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Houston Person

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person's working relationship with Ms. Jones began in 1973 and lasted for thirty years, until her recent passing in 2001. Early gigs happened while serving in the Army overseas in Germany, where he played with Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton and others. On Mr. Person's philosophy of jazz, he says, "Well, it's uplifting and important. And a release and a relief. That's what it is, jazz, so called jazz, to me. It's important that it's relaxing. Something that when the end of the day comes, after a hard and frustrating day out in the world, that relieves you. Relaxes you and makes you feel good." Mr Person adds that all he wants is to give people "good solid melodies with some improvisation and plenty of blues feel." He smiles, "You always want that dance feeling there, that happy, happy feeling."


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14
Album Review

Peter Hand: Blue Topaz

Read "Blue Topaz" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Peter Hand has a hand in almost everything on Blue Topaz, playing masterful guitar, writing seven of the album's ten engaging numbers and arranging all of them. He also spliced together a pair of blue-chip ensembles for his first small-group recording after three well-received big-band albums, and invited his longtime friend--and legendary tenor saxophonist--Houston Person to sit in on two tracks. Person had also guested on one of the guitarist's big-band recordings, Out of Hand (2014). Hand's ...

9
Album Review

Emmet Cohen: Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person

Read "Master Legacy Series Volume 5 Featuring Houston Person" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


From its languid beginning, saxophonist Houston Person's own warmly engaging “Why Not?," to its closing, Etta James' slinky seduction “Sunday Kind of Love," Emmet Cohen's Master Legacy Series Vol. 5 Featuring Houston Person is a decidedly laid-back affair, unlike much of its predecessors which featured Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, George Coleman, Benny Golson and Albert “Tootie" Heath. Maybe that is just the eighty-eight year old Person's influence. His big tone and big presence fill the studio with a ...

41
Album Review

Houston Person: Reminiscing at Rudy's

Read "Reminiscing at Rudy's" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The “Rudy's" in the title of tenor saxophonist Houston Person's album, Reminiscing at Rudy's, is not a nightclub or other such venue but the New Jersey studio of celebrated recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder who died in 2016. As befits reminiscing, the bulk of the album's numbers are tender ballads, every one of which lands squarely in Person's amorous wheelhouse. That is not to say the veteran tenor saxophone maestro—who has recorded almost seventy albums as leader ...

30
Album Review

Eric Person: Blue Vision

Read "Blue Vision" reviewed by Jack Bowers


What are the odds that a Person who plays jazz saxophone would meet another Person who plays jazz saxophone, that they would become fast friends and find they were so musically compatible that they would not only perform together but decide to record an album featuring their two horns as the front line? Meet alto saxophonist Eric Person who in 2009 performed onstage for the first time with tenor saxophonist Houston Person, his senior by almost three decades but someone ...

8
Album Review

Eric Person: Blue Vision

Read "Blue Vision" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


A veteran of Chico Hamilton, Dave Holland, and The World Saxophone Quartet, saxophonist Eric Person knows a sweet gig when he plays one. This well earned and hard earned knowledge unequivocally guarantees that Blue Vision, Person's soulful homage to late night organ trios, church, and sax legendHouston Person, is about as cool a blue session that you'll hear any time in the near future. Blue Vision has one wafting in and out of the daily routine then returning ...

11
Album Review

Various Artists: Putumayo Presents Jazz Christmas

Read "Putumayo Presents Jazz Christmas" reviewed by Jim Trageser


The Putumayo World Music compilations have achieved an enviable brand status with their wide-ranging stylistic variety and the distinctively cheerful covers by artist Lisa Gonzalez. The latest entry, Putumayo Presents Jazz Christmas joins previous entrants Putumayo Presents New Orleans Christmas (2007) and Putumayo Presents A Jazz & Blues Christmas (2008) in offering collections of holiday-themed entrants in a jazz vein. As with all of its jazz releases, Putumayo founder and curator Dan Storper's taste in jazz ...

