Curtis Edward Amy (October 11, 1927 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist.

Biography

Amy was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, United States. He learned how to play

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the tenor saxophone. After his discharge, he attended and graduated from Kentucky State College. He worked as an educator in Tennessee while playing in midwestern

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clubs. In the mid-1950s, he relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and later signed with

Pacific Jazz Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles–based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-fou ...

, often playing with organist Paul Bryant. In the mid-1960s, he spent three years as musical director of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

' orchestra, together with his wife,

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimm ...

, and Steve Huffsteter. As well as leading his own bands and recording albums under his own name, Amy did session work and played the solos on several recordings, including

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

song "Touch Me",

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

's ''Tapestry'', and

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

' first albums, ''Black and Blue'' and ''Tobacco Road'', coinciding with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

in the Onzy Matthews big band, as well as working with

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, Tammi Terrell and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

. Up until his death, he was married to singer and recording artist

. Their son, Kevin Amy has also pursued a musical career. Carole King's song " Jazzman", from her 1974 album ''Wrap Around Joy'', was inspired by her experience working with Amy on the ''Tapestry'' album.

Discography

As leader

* '' The Blues Message'' (Pacific Jazz, 1960) * '' Meetin' Here'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) * '' Groovin' Blue'' (Pacific Jazz, 1961) * '' Tippin' on Through'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) * ''

Way Down "Way Down" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley. Recorded in October 1976, it was his last single released before his death on August 16, 1977. The song was written by Layng Martine Jr. and recorded by Presley at his home studio in Graceland ...

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1962) * '' Katanga!'' (Pacific Jazz, 1963) * ''The Sounds of Broadway/The Sounds of Hollywood'' (Palomar, 1965) * ''

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...

'' (Verve, 1966) * ''Jungle Adventure in Music and Sound'' (Coliseum, 1966) * ''Peace For Love'' (Fresh Sounds 1994)

As sideman

With

*'' The Soft Parade'' ( Elektra, 1969) With

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

*'' Jazz Recital'' ( Norgran, 1956) With

*''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

'' (

Ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

, 1971) With

*''Black and Blue'' ( Capitol, 1963) *''Tobacco Road'' (Capitol, 1963) With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

*'' On Stage'' (Pacific Jazz, 1965) *'' Feelin' Kinda Blues'' (Pacific Jazz, 1965)

References

External links

Article at All About Jazz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amy, Curtis 1927 births 2002 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American flautists 20th-century American jazz composers 21st-century African-American musicians African-American jazz musicians American jazz clarinetists American jazz flautists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male jazz musicians American male saxophonists Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Cool jazz saxophonists Hard bop saxophonists Jazz musicians from Houston Jazz musicians from Texas Kentucky State University alumni Musicians from Houston Soul-jazz saxophonists United States Army personnel of World War II Verve Records artists West Coast jazz saxophonists