, Zoot Money, Geno Washington, the Rolling Stones and Herbie Goins.)
During the 60s he often performed in big bands led by Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland, Johnny Dankworth, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Tracey and Tubby Hayes. A stellar session-man he also started getting calls from people like Rod Stewart, the Beatles and Alexis Korner. He performed on Donovan’s Mellow Yellow and famously on Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side produced by David Bowie who had saxophone lessons with Ross as a twelve year old. It was Reed’s hymn to the drag queens and homosexuals who inhabited Andy Warhol’s New York Factory. Ronnie received a session fee of £10.00 for a solo that is the most memorable part of Reed’s hit. In the 70s he recorded with Clark Terry, Jimmy Skidmore. Salena Jones and Freddy Cole. In the 80s his regular quartet often included John Horler who recently told me, “Ronnie had a lovely sound on baritone. He was a friendly guy and easy to work with”. He also often appeared with Matt Bianco. In a JJ interview (January 2010) Paul Booth told me when he was with the group he transcribed many of Ronnie’s solos, “Which is when I discovered how melodic and fluent he was with a great technique”.
The pantheon of baritone masters which includes Nick Brignola, Harry Carney, Serge Chaloff, Ronnie Cuber, Bob Gordon, Lars Gullin and Gerry Mulligan is a small and very exclusive one. Another name should be added to that distinguished company – RONNIE ROSS – who died on 12 December 1991.
Selected Discography
As Leader
Stompin’/The Swinging Sounds Of The Jazzmakers: (Acrobat Music ACMCD 4300)
Bill Le Sage-Ronnie Ross Quartet: (World Record Club T346)
Cleopatra’s Needle: (Fontana SFJL 915)
As Sideman
The Tony Kinsey Collection 1953-61: (Acrobat Music ACSCD6001)
Ken Moule: Jazz At Toad Hall (Vocalion CDLK 4227)
Don Rendell Jazz Six: Playtime (Vocalion CDLK 4284)
John Lewis: European Windows (American Jazz Classics 99004)
Johnny Dankworth: What The Dickens! (Vocalion CDSML 8491
William Russo: Russo In London & Kenny Baker: Blowing Up A Storm (Vocalion CDSML 8490)
