John Patton (musician)

Big John Patton ( born July 12, 1935 in Kansas City, † March 19, 2002 in Montclair, New Jersey) was an American hard bop and soul jazz organist.

Life and work

John Patton began his career in the 1950s in the orchestra by Lloyd Price as a pianist, then switched to the organ. In the 1960s, he recorded a series of albums for the Blue Note label and worked there together with Lou Donaldson and Grant Green.

His soul jazz processed also elements of modal and free jazz, but never left the roots of the genre. Patton wrote classic titles such as " Funky Mama" and " Along Came John ". In the late 1960s he took for the Blue Note label albums with artists such as Harold Alexander and George Coleman on How Understanding and Accent on the Blues. He was also involved in recording of Blue Note albums of his colleague George Braith, Don Wilkerson, Art Blakey and Clifford Jordan and Lou Donaldson. With guitarist Grant Green and drummer Ben Dixon Patton formed a trio.

He continued his recording activity continued until the late 1990s; Mid-1980s, he still worked on John Zorn's The Big Gundown concept albums and Spillane.

Auswahldiskographie

• Along Came John ( Blue Note, 1963) with Fred Jackson, Grant Green
• Blue John ( Blue Note, 1963)
• The Way I Feel ( Blue Note, 1964)
• Oh baby ( Blue Note, 1965)
• Got a Good Thing Goin ' ( Blue Note, 1966)
• That Certain Feeling ( Blue Note, 1968)
• Boogaloo ( Blue Note, 1968)
• Understandin ' ( Blue Note, 1968)
• Memphis to New York Spirit ( Blue Note 196970 )
• Accent on the Blues ( Blue Note, 1969)
• Blue Planet Man ( Paddle Wheel, 1993) with Ed Cherry
• Minor Swing (DIW, 1994)
• This One 's for Yes ( DIW, 1995)