Phineas Newborn
Encyclopedia
Phineas Newborn, Jr. was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum
, Oscar Peterson
and Bud Powell
. Newborn came from a musical family with his father, Phineas Newborn, Sr., being a blues
musician and his younger brother, Calvin
, a jazz guitarist. Phineas studied piano as well as trumpet, and tenor and baritone saxophone.
Before moving on to work with Lionel Hampton
, Charles Mingus
, and others, Newborn first played in an R&B
band led by his father on drums, Tuff Green on bass and his brother Calvin on guitar. The group also included future Hi Records
star Willie Mitchell, and Ben Branch
. The group was the house band in West Memphis, Arkansas, from 1947 to 1951 at the now famous Plantation Inn Club. The group recorded as B. B. King
's band on his first recordings in 1949 and also the Sun Records
sessions in 1950. The group would leave West Memphis in 1951 to tour with Jackie Brenston
as the "Delta Cats" in support of the record "Rocket 88
". Rocket 88
is considered by many to be the first rock & roll record ever recorded (recorded by Sam Phillips
) and was the first Billboard #1 record for Chess Records
. Among his earliest recordings, from the early 1950s, are those for Sun Records
with blues harmonica player Big Walter Horton
, We Three (a trio date led by drummer Roy Haynes along with bassist Paul Chambers), and his debut as a solo artist on RCA Victor, Phineas' Rainbow.
From 1956 he began to perform in New York City
, making his first album as a leader in that year. His trios and quartets at that time included Oscar Pettiford
, Kenny Clarke
, George Joyner and Philly Joe Jones
.
He created enough interest internationally to work as a single in Stockholm
in 1958 and in Rome
the following year.
Subsequently moving to Los Angeles
around 1960, he recorded a sequence of piano trio albums for the Contemporary
label. However, some critics found his playing style rather facile, and Newborn developed emotional problems as a result, necessitating his admission to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital for some periods. He also suffered a hand injury which hindered his playing.
Newborn’s later career was intermittent due to ongoing health problems. This is most true of the period from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s when he faded from view, underappreciated and underrecorded. He made a partial comeback in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although this return apparently failed to benefit his financial situation. He died in 1989 after the discovery of a growth on his lungs and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery. According to jazz historian Nat Hentoff
, Newborn's plight spurred the 1989 founding of the Jazz Foundation of America
, a group dedicated to helping with the medical bills and other financial needs of retired jazz greats.
Despite his setbacks, many of his records, such as The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn, Jr
and Phineas' Rainbow, remain highly regarded. Jazz commentator Scott Yanow
even referred to Newborn as "one of the most technically skilled and brilliant pianists in jazz." Evidence of his technical prowess can be heard on tracks such as "Sometimes I'm Happy" on Look Out - Phineas is Back! where Newborn performs extended, complex, and brisk solos with both hands in unison. Leonard Feather
once said of him "In his prime, he was one of the three greatest jazz pianists of all time."
Art Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
and Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
. Newborn came from a musical family with his father, Phineas Newborn, Sr., being a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician and his younger brother, Calvin
Calvin Newborn
Calvin Newborn is an American jazz guitarist.-Career:He is the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. , with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with their father Phineas Newborn Sr. on drums and Tuff Green on bass...
, a jazz guitarist. Phineas studied piano as well as trumpet, and tenor and baritone saxophone.
Before moving on to work with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, and others, Newborn first played in an R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
band led by his father on drums, Tuff Green on bass and his brother Calvin on guitar. The group also included future Hi Records
Hi Records
Hi Records was a Memphis soul and rockabilly label started in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch , and three silent partners, including Cuoghi's lawyer, Nick Pesce....
star Willie Mitchell, and Ben Branch
Ben Branch
Ben F. Branch was an American entrepreneur, jazz tenor saxophonist, and bandleader.Although possibly better known as being one of the last people Martin Luther King Jr spoke to moments before his assassination in 1968, Branch had been a leading bandleader for many years.-Musical career:With his...
. The group was the house band in West Memphis, Arkansas, from 1947 to 1951 at the now famous Plantation Inn Club. The group recorded as B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
's band on his first recordings in 1949 and also the Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
sessions in 1950. The group would leave West Memphis in 1951 to tour with Jackie Brenston
Jackie Brenston
Jackie Brenston was an African American R&B singer and saxophonist, who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the proto-rock and roll song "Rocket 88".-Biography:...
as the "Delta Cats" in support of the record "Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
". Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
is considered by many to be the first rock & roll record ever recorded (recorded by Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips
Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
) and was the first Billboard #1 record for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
. Among his earliest recordings, from the early 1950s, are those for Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
with blues harmonica player Big Walter Horton
Big Walter Horton
Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues...
, We Three (a trio date led by drummer Roy Haynes along with bassist Paul Chambers), and his debut as a solo artist on RCA Victor, Phineas' Rainbow.
From 1956 he began to perform in 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...
, making his first album as a leader in that year. His trios and quartets at that time included Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford
Oscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...
, 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...
, George Joyner and 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...
.
He created enough interest internationally to work as a single in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 1958 and in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
the following year.
