Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) 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 ...

tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

, which lasted for more than ten years.

Biography

Rouse was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States. At first he worked with the clarinet, before turning to the tenor saxophone. Rouse began his career with the

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

Orchestra in 1944, followed by the

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 ...

Big Band in 1945, the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Orchestra from 1949 to 1950, 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 ...

Octet in 1950,

Bull Moose Jackson Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson (April 22, 1919 – July 31, 1989) Allmusic biography Accessed January 2008. was an American blues and rhythm-and-blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s. He is considered ...

And His Buffalo Bearcats in 1953, and the

Oscar Pettiford Oscar Pettiford (September 30, 1922 – September 8, 1960) was an American jazz double bassist and composer. He was one of the earliest musicians to work in the bebop idiom. Jazz bassist Christian McBride called Pettiford "probably the most imp ...

Sextet in 1955. He made his recording debut with

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

in 1947, and in 1957 made a notable album with

Paul Quinichette Paul Quinichette (May 17, 1916 – May 25, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was known as the "Vice President" or "Vice Prez" for his emulation of the breathy style of Lester Young, whose nickname was "The President", or simply "P ...

. He was a member of

's quartet from 1959 to 1970. In the 1980s he was a founding member of the group

Sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

, which began as a tribute to Monk. Charlie Rouse died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on November 30, 1988, at University Hospital in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

at the age of 64.

Honors

The asteroid 10426 Charlierouse was officially named to honor Rouse by American astronomer Joe Montani of

Spacewatch The Spacewatch Project is an astronomical survey that specializes in the study of minor planets, including various types of asteroids and comets at University of Arizona telescopes on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona. The Spacewatch Project has be ...

, who discovered it in 1999. Earlier, in 1994, asteroid 11091 Thelonious had also been discovered and named by Montani.

Discography

As leader

*1957: '' The Chase Is On'' (Bethlehem) with

*1958: '' Just Wailin''' (New Jazz) with

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

and

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

*1960: '' Takin' Care of Business'' (Jazzland) *1960: '' Yeah!'' (Epic) – reissued as ''Unsung Hero'' in 1990 with tracks from ''We Paid Our Dues'' *1961: ''We Paid Our Dues'' (Epic) – shared LP with

Seldon Powell Seldon Powell (November 15, 1928 – January 25, 1997) was an American tenor saxophonist and flautist whose work spanned multiple genres, including jazz and rhythm and blues. Background Powell worked with Tab Smith (1949), Lucky Millinder (194 ...

*1962: '' Bossa Nova Bacchanal'' (

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 ...

) *1973: ''

Two Is One ''Two Is One'' is an album by American saxophonist Charles Rouse recorded in 1974 and released on the Strata-East label. Reception The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, and reviewer Brandon Burke stated: "Given his discography, ...

'' ( Strata-East) *1977: ''Cinnamon Flower'' (

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

) – also released as ''Brazil'' (Douglas Records) *1977: '' Moment's Notice'' ( Storyville) *1981: '' The Upper Manhattan Jazz Society'' ( Enja) - released 1985 *1984: ''

Social Call ''Social Call'' is an album by Betty Carter featuring Ray Bryant and a big band arranged by Gigi Gryce. Of its eleven tracks, the first six were recorded in 1955 and originally released as part of the album '' Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant'' ...

'' ( Uptown) with

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

*1988: '' Soul Mates'' (Uptown) with

Sahib Shihab Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tad ...

– released 1993 *1988: '' Epistrophy'' (

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

) With

Julius Watkins Julius Watkins (October 10, 1921 – April 4, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the ''Down Beat'' critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Mis ...

as Les Jazz Modes/The Jazz Modes *1956: ''Jazzville Vol. 1'' (Dawn) – shared LP with Gene Quill-Dick Sherman Quintet *1956: '' Les Jazz Modes'' (Dawn) *1957: '' Mood in Scarlet'' (Dawn) *1958: '' The Most Happy Fella'' (Atlantic) *1959: '' The Jazz Modes'' (Atlantic) With

*''

Four in One 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

'' (Elektra/Musician, 1982) *''

Flight Path In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes f ...

'' (Elektra/Musician, 1983) *'' Sphere On Tour'' (Red, 1985) *'' Pumpkin's Delight'' (Red, 1986

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian (also known as the Sword of Essen) as ...

*'' Four for All'' (Verve, 1987) *'' Bird Songs'' (Verve, 1988) With The

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Insp ...

