Donald Gale Lanphere (June 26, 1928 – October 9, 2003) 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 ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and soprano saxophonist, known for his 1940s and 1950s work, and recordings with Fats Navarro (in 1948),

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) 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 roo ...

(1949), Claude Thornhill,

Sonny Dunham Elmer "Sonny" Dunham (November 16, 1911 – July 9, 1990) was an American trumpet player and bandleader. A versatile musician, he was one of the few trumpet players who could double on the trombone with equal skill. Biography Born in Brockton ...

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet (TV series), The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad (TV series), T ...

, and

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

Biography

He was born in

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...

, United States. Lanphere briefly studied music at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in the 1940s, but moved to New York City as a member of Johnny Bothwell's group to become part of the

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

jazz scene. In New York, Lanphere was in a relationship with Chan Richardson, who later married

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

and then

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

.Siders, Harvey
"Don Lanphere"
, ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', March 2002. (accessed 4 June 2015) In 1951, Lanphere was arrested and charged with heroin possession in New York City. After his release from jail, he worked in his family's music store in Wenatchee, where he met Midge Hess. They married in 1953. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Lanphere performed with

Herb Pomeroy Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Early life Pomeroy was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He began playing ...

and with Woody Herman. Lanphere was mostly inactive musically throughout most of the 1960s, but began performing in the Seattle area after becoming a born again Christian in 1969, at which time he also stopped using drugs and alcohol. In the 1980s, Lanphere began recording again and started releasing albums, doing tours in New York City and Kansas City in 1983 and a European tour in 1985. In his later years, Lanphere was a jazz educator in the Pacific Northwest, giving lessons out of his home in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...

. He instructed clinics and small groups, as well as performed, at the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop, an annual, week-long summer camp in

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

for jazz students of all ages. The Bud Shank Jazz Workshop coincided with the annual Port Townsend Jazz Festival. He died in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. The city h ...

, of

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

at the age of 75.

Discography

* ''From Out of Nowhere'' ( Hep, 1982) * '' Into Somewhere'' (Hep, 1983) * ''Don Loves Midge'' (Hep, 1984) * '' Stop'' (Hep, 1986) * ''Don Lanphere & Larry Coryell'' (Hep, 1990) * ''Lopin'' (Hep, 1992) * ''Jazz Worship/A Closer Walk'' (DGL, 1993) * ''Get Happy'' ( Origin, 1996) * ''Don Still Loves Midge'' (Hep, 1997) * ''Year 'Round Christmas'' (Origin, 1999) * ''Like a Bird'' (Origin, 2000) * ''Home at Last'' (Origin, 2001) * ''Where Do You Start?'' (Origin, 2003) With Fats Navarro * ''Blues in Teddy's Flat'' ( Dial) * ''Fats Navarro Quintet'' (

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

) With the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra * ''SRJO Live'' (Origin) * ''Sacred Music of Duke Ellington'' (Origin)

References

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanphere, Don 1928 births 2003 deaths Bebop saxophonists American male jazz musicians Members of the Foursquare Church Musicians from Washington (state) Bienen School of Music alumni People from Wenatchee, Washington 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians Hep Records artists Jazz musicians from Washington (state)