Harvey Call Cobbs Jr. (January 30, 1911 – September 21, 1971)''U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007'' was an American

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 majo ...

pianist, electric harpsichordist, and organist. He is remembered for his work with saxophonist

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

in the mid- and late-1960s.

Early life

Cobbs was born in

Urbana, Ohio Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States, west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army during the War of 1812. It is the burial place ...

, to Harvey Call Cobbs Sr. and Ethel Hill Cobbs. His father, known as Harry Cobbs, was a church janitor. In his youth, Cobbs served as companion and guide to the pianist

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

and later accompanied

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

and replaced

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

in the band of

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chil ...

Career

Cobbs worked and recorded with the alto saxophonist

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sopran ...

in 1954, when Hodges' band included

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

. He studied the

Schillinger System The Schillinger System of Musical Composition, named after Joseph Schillinger (1895–1943) is a method of musical composition based on mathematical processes. It comprises theories of rhythm, harmony, melody, counterpoint, form and semantics, pu ...

of musical composition. He is best remembered for his work with the

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

saxophonist

from 1964 through 1970, playing piano,

rocksichord Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active from 1966 to 1982. The company was formed to produce portable musical instruments, and manufactured several electronic piano ...

, and

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since develop ...

in live performances and recordings. He also acted as Ayler's

copyist A copyist is a person that makes duplications of the same thing. The term is sometimes used for artists who make copies of other artists' paintings. However, the modern use of the term is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are emplo ...

and

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

.Schwartz, Jeff. (1992) . Accessed July 2, 2007. When Ayler's body was found floating in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Que ...

in New York City on November 25, 1970, Cobbs was called upon to identify the body.Morton, Brian. (November 4, 2004
Flowers for Albert: Albert Ayler
''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. Accessed July 2, 2007.

Death

Cobbs was killed in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

collision on September 21, 1971. He died at

Jacobi Medical Center Jacobi Medical Center (NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi) is a municipal hospital operated by NYC Health + Hospitals in affiliation with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The facility is located in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx, ...

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

at the age of 60.

Discography

With

*''

Swing Low Sweet Spiritual ''Swing Low Sweet Spiritual'' is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City at the same session that produced ''Spirits'' in 1964 and intended for release on the Danish Debut label but first released in 1981 ...

'' (Osmosis, 1964

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men ...

*''

Spirits Rejoice ''Spirits Rejoice'' is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City in 1965 and first released on the ESP-Disk label.

'' (ESP-Disk, 1965) *''

Love Cry ''Love Cry'' is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. It was originally reissued on CD by GRP with two previously unreleased alternate takes and one previously unreleased outtake. The cover claimed ...

'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 1967) *''

New Grass ''New Grass'' is a 1968 album by jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler released on Impulse! Records. The album mixed Ayler's familiar tenor saxophone playing with elements from R&B and other genres, including a soul horn section, backing singers, and ro ...

'' (Impulse!, 1969) *'' Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vols. 1 & 2'' (Shandar, 1970) *'' Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)'' (

Revenant In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French verb ''reve ...

, 2004) *''

Live on the Riviera ''Live on the Riviera'' is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on July 25, 1970 at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, and originally released in 2005 on the ESP-Disk label. The album, which was ...

'' (ESP-Disk, 2005) With

*''First Giant Steps''. Rare Live Recordings With

*''

The Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

'' (Norgran, 1952–54,

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

*''

Used to Be Duke __NOTOC__ ''Used to Be Duke'' is a studio album by Johnny Hodges, accompanied by members of Duke Ellington's orchestra, released by Norgran Records in October 1956. Reception Scott Yanow on AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, commen ...

'' (Norgran, 1954) With

Jack McVea John Vivian McVea (November 5, 1914 – December 27, 2000) was an American swing, blues, and rhythm and blues woodwind player and bandleader. He played clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophone. Career Born in Los Angeles, California, his ...

*''Two Timin' Baby'' (Juke Box Lil) With

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as "Mr. Five by ...

*''1946–1953'' (Jazz Classics)

References

Sources

* Call Cobbs: Credits

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

. Accessed July 2, 2007. *"Final Bar." ''Downbeat'', November 11, 1971: p. 9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbs, Call Jr. 1911 births 1971 deaths People from Urbana, Ohio African-American pianists American jazz organists American male organists American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz keyboardists Road incident deaths in New York City Pedestrian road incident deaths 20th-century American pianists 20th-century organists Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century African-American musicians