Richard Aaron Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, arranger and record producer. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded

Milestone Records Milestone Records is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was bought by Fantasy Records in 1972. Since then, it has produced LP reissues (including items from Ke ...

in 1966 with Orrin Keepnews.

Career

Katz studied at the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

, the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

. He also took piano lessons from

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

. In the 1950s, he joined the house rhythm section of the

Café Bohemia The Café Bohemia is a jazz club located at 15 Barrow Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Its original run lasted from 1955 to 1960, and has been revived at its original location as of October 2019. History The club w ...

, and worked in the groups of

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

and

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention ...

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 ...

, and, later,

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretati ...

. From 1954 to 1955, he was part of the J. J. Johnson/

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of " More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

Quintet. He also worked in Orchestra USA and participated on

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 ...

's '' Further Definitions'' album, and worked on some of

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1929) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording ''Helen Merrill (album), Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown on EmArcy), was an immediate success and associat ...

's recordings. In the late 1960s, he played with

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

and

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

. In the 1990s, he worked as a pianist and arranger with the American Jazz Orchestra and Loren Schoenberg's big band.

Will Friedwald Will Friedwald (born September 16, 1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''New York Times'', '' Village Voice'', ''Newsday'', ''New York Observer'', and ''New York ...

called Katz "a keyboardist of uncommon sensitivity and harmonic acumen." He was the favorite pianist of Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins, as well as vocalists Carmen McRae and Helen Merrill.

Personal life

He died in Manhattan of lung cancer at the age of 85. His son, Jamie Katz, a

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

graduate, is a freelance journalist and contributor to the ''Smithsonian'' magazine.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With

*'' Further Definitions'' (Impulse!, 1961) *''

Central City Sketches ''Central City Sketches'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter recorded in 1987 and released by the MusicMasters label as a double LP.

'' (MusicMasters, 1987) With

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...

*'' Four Brass One Tenor'' (RCA Victor, 1955) With

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

*'' The DeJohnette Complex'' (Milestone, 1969) With

*''Kenny Dorham And The Jazz Prophets'' (Chess, 1956) With Nancy Harrow *''Secrets'' (Soul Note, 1991) With

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

*''East Coast Jazz /5'' (Rhino, 1955) With

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

*'' Dream Dancing'' (Criss Cross, 1986) With

*'' The Lee Konitz Duets'' (Milestone, 1967) *'' Peacemeal'' (Milestone, 1969) *''

Satori ''Satori'' () is a Japanese Buddhist term for " awakening", "comprehension; understanding". The word derives from the Japanese verb '' satoru''. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of '' kenshō'', "seeing ...

'' (Milestone, 1974) *'' Oleo'' (Sonet, 1975) *'' Chicago 'n All That Jazz'' (Groove Merchant, 1975) With

*''

Something to Swing About ''Something to Swing About'' is a 1960 album by jazz singer Carmen McRae, arranged by Ernie Wilkins. Reception The initial ''Billboard'' magazine review from January 1960 wrote that "McRae fans are going to like this and the gal can easily ma ...

'' (Kapp, 1959) With

*"The feeling is mutual" 1965 *''Chasin' The Bird'' (Emarcy, 1979) With James Moody *'' The Blues and Other Colors'' (Milestone, 1969) With Joe Newman *'' I'm Still Swinging'' (RCA Victor, 1955) With

*'' The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Volume Two'' (ABC-Paramount, 1957) With

Jimmy Raney James Elbert Raney (August 20, 1927 – May 10, 1995) was an American jazz guitarist, born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, known for his work from 1951 to 1952 and then from 1953 to 1954 with the Red Norvo trio (replacing Tal Farlow) a ...

*'' Jimmy Raney featuring Bob Brookmeyer'' (ABC-Paramount) with

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombone, valve trombonist, Jazz piano, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public ...

With

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

*'' Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass'' (Metrojazz, 1957) With Loren Schoenberg *’’That’s The Way It Goes’’ (Aviva, 1984) *’’Time Waits For No One’’ (Music Masters 1987) *’’Solid Ground’’(Music Masters 1988) *’’Just A Settin’ And A-Rockin’ ‘’(Music Masters 1989) *''Manhattan Work Song'' (Music Masters 1992) *''Out Of This World'' (TBC; 1997) With

*''Big Ben Time!'' (Philips, 1963) With

and J. J. Johnson *''Kai and Jay and

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 ...

with Strings'' (OJC, 1952–54) *''

K + J.J. K, or k, is the eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter ...

'' (Bethlehem, 1955) *'' Dave Brubeck and Jay & Kai at Newport'' (Columbia, 1956) *'' Jay and Kai'' (Columbia, 1957)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Dick 1924 births 2009 deaths American music arrangers American male jazz composers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Manhattan School of Music alumni Atlantic Records artists Milestone Records artists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American Jazz Orchestra members Reservoir Records artists 20th-century American jazz composers Juilliard School alumni Peabody Institute alumni