17
Album Review

Houston Person: Live in Paris

Read "Live in Paris" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The greatest jazz musicians have one trait in common; they make everything sound so ridiculously easy that listeners are liable to lose sight of the blood, sweat and tears which brought them to that pinnacle. Tenor saxophonist Houston Person, an octogenarian who keeps sidestepping every obstacle including Father Time, is one such master; regardless of groove or tempo, he seems perfectly at home, never letting an audience see him sweat, even on flag-wavers such as “Lester Leaps In," one of ...

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person's working relationship with Ms. ...

1

Performance / Tour

The Django Announces December Schedule Featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith Tributes, Holidays With Duchess, Orrin Evans, New Year's Eve With Houston Person, And More

The Django Announces December Schedule Featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith Tributes, Holidays With Duchess, Orrin Evans, New Year's Eve With Houston Person, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations

The Django, downtown Manhattan’s premier jazz club, offers an impressive month of music with jazz legends and rising stars. Today’s leading artists gather on The Django stage to celebrate NEA Jazz Master Dr. Lonnie Smith in special back-to-back tribute concerts 12/9. Two leading pianists make their Django debut: Benito Gonzalez 12/3 followed by Orrin Evans 12/8 leading his new Brazilian project “Terreno Comun”. The holidays are in full swing with festive concerts by Charles Turner & Uptown Swing Dance 12/11, ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person's working relationship with Ms. ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person's working relationship with Ms. ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person\'s working relationship with Ms... ...

Performance / Tour

An all-star night in Sarasota

An all-star night in Sarasota

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

The 39th annual Sarasota Jazz Festival wrapped up Saturday night, March 9, with honors for a festival frequent flier, rarely heard combinations of all-star performers – and a healthy dose of Duke Ellington. Tenor saxophonist Houston Person, a distinctive balladeer whose playing is steeped in soul jazz, received the Jazz Club of Sarasota’s Satchmo Award. The organization has been awarding it since 1987 to honorees who have made a “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” The ...

1

Event

Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz New York’s Longest Running Jazz Concert Series Announces Highlights in Jazz’s 46th Anniversary Gala, February 28, 2019

Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz  New York’s Longest Running Jazz Concert Series  Announces Highlights in Jazz’s 46th Anniversary Gala, February 28, 2019

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Long-time Highlights In Jazz favorites Houston Person, Daryl Sherman, Warren Vaché, Norman Simmons, and many more will be on hand for the celebration. Plus, surprise special guest. Each year, savvy jazz fans look forward to the annual Highlights In Jazz series. For almost a half century, the Jack Kleinsinger-produced events have brought together a multitude of beloved jazz musicians spanning an eclectic mix of generations and styles. The 2019 season is no exception, with four stellar concerts featuring some of ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person\'s working relationship with Ms... ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Jazz Musician of the Day: Houston Person

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Houston Person's birthday today!

Houston Person wears the Boss Tenor crown, worn so long by Gene Ammons. Mr. Person is busy working his own gigs; booking his tours, finding new clubs, having phone numbers for every major concert promoter on every continent. He even produces his own albums. His first big break came while working as a sideman with organist Johnny Hammond and his group, co-led by Etta Jones. Mr. Person\'s working relationship with Ms... ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Houston Person, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Eric Marienthal, and more

Jazz this week: Houston Person, Nevermore Jazz Ball, Eric Marienthal, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis includes one of the most popular swing dance festivals in the Midwest, a couple of stellar saxophonists, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, November 1 Veteran tenor saxophonist Houston Person returns to lead a quartet for the first of four nights at Jazz at the Bistro. Person, who will turn 83 in November, remains a canny master of bop, blues and ballads, and still works as ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Blue Topaz

Whaling City Sound
2024

buy

Master Legacy Series...

Bandstand Records
2023

buy

Blue Vision

Self Produced
2022

buy

Reminiscing at Rudy's

HighNote Records
2022

buy

Live in Paris

HighNote Records
2021

buy

Hand-Me-Down Blues

From: Blue Topaz
By Houston Person

Voss Is Boss

From: Two Cigarettes In the Dark
By Houston Person

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