Subsequently moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
around 1960, he recorded a sequence of piano trio albums for the Contemporary
Contemporary Records
Contemporary Records was a jazz record label founded by Lester Koenig in 1951 in Los Angeles. Contemporary was known for seminal recordings embodying the West Coast sound, but also released recordings based in New York...
label. However, some critics found his playing style rather facile, and Newborn developed emotional problems as a result, necessitating his admission to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital for some periods. He also suffered a hand injury which hindered his playing.
Newborn’s later career was intermittent due to ongoing health problems. This is most true of the period from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s when he faded from view, underappreciated and underrecorded. He made a partial comeback in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although this return apparently failed to benefit his financial situation. He died in 1989 after the discovery of a growth on his lungs and was buried in Memphis National Cemetery. According to jazz historian Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
, Newborn's plight spurred the 1989 founding of the Jazz Foundation of America
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York founded in 1989. The JFA’s programs help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunities in schools and the community...
, a group dedicated to helping with the medical bills and other financial needs of retired jazz greats.
Despite his setbacks, many of his records, such as The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn, Jr
The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn, Jr
The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn, Jr is an album by jazz pianist Phineas Newborn. Accompanying him on trio sessions are Leroy Vinnegar or Sam Jones on bass and either Milt Turner or Louis Hayes on drums....
and Phineas' Rainbow, remain highly regarded. Jazz commentator Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
even referred to Newborn as "one of the most technically skilled and brilliant pianists in jazz." Evidence of his technical prowess can be heard on tracks such as "Sometimes I'm Happy" on Look Out - Phineas is Back! where Newborn performs extended, complex, and brisk solos with both hands in unison. Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
once said of him "In his prime, he was one of the three greatest jazz pianists of all time."
Discography
- 1956: Here Is Phineas - Phineas Newborn Quartet - with Calvin Newborn (g) Oscar Pettiford (b) Kenny Clarke (d) (Atlantic LP 1235, SD 1235)
- 1956: Phineas' Rainbow - Phineas Newborn Quartet - with Calvin Newborn (g) George Joyner (b) Philly Joe Jones (d) (RCA PM 1421)
- 1957: Phineas Newborn Plays Jamaica, with Ernie RoyalErnie RoyalErnest Andrew Royal was a jazz trumpeter.His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles .He began in Los Angeles as a member of Les Hite's Orchestra in 1937...
(tp) Jimmy ClevelandJimmy ClevelandJimmy Cleveland was an American jazz trombone born in Wartrace, Tennessee.Cleveland worked with many well-known jazz musicians, including Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Quincy Jones, Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce, Oscar Peterson, Oscar Pettiford and James Brown...
(tb) Sahib ShihabSahib ShihabSahib Shihab was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.-Biography:...
(as, bars, cl, bcl) Jerome RichardsonJerome RichardsonJerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
(ts, fl), Les SpannLes SpannLeslie Spann, Jr. was an American jazz guitarist and flautist.Spann was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States....
(g) George DuvivierGeorge DuvivierGeorge Duvivier was an American jazz double-bass player.Duvivier was born in New York City and took up the cello and also the violin while in high school before settling on the bass. He also learned composition and scoring before going out on the road with Lucky Millinder and then with the Cab...
(b) Osie JohnsonOsie JohnsonJames "Osie" Johnson was a jazz drummer.He first worked with Sabby Lewis and then, after service in the United States Navy freelanced for a time in Chicago...
(d) Francisco Pozo, Willie Rodriguez (per) (RCA Victor LPM 1589) - 1958: Fabulous Phineas - Phineas Newborn Quartet with Calvin Newborn (g) George Joyner (b) Denzil BestDenzil BestDenzil DaCosta Best was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early '60s....
(d) (RCA PM 1873) - 1961 A World of Piano! (Contemporary S7600)
- 1961: Maggie's Back in Town with Howard McGheeHoward McGheeHoward McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
, Leroy VinnegarLeroy VinnegarLeroy Vinnegar was an American jazz bassist.Born in Indianapolis, the self-taught Vinnegar established his reputation in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s. His trademark was the rhythmic "walking" bass line, a steady series of ascending or descending notes, and it brought him the nickname...
, Shelly ManneShelly ManneShelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
(OJC 693) - 1961: Howard McGhee/Teddy Edwards - Together Again! - Teddy EdwardsTeddy EdwardsTheodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards was an American jazz tenor saxophonist based on the West Coast of the US. Some consider him to be one of the most influential jazz saxophonists.-Biography:...
- Howard McGheeHoward McGheeHoward McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
Quintet with Howard McGhee (tp) Teddy Edwards (ts) Ray BrownRay Brown (musician)Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
(b) Ed ThigpenEd ThigpenEdmund Leonard "Ed" Thigpen was an American jazz drummer, best-known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965...
(d) (Contemporary M 3588, S 7588; Fantasy OJC 424, OJCCD 424-2) - 1964: The Newborn Touch (Contemporary S7615)
- 1969: Please Send Me Someone To Love, with Ray Brown (b) and Elvin JonesElvin JonesElvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
(d) (Contemporary OJCCD-947-2; S 7622) - 1978: Look Out - Phineas is Back! - Phineas Newborn Trio with Ray Brown and Jimmy Smith, recorded RCA Studios, 1976 (Pablo Records 2310-801)