Houston Person - Sax
Houston Person Biography by Matt Collar
With his robust sound and swinging style, tenor saxophonist Houston Person has kept the hard bop and organ-soaked soul-jazz traditions alive. Emerging from organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, Person established his reputation as one of the Big Boss tenors in the Gene Ammons style with albums like 1968's Blue Odyssey, 1969's Goodness!, and 1970's Person to Person! He further embraced a funky, soulful vibe in the '70s with albums like 1972's Broken Windows, Empty Hallways and 1976's Stolen Sweets. From the '80s onward, he balanced his love of groove-based R&B with more hard-swinging acoustic sessions, joining contemporaries like Ron Carter and Teddy Edwards, as well as younger players like Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride. He recorded extensively with singer Etta Jones and has remained a torchbearer for the big tenor sound, releasing warmly attenuated standards and soul-jazz dates like 2015's Something Personal and 2021's Live in Paris.
Born in 1934 in South Carolina, Person started out on piano before picking up the tenor sax in his youth. After high school, he studied at South Carolina State College and then enlisted in the Air Force. Stationed in West Germany, he played in a service band that also included such jazz luminaries as Eddie Harris, Lanny Morgan, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton. Following his discharge, he finished his studies at Connecticut's Hartt College of Music. In the early '60s, Person was a member of organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith's group, appearing on albums like 1963's A Little Taste, 1965's The Stinger, and 1968's Nasty! It was also during his time with Smith that he first met vocalist and longtime musical companion Etta Jones.
As a leader, Person made his solo debut with 1966's Underground Soul on the Prestige label, featuring organist Charles Boston. More vibrantly earthy albums followed for the label, including 1967's Chocomotive, 1967's Trust in Me, and 1968's Blue Odyssey, all of which found him working with pianist Cedar Walton. Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, he released a handful of albums that all featured exclamation-point titles, starting with 1968's Soul Dance! and ending with 1970's Person to Person! Marked by the inclusion of organist Sonny Phillips, each record grew increasingly funky as Person dipped further into soul and R&B sounds. There were also gritty sessions with Charles Earland and Don Patterson.
Throughout the '70s, Person continued to pursue a soul-oriented crossover sound, as on 1971's large-ensemble Houston Express and 1972's Sweet Buns & Barbecue. Following his time with Prestige, he recorded for a bevy of independent labels, releasing 1973's The Real Thing and 1975's Get Out'a My Way! on the Detroit-based Eastbound and Westbound labels, respectively. He then moved to Mercury for two mid-'70s dates, 1976's Pure Pleasure and 1977's Harmony. He also recorded with equally funk-centric players like Grant Green, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Bernard Purdie, and others. In addition, there were numerous sessions with vocalist Jones, a partnership that would continue for much of Person's career. Toward the end of the decade, he found a home at Muse, releasing a handful of equally earthy soul-, blues-, and hard bop-inflected dates, including Stolen Sweets, Wild Flower, and The Nearness of You. More albums followed for Muse with 1980's Suspicions, 1982's Heavy Juice, and 1985's Always on My Mind.
While funk and soul would remain an integral part of his sound, Person began to incorporate more straight-ahead acoustic jazz back into his work by the late '80s. He released a warm standards date with 1987's Basics and paired with bassist Ron Carter for both 1989's Something in Common and 1990's Now's the Time. He also recorded several albums featuring then up-and-coming young lions, including organist Joey DeFrancesco and a pair of siblings, trumpeter Philip Harper and drummer Winard Harper, as on 1990's Why Not! A year later, he released The Lion and His Pride, which again featured the Harper Brothers, along with pianist Benny Green and bassist Christian McBride.
By the mid-'90s, Person had switched to HighNote Records, releasing a steady flow of equally potent hard bop albums, including 1996's Close Encounters with tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, 1998's quartet date My Romance, and 2000's holiday-themed Together at Christmas with vocalist Jones. More HighNote albums arrived with 2006's You Taught My Heart to Sing with Bill Charlap, 2007's Thinking of You, and 2008's Just Between Friends, the latter of which again found him working with bassist Carter. Released in 2012, Naturally, recorded at the famed Van Gelder Recording Studio, re-teamed Person with longtime associate Cedar Walton on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. He quickly returned with the similarly inclined 2013 effort Nice 'n' Easy, followed a year later by The Melody Lingers On.
In 2015, Person delivered the rootsy and soulful Something Personal. The saxophonist then again paired with Carter for the 2016 duo album Chemistry. The following year saw Person issue the soulful Rain or Shine, which marked his 50th year as a combo leader. After 2018's Remember Love, his sixth album of duets with Carter, he returned with the full-band set I'm Just a Lucky So and So. The concert album Live in Paris arrived in 2021 and featured his group with guitarist Peter Bernstein, organist Ben Paterson, and drummer Willie Jones III.
Andrew Wilcox - Piano Andrew is one of Hartfordโs rising young musicians. Originally from Boylston, MA, Andrew has proven himself to be a talented young pianist, with a passion to learn, grow and play. After moving to Hartford at age 18, Andrew quickly sought out his elders and began building relationships with them. These relationships eventually turned into mentors and employers and Andrew was seen frequently alongside many of these musicians including Haneef Nelson, Nat Reeves, Yoron Israel, Rob Zapulla, Jonathan Barber, Alex Tremblay and Matt Dwonszyk.
A respectful student, Andrew was a student of Rick Germanson, Ralph Peterson, Orrin Evans, and the late great Stanley Cowell. Each introduced Andrew to other musicians, but Ralph Peterson introduced Andrew to Jazzmeia Horn, a musician who would time and time again give Andrew chances to prove himself. The most notable test was when Andrew was called as a last minute sub at the Newport Jazz Festival alongside Ms. Horn at the Newport Jazz Festival.
Andrew is a frequent performer in the Northeastern United States where he is a regular member of the Haneef Nelson Quintet and Ed Byrne Quartet, among other groups. In addition, Andrew fronts his own trio and sextet that perform his original compositions and arrangements.
Bill Crow: Bassist Bill Crow came from Seattle to New York in January 1950, and taught himself to play the bass that summer. Bass playing took him through the bands of Teddy Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Claude Thornhill, Terry Gibbs, Jerry Wald, Marian McPartland, Jimmy McPartland, Gerry Mulligan, Gene DiNovi, George Wein, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Mose Allison, Jim Raney, Jim Hall, Ruby Braff, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Bob Brookmeyer, Clark Terry, Kai Winding, J.J. Johnson, Art Farmer, Marty Napoleon, Eddie Condon, and many many others. He also played several Broadway shows including The King and I and 42nd Street.
Bill has written two books that tell amusing stories from his own career, and from the band room stories that musicians tell on each other. On November 2nd he will join a few colleagues to play some jazz and to tell some stories from his long career in the music world.
Roger Post: Drummer, Band Leader Roger is a highly sought-after drummer/percussionist whose 52 years of experience have encompassed an incredible variety of styles and music. Big bands: New Haven Jazz Orchestra, Harold Zinno Big Band, Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Berkshire Big Band, Sonny Carroll Orchestra, Fairfield Counts, Rob Zappulla Orchestra, Bensen/Scott Big Band. Jazz Concerts with Bill Watrous, Marvin Stamm, Marshall McDonald, Houston Person, Bill Crow Broadway: 42nd St. (original), Ainโt Misbehavinโ (revival w/original cast), Cats, Saturday Night Fever, Falsettos, and Godspell revival.
show less
