Ira Sullivan

Brevard Ira Sullivan, Jr. ( born May 1, 1931 in Washington, DC) is an American jazz musician (trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophone, flute) and composer of the hard bop.

Life and work

Ira Sullivan learned trumpet from his father, saxophone from his mother. He was at the beginning of his musical career in the 1950s, a member of the house orchestra of jazz club The Bee Hive in Chicago and accompanied guest soloists such as Bennie Green, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Paul Quinichette, Sonny Stitt and Charlie Parker. He then worked for Bill Russo 1955 and 1956 briefly at Art Blakey, followed by recordings with JR Monte Rose 1956 and Red Rodney in 1957.

Early 1960s, Sullivan settled in Fort Lauderdale ( Florida), played with local musicians - including Joe Gallivan and the young musicians Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny and waived an international career. Mid-1970s, followed by a few recordings in quintet and quartet ensembles; Sullivan also worked on recordings of Philly Joe Jones and Red Garland. In 1980, there was a re-encounter with Red Rodney and the establishment of a quintet, so a stronger presence Sullivan at international festivals.

His rank as a multi-instrumentalist describes his colleague Red Rodney: " Ira has to each of its instruments a different setting, flugelhorn style is completely different from that of the trumpet, his tenor entirely sumptuously from its Alto, his soprano is extremely modern, his flute. He can play as freely as the so-called free jazz musician, but his music is always lyrical, has a melodic tendency ". And Art Farmer noted, " Ira is a ' wizard '. It seems that from everything he does, poignant music. "

Discography (selection)

  • Nicky 's Tune, 1958 ( Delmark Records, 1970)
  • Bird Lives! (Vee -Jay Records, 1962)
  • With Red Rodney: Night And Day, 1981 ( Muse Records, 1983)
  • Spirit Within, 1981 ( Elektra / Musician, 1982)
  • Sprint, 1982 ( Elektra / Musician, 1983)

Literature and sources

  • Bielefeld Catalog Jazz, 1988 and 2001
  • Richard Cook, Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin, 6th Edition, London, 2002. ISBN 0-14-017949-6
  • Martin Kunzler: jazz lexicon. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1993
William Russo (musician) J. R. Monterose Flying Fish Records Richard Cook (journalist) Brian Morton (Scottish writer) Integrated Authority File
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