Jimmy Rowles

Jimmy Rowles
Birth name	James George Hunter
Born	(1918-08-19)August 19, 1918 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Died	May 28, 1996(1996-05-28) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Piano, vocals
Years active	1940–1980s

Jimmy Rowles (born James George Hunter; August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored various styles including swing and cool jazz.

Music career

Rowles was born in Spokane, Washington and attended Gonzaga College (now University) in Spokane. After moving to Los Angeles, he joined Lester Young's group in 1942. He also worked with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Tony Bennett, and as a studio musician.

With female singers

Rowles was praised as an accompanist by female singers. He recorded Sarah Vaughan with the Jimmy Rowles Quintet with Sarah Vaughan and accompanied Carmen McRae on her 1972 live album The Great American Songbook. McRae described Rowles as "the guy every girl singer in her right mind would like to work with".

In the 1950s and 1960s, he frequently played behind Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee. In the 1980s he succeeded Paul Smith as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist. He first performed with Fitzgerald at the Mocambo nightclub in Hollywood in late 1956. He appeared on several recording sessions with her in the 1960s before joining her for nearly three years in 1981. Rowles appeared on Fitzgerald's final collaboration with Nelson Riddle, The Best Is Yet to Come in 1982. His song "Baby, Don't You Quit Now", written with Johnny Mercer, was recorded on her final album All That Jazz, released in 1989.

In 1983, Rowles worked with Diana Krall in Los Angeles, shortly after she moved from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He developed her playing abilities and encouraged her to add singing to her repertoire. In 1994, he accompanied jazz singer Jeri Brown on A Timeless Place, the only album containing only his own compositions.

Compositions

Rowles's best known composition is "The Peacocks", which was recorded on the 1975 album of the same name with Stan Getz. Gary Foster recorded it on his albums Make Your Own Fun and Perfect Circularity. Norma Winstone covered the song with lyrics, accompanied by Rowles, on her album Well Kept Secret. Guitarist John McLaughlin recorded a version on his album The Promise. Esperanza Spalding covered the song on her album Junjo. Jazz pianist Bill Evans recorded a definitive version of "The Peacocks" on the posthumously released album You Must Believe in Spring (1981).

Rowles's piano work was featured prominently on the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark (1969–1971).

Rowles died from cardiovascular disease in Burbank, California, at the age of 78. Rowles' daughter, Stacy, (September 11, 1955 – October 30, 2009) was an accomplished jazz trumpeter, singer, and flugelhornist.

Discography

As leader/coleader

• 1954 Rare, But Well Done (Liberty)
• 1957 Bill Harris and Friends (Fantasy/Original Jazz Classics)
• 1958 Let's Get Acquainted with Jazz (for People Who Hate Jazz) (VSOP)
• 1958 Weather in a Jazz Vane (VSOP)
• 1959 Upper Classmen (Interlude)
• 1960 Fiorello Uptown, Mary Sunshine Downtown (Signature)
• 1963 Kinda Groovy (Capitol)
• 1968 Our Delight (VSOP)
• 1972 Some Other Spring (Blue Angel)
• 1974 Jazz Is a Fleeting Moment (Hazzz)
• 1974 The Special Magic of Jimmy Rowles (Halcyon)
• 1975 The Peacocks (Columbia, 1975) with Stan Getz
• 1976 Grand Paws (Choice)
• 1976 Music's the Only Thing That's on My Mind (Audiophile)
• 1977 Heavy Love (Elemental/Xanadu)
• 1978 Isfahan (Sonet)
• 1978 Jimmy Rowles Trio on Tour (SIR)
• 1978 Shade and Light (Ahead)
• 1978 We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together (Xanadu)
• 1978 Scarab (Musica)
• 1979 Tasty! (Concord Jazz)
• 1980 Paws That Refresh (Choice)
• 1981 Plays Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (Columbia)
• 1983 The Peacocks (Stash)
• 1985 I'm Glad There Is You: Jimmy Rowles, Vol. 2 (Contemporary)
• 1986 With the Red Mitchell Trio (Contemporary)
• 1988 Looking Back (Delos)
• 1988 Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue (Orange Blue)
• 1989 Plus 2, Plus 3, Plus 4 (JVC)
• 1990 Trio (Capri)
• 1994 Lilac Time (Kokopelli)
• 1995 A Timeless Place (Justin Time)
• 2000 Red 'n' Me (Dreyfus)
• 2002 Grandpa's Vibrato (Black & Blue)
• 2011 The Chess Players (Candid)
• 2014 Jam Face (Choice)

As sideman

With Louis Bellson

• Skin Deep (Norgran, 1953)
• Music, Romance and Especially Love (Verve, 1957)

With Bob Brookmeyer

• Bob Brookmeyer Plays Bob Brookmeyer and Some Others (Clef, 1955)
• Back Again (Sonet, 1978)

With Hoagy Carmichael

• Hoagy Sings Carmichael (Pacific Jazz, 1956)

With Benny Carter

• Jazz Giant (Contemporary, 1958)

With Nat King Cole

• L-O-V-E (Capitol, 1965)

With Harry Edison

• Sweets (Clef, 1956)

With Ella Fitzgerald

• Whisper Not (Verve, 1967)
• The Best Is Yet to Come (Pablo, 1982)
• All That Jazz (Pablo, 1989)

With Stan Getz

• Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds (Verve, 1953–55, [1957])
• The Peacocks (Columbia, 1975)

With Jimmy Giuffre

• The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet (Atlantic, 1956)
• Ad Lib (Verve, 1959)

With Woody Herman

• Songs for Hip Lovers (Verve, 1957)

With Billie Holiday

• Songs for Distingué Lovers (Verve, 1957)

With Barney Kessel

• To Swing or Not to Swing (Contemporary, 1955)
• Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By (Contemporary, 1956)
• Let's Cook! (Contemporary, 1957 [1962])
• Some Like It Hot (Contemporary, 1959)

With Lee Konitz

• Tenorlee (Choice, 1978)

With Julie London

• Julie (Liberty, 1957)

With Herbie Mann

• Great Ideas of Western Mann (Riverside, 1957)
• The Magic Flute of Herbie Mann (Verve, 1957)

With Carmen McRae

• The Great American Songbook (Atlantic, 1972)

With Gerry Mulligan

• Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 1 (Pacific Jazz, 1952)

With Buddy Rich

• The Wailing Buddy Rich (Norgran, 1955)

With Pete Rugolo

• The Music from Richard Diamond (EmArcy, 1959)
• The Original Music of Thriller (Time, 1961)
• 10 Saxophones and 2 Basses (Mercury, 1961)

With Bud Shank

• Bud Shank - Shorty Rogers - Bill Perkins (Pacific Jazz, 1955)

With Zoot Sims

• Party (Choice, 1976)
• If I'm Lucky (Pablo 1977)
• Warm Tenor (Pablo 1978)
• The Swinger (Pablo 1982)
• Suddenly It's Spring (Pablo 1983)
• Live in San Francisco 1978 (Fog 2014)

With Sonny Stitt

• Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements (Verve, 1959)

With Ben Webster

• Ben Webster at the Renaissance (Contemporary, 1960)

With Buster Williams

• Heartbeat (Muse, 1978)

With Gerald Wilson

• California Soul (Pacific Jazz, 1968)

With Phil Woods and Lew Tabackin

• Phil Woods/Lew Tabackin (Omnisound, 1981)