Ronald "Jack" Washington (July 17, 1910 – November 28, 1964) was an American jazz saxophonist who was a member of the

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s.

Life and career

Born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, he started playing

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, so ...

in his teens before switching to

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

. He began his professional career with the pianist Paul Banks and then toured the Midwest with

Jesse Stone Jesse Albert Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also used the pseudonyms Charles Calhoun and Chuck Calhoun. His best-know ...

's Blues Serenaders. He joined

Bennie Moten Benjamin Moten (November 13, 1893 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. He led his Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchest ...

's Orchestra in summer 1927.Driggs, Frank; Chuck Haddix (2005)
''Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop-A History'', p. 55. Oxford University Press, ISBN 019536435X, 9780195364354.
''Google Books''. Retrieved 10 December 2022. After Moten's death in 1935, he joined Count Basie's band and remained with Basie until 1950 except for a short period in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. He performed with the Basie band at the ''

From Spirituals to Swing ''From Spirituals to Swing'' was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, ...

'' concerts in New York City in 1938 and 1939.''From Spirituals to Swing'', liner notes, Definitive Records CD reissue, 2001 He later moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, where he worked at the city airport. He continued to perform on an occasional basis and took part in a reunion of the Basie orchestra in 1958. He died in Oklahoma City in 1964 at the age of 54.

Discography

With

*'' The Original American Decca Recordings'' (GRP, 1992) With Paul Quinichette *''

Basie Reunion ''Basie Reunion'' is an album by Count Basie Orchestra members led by jazz saxophonist Paul Quinichette featuring tracks recorded in 1958 and released on the Prestige label. The first two tracks are correctly identified on the CD reissue; the ori ...

'' (Prestige, 1958)

References

1910 births 1964 deaths Musicians from Kansas City, Kansas American jazz baritone saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists {{kansas-stub