James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), 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, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles including

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

and cool jazz.

Music career

Rowles was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

, United States, and attended Gonzaga University in that city. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, he joined

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

's group in 1942. He also worked with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...

, Woody Herman, Les Brown,

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

, and as a

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

With female singers

Rowles was praised as an accompanist by female singers. He recorded '' Sarah Vaughan with the Jimmy Rowles Quintet'' with Sarah Vaughan and accompanied Carmen McRae on her 1972 live album '' The Great American Songbook''. McRae described Rowles as "the guy every girl singer in her right mind would like to work with". In the 1950s and 1960s, he frequently played behind

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

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

. In the 1980s, he succeeded

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

's accompanist. In late 1956 heperformed with Fitzgerald at the Mocambo nightclub in Hollywood, from then on he appeared on several recording sessions with Ella in the 1960s before joining her in 1981 for nearly three years. Rowles appeared, in 1982, on Fitzgerald's final collaboration with

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Reco ...

, '' The Best Is Yet to Come''. His song "Baby, Don't You Quit Now", written with Johnny Mercer, was recorded on her final album '' All That Jazz'', released in 1989. In 1983, Rowles worked with

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

in Los Angeles, shortly after she moved from the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston. He developed her playing abilities and encouraged her to add singing to her repertoire. In 1994, he accompanied jazz singer Jeri Brown on ''A Timeless Place'', the only album containing only his own compositions.

Compositions

"The Peacocks" is Rowles's best known composition; it has been recorded in 1975 album of the same name with

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

, an subsequently by Gary Foster, John McLaughlin, Esperanza Spalding,

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

, and other artists. Singer Norma Winstone wrote lyrics for the composition and recorded it under the title "A Timeless Place". "The Peacocks" is performed in the Soundtrack of Bertrand Tavernier's movie '' Round Midnight''. Rowles' 1958 composition "

502 Blues 502 Blues is a jazz standard composed in 1958 by Jimmy Rowles. The composition is best known through Wayne Shorter's rendition on his 1967 album, Adam's Apple. Musical composition The song is a 32-bar waltz in A minor. Notable recordings ...

" gained wide exposure from Wayne Shorter's 1966 recording. "502 Blues" was subsequently included in the Real Book, a collection of jazz sheet music widely used by students and professionals when playing jam sessions and casual gigs. Rowles's piano work was featured prominently on the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises cartoon series '' The Ant and the Aardvark'' (1969–1971). In 1986 the 14th of September was declared “Jimmie Rowles Day” in Los Angeles. Rowles died in 1996 of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

in Burbank, California, aged 77. His daughter, Stacy (September 11, 1955 – October 30, 2009), was a jazz trumpeter, singer, and flugelhornist. His son Gary played guitar with Eric Burdon and Arthur Lee's band

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

Discography

As leader/coleader

* 1954 ''Rare, But Well Done'' (

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

) * 1957 ''Bill Harris and Friends'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

) * 1958 ''Let's Get Acquainted with Jazz (for People Who Hate Jazz)'' (Tampa, ''reissued by'' VSOP) * 1958 ''Weather in a Jazz Vane'' (Andex, ''reissued by'' VSOP) * 1959 ''Upper Classmen'' (Interlude) * 1960 ''Fiorello Uptown, Mary Sunshine Downtown'' (

Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

) * 1962 ''Kinda Groovy'' ( Capitol) * 1968 ''Our Delight'' (VSOP) * 1972 ''Some Other Spring'' (Blue Angel) * 1974 ''Jazz Is a Fleeting Moment'' (Jazzz) * 1974 ''The Special Magic of Jimmy Rowles'' (Halcyon) * 1975 '' The Peacocks'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

) with

* 1976 ''Grandpaws'' (Choice) (reissued in 2014 as ''Jam Face'' Choice CD) * 1976 ''Paws That Refresh'' (Choice) (reissued in 2010 as ''The Chess Player''s, Choice CD'')'' * 1976 ''Music's the Only Thing That's on My Mind'' (

Audiophile An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...

