John Young (jazz pianist)

John Merritt Young (March 16, 1922 – April 16, 2008) was an American jazz pianist. Young played with Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dexter Gordon, and many others.[1] He recorded with his own trio in the 1950s and 1960s, and was a sideman for Von Freeman, Gene Ammons and others. He remained active in the Chicago jazz scene until a few years before his death.

John Young
Born(1922-03-16)March 16, 1922
OriginChicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedApril 16, 2008(2008-04-16) (aged 86)
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards
Years active1940s–1990s
LabelsDelmark, Argo

Biography

Young was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and his family relocated to Chicago when he was a toddler.[2] He first toured in the 1940s with the big band Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy. After Young left Kirk's band and returned to Chicago, he performed with the Dick Davis combo until 1950, when he formed his own combo with Eldridge Freeman on drums and Leroy Jackson on bass.[3] In 1957, he signed with Argo Records and recorded his first LP, Opus de Funk.

He was active in the Chicago jazz scene, regularly playing popular clubs with artists such as Dexter Gordon, Big Joe Turner, Von Freeman and others. He made more than a dozen appearances at the Chicago Jazz Festival, often as a sideman for tenor saxophonist Eddie Johnson. He retired in 2005 due to sciatic nerve inflammation. He died from multiple myeloma on April 16, 2008.

Dan Morgenstern, in Living with Jazz, called Young "one of Chicago's several unsung piano originals".[4] Allmusic.com called Young "criminally underappreciated outside of [the Chicago bop scene]".[2]

Discography

As leader
Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
1956 Young John Young Argo Trio, with Herbert Brown (bass), Larry Jackson (drums)[5]
1957 Opus de Funk Vee-Jay Trio, with Herbert Brown (bass), Larry Jackson (drums)[5]
1959 The John Young Trio Delmark Trio, with Vic Sproles (bass), Phil Thomas (drums); also released as Serenata[5]
1961 Themes and Things Argo Trio, with William Yancey (bass), Phil Thomas (drums)[5]
1962 A Touch of Pepper Argo Trio, with Sam Kidd (bass), Phil Thomas (drums)[5][6]

As sideman

With Lorez Alexandria

With Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon

With Bobby Bryant

  • Big Band Blues (Vee Jay, 1961)

With George Freeman

With Von Freeman

  • Doin' It Right Now (Atlantic, 1972)
  • Have No Fear (Nessa, 1975)
  • Young and Foolish, Von Freeman, (Nessa, 1977)
  • Serenade & Blues, Von Freeman, (Nessa, 1979)

With Al Grey

With Sonny Stitt and Zoot Sims

With T-Bone Walker

  • T-Bone Blues (Atlantic, 1959)

References
  1. "Chicago Jazz Legend John Young". chicagojazz.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. "John Young: Biography". allmusic.com.
  3. "The John Young Discography". jazzdocumentation.ch.
  4. Morgenstern, Dan, Living with Jazz. Pantheon. ISBN 978-0375420726.
  5. "John Young Discography". jazzdisco.org. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  6. Ankeny, Jason. "A Touch of Pepper: John Young". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
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