Dizzy Reece
Encyclopedia
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece (5 January 1931) is a hard bop
jazz
trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.
Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica
, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School
(famed in Jamaica for its musical alumni), switching from baritone
to trumpet
at 14. A full-time musician from age 16, he moved to London in 1948 and spent the 1950s working in Europe, much of that time in Paris. He played with Don Byas
, Kenny Clarke
, Frank Foster
and Thad Jones
, among others.
Winning praise from the likes of Miles Davis
and Sonny Rollins
, he emigrated to New York City
in 1959, but found New York in the 1960s a struggle. Reece recorded a series of critically acclaimed records on the Blue Note
label, which were reissued on Mosaic
in 2004 that gave fans hope of a comeback. Still active as a musician and writer, Reece has recorded over the years with Victor Feldman
, Tubby Hayes
, Paris Reunion Band, Clifford Jordan
’s Big Band, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon
, fellow trumpeter Ted Curson
, pianist Duke Jordan
, long-time Sun Ra
alumni saxophonist John Gilmore
and drummer Philly Joe Jones
.
Others
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.
Reece was born 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School
Alpha Boys School
Alpha Cottage School is a school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, run by Roman Catholic nuns...
(famed in Jamaica for its musical alumni), switching from baritone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
to trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
at 14. A full-time musician from age 16, he moved to London in 1948 and spent the 1950s working in Europe, much of that time in Paris. He played with Don Byas
Don Byas
Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, long-resident in Europe.- Oklahoma and Los Angeles :...
, Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
, Frank Foster
Frank Foster (musician)
Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
and Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
, among others.
Winning praise from the likes of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, he emigrated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1959, but found New York in the 1960s a struggle. Reece recorded a series of critically acclaimed records on the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label, which were reissued on Mosaic
Mosaic Records
Mosaic Records is an American specialist jazz record label, founded in 1983 by Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie to issue coherent limited edition box sets of jazz recordings by individual musicians, which had fallen out-of-print...
in 2004 that gave fans hope of a comeback. Still active as a musician and writer, Reece has recorded over the years with Victor Feldman
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Tubby Hayes
Tubby Hayes
Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born...
, Paris Reunion Band, Clifford Jordan
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
’s Big Band, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, fellow trumpeter Ted Curson
Ted Curson
Theodore "Ted" Curson is a jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best-known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus....
, pianist Duke Jordan
Duke Jordan
Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regular member of Charlie Parker's so-called "classic quintet" , featuring Miles Davis...
, long-time Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
alumni saxophonist John Gilmore
John Gilmore (musician)
John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
and drummer Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
.
As Leader
Blue Note- 1958: Blues in TrinityBlues in TrinityBlues in Trinity is an album by Jamaican-born English-based jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1958 and released on the Blue Note label...
- 1959: Star BrightStar Bright (Dizzy Reece album)Star Bright is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1959 shortly after his move to the New York City and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4½ stars....
- 1960: Comin' On!Comin' On!Comin' On! is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded at two sessions in 1960 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1999...
- 1960: Soundin' OffSoundin' OffSoundin' Off is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars....
Others
- A New Star (Jasmine, 1955–56) with Phil SeamenPhil SeamenPhillip William "Phil" Seamen was an English jazz drummer.With a solid background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s British jazz...
- Progress Report (Jasmine, 1956–58) with Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
, Tubby HayesTubby HayesEdward Brian "Tubby" Hayes was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest British jazz instrumentalists.- Early life :Hayes was born... - Asia MinorAsia Minor (album)Asia Minor is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1962 and originally released on the New Jazz label.-Reception:...
(New JazzPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
, 1962) - From In to OutFrom In to OutFrom In to Out is a live album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in Paris in 1970 and released on the French Futura label...
- Futura Ger 16 (1970) - Possession, Exorcism, Peace (1974)
- Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project (album)Manhattan Project is an album by Jamaican-born jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece featuring performances recorded in 1978 and released on the Bee Hive label...
(1978) Bee Hive RecordsBee Hive Records-Discography:-References:*... - Blowin' Away (1978)
- Nirvana: The Zen of the Jazz Trumpet (2006)
Compilations
- Mosaic Select: Dizzy Reece (MS-011) - compiles Blues in Trinity (1958), Star Bright (1959), Soundin' Off (1960), and Comin' On! (1960).
As Sideman
- Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
: Suite Sixteen (1955) - Duke JordanDuke JordanIrving Sidney "Duke" Jordan was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regular member of Charlie Parker's so-called "classic quintet" , featuring Miles Davis...
: Flight to JordanFlight to JordanFlight to Jordan is an album by American pianist Duke Jordan recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 5 stars and stated "the music has plenty of strong melodies and variety...
(Blue Note, 1960) - Dexter GordonDexter GordonDexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
: Day in Copenhagen (1969) - Hank MobleyHank MobleyHenry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
: The FlipThe Flip (album)The Flip is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on July 12, 1969 in Paris, France and released on the Blue Note label. It features performances by Mobley with Dizzy Reece, Slide Hampton, Vince Benedetti, Alby Cullaz and Philly Joe Jones....
(Blue Note, 1969) - Andrew HillAndrew HillAndrew Hill was an American jazz pianist and composer.Hill is recognized as one of the most important innovators of jazz piano in the 1960s...
: Passing ShipsPassing ShipsPassing Ships is an album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill featuring performances recorded in 1969 but not released on the Blue Note label until 2003. The album features Hill with a large horn section performing seven original compositions.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1969) - Ted CursonTed CursonTheodore "Ted" Curson is a jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best-known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus....
: Round About Midnight (1980) - Clifford JordanClifford JordanClifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
: Play What You Feel (1990) - Clifford Jordan: Down Through The Years (Milestone, 1991)