Jack Walrath

Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others.

Biography

Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. He began playing the trumpet at the age of nine in 1955 while living in the small town of Edgar, Montana. He attributes his wide range of musical appreciation to a "lack of negative peer pressure which so often happens in cities".Todd S. Jenkins, ''I Know What I Know: The Music of Charles Mingus'' (Praeger Press, 2006),

In 1969 Walrath relocated to the West Coast and found work in Los Angeles's jazz scene. Soon he was a member of the band Revival, with trombonist Glenn Ferris, and the West Coast MotownOrchestra. He worked with Ray Charles for one tour of the U.S. In 1970 Walrath relocated to New York City. For a year and a half he was a columnist of the International Musician and Recording World, which had its US department there. He also wrote liner notes and articles for DownBeat.

Walrath spent the next several years working with mainstream and Latin jazz bands.

With Mingus he recorded '' Changes One'' and '' Changes Two'', both for Atlantic Records in 1974. The latter album features Walrath's composition "Black Bats and Poles" (originally entitled "Rats and Moles" until Mingus decided it needed a darker name).

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* ''Demons in Pursuit'', (Gatemouth, 1979)
* ''In Montana'', (Labor, 1980, reissued 2001)
* '' Revenge of the Fat People'', ( Stash, 1981)
* '' In Europe'', ( SteepleChase, 1982)
* ''A Plea for Sanity