Quartet *''Playin' In The Yard'' (Steam, 1987)

As sideman

With Dave Bailey *'' Gettin' Into Somethin''' (Epic, 1961) With

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

*'' Memorial Album'' (Blue Note, 1953) With

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

*''

Byrd in Hand ''Byrd in Hand'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded on May 31, 1959 and released on Blue Note later that year. Reception ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described the recording as a "typical Blue Note blowing session". ...

'' (Blue Note, 1959) With

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

*'' Further Definitions'' (Impulse 1961) With

Sonny Clark Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom. Early life Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of P ...

*'' Leapin' and Lopin''' (Blue Note 1961) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

*'' The Art Farmer Septet'' Prestige, (1953–54) With Joe Gordon *'' Introducing Joe Gordon'' (EmArcy, 1954) With

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

*'' Bennie Green Blows His Horn'' (Prestige, 1955) *'' Back on the Scene'' (Blue Note1958) With

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

*'' Groovin' High'' (Muse, 1978) With

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 ...

*''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' (quintet) (Charlie Parker records 1962) *'' Duke's Delight'' (SteepleChase, 1975) With

*'' At Town Hall'' (Riverside, 1959) *'' 5 by Monk by 5'' (1959) *'' Thelonious Monk at the Blackhawk'' (Riverside, 1960) *'' Monk in France'' (Riverside, 1961) *''

Thelonious Monk in Italy ''Thelonious Monk in Italy'' is a live album by American jazz pianist Thelonious Monk featuring tracks recorded in Italy in 1961 and released on the Riverside label in 1963.963 Year 963 (Roman numerals, CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 39, probably of poison administered by his wife, Emp ...

*''Monk in Copenhagen'' (1961) *'' Criss Cross'' (Columbia, 1962) *'' Monk's Dream'' (Columbia, 1963) *''At Newport 1963 and 1965'' (1963, 1965) *''Monterey Jazz Festival '63'' (1963) *''

Big Band and Quartet in Concert ''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is a live album by American jazz musician Thelonious Monk, released in March 1964 by Columbia Records. Recorded at the Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall on December 30, 1963, it features a large ensemble with ...

'' (Columbia, 1963) *'' It's Monk's Time'' (Columbia, 1964) *''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' (Columbia, 1964) *''

Live at the It Club ''Live at the It Club'' is a Thelonious Monk album released posthumously by Columbia Records. Recorded October 31 and November 1, 1964, at the "It" Club in Los Angeles, California. The album features Monk's quartet—with Charlie Rouse on ten ...

'' (Columbia, 1964) *''

Live at the Jazz Workshop ''Live at the Jazz Workshop'' is a live album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, that was recorded at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco. The album was recorded on November 3 and 4, 1964, and released by Columbia Records in 1982. Release history ...

'' (Columbia, 1964) *''Monk In Paris'' (1965) *''Olympia, 6 Mars 1965'' (1965) *''Olympia, 7 Mars 1965'' (1965) *''Paris At Midnight'' (1965) *'' Straight, No Chaser'' (Columbia, 1966) *''The Nonet – Live!'' (1967) *'' Underground'' (Columbia, 1968) *''Palo Alto'' (recorded 1968, released on Impulse! Records 2020) *'' Monk's Blues'' (Columbia 1969) With

* ''

'' (Bethlehem, 1954) With Louis Smith *'' Smithville'' (Blue Note, 1958) With

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 ...

*''

Taylor's Wailers ''Taylor's Wailers'' is the debut album by drummer Art Taylor, released in 1957 on Prestige. It features tracks recorded mainly on February 25, 1957 plus a track from a different session featuring John Coltrane on saxophone. Reception In a revie ...

'' (Prestige 1957) *''

Taylor's Tenors ''Taylor's Tenors'' is the second studio album by drummer Art Taylor. It was recorded and released in 1959 for Prestige sub-label New Jazz, as NJ 8219. The album was reissued on CD once in 1995. Reception In a review for AllMusic, Al Campbell no ...

'' (Prestige New Jazz 1959) With Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson *''

Clean Head's Back in Town ''Clean Head's Back in Town'', subtitled ''Eddie Vinson Sings'', is an album by the American saxophonist and vocalist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Recorded in 1957, it was released by Bethlehem Records.Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

*'' The Git Go – Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Soul Note, 1986) *'' The Seagulls of Kristiansund'' (Soul Note, 1986)

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rouse, Charlie 1924 births 1988 deaths American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Hard bop saxophonists Deaths from lung cancer in Washington (state) Strata-East Records artists Enja Records artists Epic Records artists Blue Note Records artists Thelonious Monk 20th-century American saxophonists American male jazz musicians Sphere (American band) members 20th-century American male musicians Uptown Records (jazz) artists Landmark Records artists