Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece (born 5 January 1931) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n-born

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

trumpeter. Reece is among a group of jazz musicians born in Jamaica which includes Bertie King,

Joe Harriott Joseph Arthurlin Harriott (15 July 1928 – 2 January 1973) was a Jamaican jazz musician and composer, whose principal instrument was the alto saxophone. Initially a bebopper, he became a pioneer of free-form jazz. Born in Kingston, Harriot ...

, Roland Alphonso, Wilton Gaynair,

Sonny Bradshaw Cecil "Sonny" Bradshaw CD (28 March 1926 – 10 October 2009), known as the "dean of Jamaican music", and the "musician's musician", was a Jamaican bandleader, trumpeter, broadcaster, and promoter who was a major figure in Jamaican music for m ...

, saxophonists

Winston Whyte Winston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Winston Glacier Australia * Winston, Queensland, a suburb of the City of Mount Isa United Kingdom * Winston, County Durham, England, a village * Winston, Suffolk, England, a village and civil pari ...

and

Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One ...

, trombonist

Don Drummond Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many ...

, pianists Wynton Kelly,

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...

, bassist

Coleridge Goode George Coleridge Emerson Goode (29 November 1914 – 2 October 2015) was a British Jamaican-born jazz bassist best known for his long collaboration with alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Goode was a member of Harriott's innovatory jazz quintet thro ...

, guitarist

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pla ...

and percussionists

Count Ossie Count Ossie, born Oswald Williams (23 April 1926Ancestry.com. Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995 atabase on-line Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. – 18 October 1976Moskowitz, David V. ...

and

Lloyd Knibb Lloyd Knibb OD (8 March 1931 – 12 May 2011) was a Jamaican drummer who is considered Jamaica's most important and influential modern drummer. A master percussionist, he contributed to every style of this nation's popular and not so popular mus ...

Biography

Reece was born on 5 January 1931 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...

, the son of a

silent film pianist A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

. He attended the

Alpha Boys School Alpha Cottage School (often referred to as Alpha Boys School, Convent of Mercy "Alpha" Academy and now called Alpha Institute) was the name of the vocational residential school on South Camp Road in Kingston, Jamaica, still run by Roman Catholi ...

(known for its musical alumni), switching from baritone saxophone to trumpet when he was 14 years old. A full-time musician from the age of 16, he moved to London in 1948 and spent the 1950s working in Europe, much of that time in Paris. He played with

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

, Frank Foster and

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, U ...

, among others. Recording with British musicians, he led several sessions in London in 1955–1957. Also in London, he recorded what became his first

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

album, ''

Blues in Trinity ''Blues in Trinity'' is an album by Jamaican-born England-based jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece, recorded on August 24, 1958 and released on Blue Note the following year—his debut for the label.

'' (1958).

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop ...

and

Art Taylor Arthur S. Taylor Jr. (April 6, 1929 – February 6, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".Watrous, Peter (February 7, 1995)"Art Taylor, 65, Jazz Drummer Who Inspired Young Musicians" ''The Ne ...

were his sidemen. Gaining praise from

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

and

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

, the trumpeter settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1959 and recorded with several of Davis' bandmates, but found New York in the 1960s a struggle. Reece recorded other records for the

label, which were reissued by

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

in 2004. Still active as a musician and writer, Reece has recorded over the years with

Hank Mobley Henry "Hank" Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to de ...

, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers,

Ronnie Scott Ronnie may refer to: * Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadiu ...

, Phil Seaman,

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

Tubby Hayes Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes (30 January 1935 – 8 June 1973) was an English jazz multi-instrumentalist, best known for his tenor saxophone playing in groups with fellow sax player Ronnie Scott and with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar. Early life ...

, Paris Reunion Band,

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

’s Big Band, tenor saxophonist

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, fellow trumpeter Ted Curson, pianist

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

, long-time

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

alumni saxophonist

John Gilmore John Gilmore may refer to: * John Gilmore (activist) (born 1955), co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Cygnus Solutions * John Gilmore (musician) (1931–1995), American jazz saxophonist * John Gilmore (representative) (1780–1845) ...

, and drummers

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He wa ...

and

. Reece wrote the music for the 1958

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

film, '' Nowhere to Go''.

Discography

As leader

;Blue Note *1958: ''

'' *1959: '' Star Bright'' *1960: '' Comin' On!'' *1960: '' Soundin' Off'' ;Others * ''A New Star'' (

Jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely culti ...

, 1955–56) with

Phil Seamen Philip William Seamen (28 August 1926 – 13 October 1972) was an English jazz drummer. With a background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s Bri ...

* ''Progress Report'' (Jasmine, 1956–58) with

* ''

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

'' ( New Jazz, 1962) * '' Nirvana: The Zen of the Jazz Trumpet'' ( Jazz Vision, 2006) recorded 1968 * '' From In to Out'' - ( Futura, 1970) * '' Possession, Exorcism, Peace'' ( Honey Dew, 1974) * ''

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

'' (

Bee Hive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

, 1978) * '' Blowin' Away'' ( Interplay, 1978) with Ted Curson

Compilations

* ''Mosaic Select: Dizzy Reece'' (MS-011) - compiles ''Blues in Trinity'' (1958), ''Star Bright'' (1959), ''Soundin' Off'' (1960), and ''Comin' On!'' (1960).

As sideman

With

*''

Suite Sixteen ''Suite Sixteen'' is an album by vibraphonist Victor Feldman recorded in 1955 which was first released on the British Tempo Records and subsequently released on the Contemporary label in 1958.958 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 improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...

*''

The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band ''The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band'' (subtitled ''20th and 30th Anniversary'') is a live album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie that was recorded at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1968 and released by MPS.Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

*''

A Day in Copenhagen ''A Day in Copenhagen'' is an album by saxophonist Dexter Gordon with trombonist Slide Hampton recorded in Copenhagen in 1969 which was originally released on the MPS label in Europe and re-released on the Prestige label in the US.

'' ( MPS, 1969) With Andrew Hill *'' Passing Ships'' (Blue Note, 1969) With

*'' Round Midnight'' (Lotus, 1969

980 Year 980 (Roman numerals, CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto II (the ...

With

*''

Inward Fire ''Inward Fire'' is an album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in New York City in 1977 and released on the Muse label.Fitzgerald, M.Clifford Jordan leader entry accessed April 11, 2014 Reception The Allmusic site rated the album ...

'' (Muse, 1978) *''

Play What You Feel ''Play What You Feel'' is a live album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan's Big Band which was recorded in New York City in 1990 and released on the Mapleshade label in 1997.997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the ...

*''

Down Through the Years ''Down Through the Years'' is a live album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan's Big Band that was recorded in New York City in 1991 and released on the Milestone label in 1992.

'' (Milestone, 1991) With

*''

Flight to Jordan ''Flight to Jordan'' is an album by American pianist Duke Jordan recorded in 1960 and released on the Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note, 1960) With

*'' The Flip'' (Blue Note, 1969)

References

External links

Dizzy Reece website with interviews, music

''All About Jazz'' Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Dizzy 1931 births Living people Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Hard bop trumpeters Jamaican jazz trumpeters Blue Note Records artists 21st-century trumpeters