Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (September 11, 1933 – April 1, 1971) was an American

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 ...

and

soul-jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including sax ...

musician who played the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Life and career

He was born Roosevelt James Willett (no "e"), in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, in 1933 according to researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, though other sources state 1934 or 1937. According to the liner notes on his first

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

album, ''Grant’s First Stand'', Willette was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. His mother was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who played the piano in the church where his father was a minister. As a result, his musical roots were in

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

. Willette became involved in music by playing the piano for various gospel groups, and accompanied his sisters Dorothy and Georgia, who toured and recorded as the Willett Sisters.

Bobby Tanzilo ''OnMilwaukee'' is a digital media company and online magazine. It provides lifestyle and culture news about Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Articles on the site primarily focus on dining and entertainment, as well as daily briefs and blogs. Background ...

, "'Behind the 8 Ball': The Story of Baby Face Willette", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.353, October 2020, pp.8-14 He spent his early career travelling across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, as pianist with the bands of King Kolax, Joe Houston,

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes (Greek language, Greek: Ιωάννης Αλέξανδρος Βελιώτης)); December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was a Greek American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, ...

and

Big Jay McNeely Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American R&B saxophonist. Biography Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played baritone saxophon ...

, among others.Robert Levin, Booklet of ''Face to Face'' He made his first recording as Baby Face Willette ("Wake Up, Get Out" b/w "Cool Blues") in

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, ...

in 1952, but soon moved to Chicago and married. He recorded tracks including "Can't Keep From Lovin' You" and "Why" for

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

that year, but they were not released until late 1955. He played in both

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

and jazz bands, playing piano before switching to organ around 1958. His organ playing was inspired by Jimmy Smith's work, though Willette's style is more heavily influenced by gospel, blues and

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including sa ...

than Smith's. Willette was also a professional hairdresser. Before his time in New York City, he was based out of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, playing with his vocalist wife Jo Gibson at clubs such as The Flame Club, The Pelican Club, The Moonglow and Max's among others. In late 1960, after splitting from his wife and addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

, he arrived in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he met

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

and

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

, and played on a few

sessions with them. This led to Willette being signed to Blue Note, which recorded his debut album '' Face to Face'' in 1961. In New York, he spent some two years in prison for robbery and assault, between late 1961 and 1963. After his release, he returned to Chicago and formed his own trio in 1963. He recorded two more albums for

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Biography "Baby Face" Willette Accessed: December 1, 2006 The first was named in honor of the Moroccan Village, where the trio that made this album had been performing since the previous autumn. Later, he regularly played piano and organ at a neighborhood lounge on the west side of Chicago, the Squeeze Club on 16th and Homan. After some time in California, failing health forced a return to Chicago, where his family resided. He died in 1971, from

bronchial pneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 It is ofte ...

Discography

As leader

* '' Face to Face'' (Blue Note, 1961) * '' Stop and Listen'' (Blue Note, 1961) * '' Mo' Rock'' (Argo, 1964) * '' Behind the 8 Ball'' (Argo, 1964 el. 1965

As sideman

- '' Here 'Tis'' (Blue Note, 1961) *

- ''

Grant's First Stand ''Grant's First Stand'' is the debut album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances by Green recorded and released on the Blue Note label in 1961.

'' (Blue Note, 1961)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willette, Baby Face 1933 births 1971 deaths Soul-jazz organists Hard bop organists American keyboardists American jazz organists American jazz pianists American male organists Blue Note Records artists 20th-century American organists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Musicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Argo Records artists