Ronnie Ball

Ronald Ball (December 22, 1927 – October 1984)[1] was a jazz pianist, composer and arranger, born in Birmingham, England.

For the British Police and Crime Commissioner, see Ron Ball. For the American thriller and suspense writer, see Ron Clark Ball.

Ronnie Ball
Birth nameRonald Ball
Born(1927-12-22)22 December 1927
Birmingham, UK
DiedOctober 1984 aged 56
New York
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, Composer
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1950-1984

Biography

Ball moved to London in 1948, and in the early 1950s he worked both as a bandleader and under Ronnie Scott, Tony Kinsey, Victor Feldman, and Harry Klein. In 1952, he moved to New York City[1] and studied with Lennie Tristano. At the time, it was his ambition to learn more about the American jazz scene and in the 1950s and 1960s he worked extensively with other jazz musicians. Among the musicians Ball performed with are Chuck Wayne (1952), Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Konitz (1953–55), Kenny Clarke, Hank Mobley, Art Pepper, J.J. Johnson (1956), Kai Winding (1956, 1958), Warne Marsh,(1956–57), Buddy Rich (1958), Gene Krupa (1958), Roy Eldridge (1959) and Chris Connor (1961–63).[2]

Ball plays on the Warne Marsh album Jazz of Two Cities (recorded during October 1956 in Los Angeles) with Marsh and Ted Brown (tenor saxophone), Ben Tucker (bass), and Jeff Morton (drums). It was later reissued on Tristano/Marsh Capitol compilation Intuition (Capitol CDP 7243 8 52771 2 2).

During a two-year period (1961-1963), Ball occasionally accompanied American jazz singer Chris Connor and made recordings with her on many occasions. As most of his adult life was spent in New York, he only made a small number of recordings in London and very little recorded material was reissued on CD. Later in the 1960s, Ball worked as part of the house trio at the Studio 51 Club on Great Newport Street in London. He ended his musical career to work completing transcriptions for a music publisher until his death in 1984.[3]

Death

Ball died in New York City in October 1984, aged 56. His exact date of death is unknown.[4]

Discography

With Kenny Clarke

With Teddy Edwards

With Roy Eldridge

With Lee Konitz

With Warne Marsh

References
Footnotes
  1. Ind, Peter (2005). Jazz Visions: Lennie Tristano and His Legacy. Equinox. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-84553-281-9.
  2. Ronnie Ball Biography www.allmusic.com Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. Ronnie Ball Discography www.henrybebop.co.uk Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. Ronnie Ball, JazzDisco.org. Retrieved 24 April 2019
Further reading
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