) * 1977 '' Heavy Love'' (

Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...

) with Al Cohn * 1978 ''Isfahan'' ( Sonet) * 1978 ''Shade and Light'' (Ahead) * 1978 ''Jimmy Rowles Trio on Tour'' (SIR) * 1978 ''We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together'' (Xanadu) * 1978 ''Nature Boy'' ( Musica) * 1978 ''Scarab'' (Musica) * 1978 ''Red'n Me'' (Dreyfus) * 1979 ''Duets'' (Cymbol) w Joe Newman * 1979 ''Tasty!'' ( Concord Jazz) * 1979 ''My mother's love'' (PolJazz) * 1979 ''Grandpa's Vibrato'' ( Black & Blue 2002) * 1979 ''Ellington by Rowles'' (Cymbol) * 1980 ''Jimmy Rowles in Paris'' (Columbia) * 1981 ''Plays Ellington and Billy Strayhorn'' (Columbia) * 1981 ''Profile/The music of Henri Renaud'' (Columbia) * 1981 '' Checkmate'' (Pablo) with Joe Pass * 1983 ''Peacocks'' ( Stash) with Michael Hashim * 1985 ''The'' ''Jimmy Rowles/Red Mitchell Trio'' ( Contemporary) * 1985 ''I'm Glad There Is You: Jimmy Rowles, Vol. 2'' (Contemporary) * 1988 ''Looking Back'' (Delos) * 1988 ''Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue'' (Orange Blue) * 1989 ''Plus 2, Plus 3, Plus 4'' ( JVC) * 1989 ''Remember Wwhen'' (Master Mix) * 1990 ''Trio'' (

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has bee ...

) * 1994 ''Lilac Time'' (

Kokopelli Kokopelli () is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most f ...

) * 1995 ''

A Timeless Place ''A Timeless Place'' is an album by the musician Jeri Brown, released in 1995. The album was nominated for a Juno Award for "Best Mainstream Jazz Album". Production The album was produced by Jim West. Brown was accompanied by Jimmy Rowles on piano ...

'' ( Justin Time) (w Jeri Brown)

As sideman

With

Pepper Adams Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a si ...

* '' Critics' Choice'' ( World Pacific, 1957) *'' Urban Dreams'' (Palo Alto, 1981) With Louie Bellson * '' Skin Deep'' ( Norgran, 1953) * '' Music, Romance and Especially Love'' ( Verve, 1957) With

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

* '' Bob Brookmeyer Plays Bob Brookmeyer and Some Others'' (

Clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...

, 1955) * '' Back Again'' ( Sonet, 1978) With

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the firs ...

* '' Hoagy Sings Carmichael'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956) 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 ...

* '' Jazz Giant'' ( Contemporary, 1958) – two tracks *''

Sax ala Carter! ''Sax ala Carter!'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter recorded in 1960 and originally released on the United Artists label. Reception AllMusic reviewer Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. stated: "the songs are popular standards and the rendi ...

'' (United Artists, 1960) *'' BBB & Co.'' (Swingville, 1962) with Ben Webster and

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Ale ...

With

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

* '' L-O-V-E'' ( Capitol, 1965) With Harry Edison * '' Sweets'' (Clef, 1956) With

* '' Whisper Not'' (Verve, 1967) * '' The Best Is Yet to Come'' (

Pablo Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer * Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo B ...

, 1982) * '' All That Jazz'' (Pablo, 1989) With

* '' Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds'' (Verve, 1953–55,

957 Year 957 ( CMLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * September 6 – Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I, dies of a violent fever nea ...

* ''The Peacocks'' (Columbia, 1975) With Jimmy Giuffre * '' The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1956) * '' Ad Lib'' (Verve, 1959) With Woody Herman * '' Songs for Hip Lovers'' (Verve, 1957) With

* '' Songs for Distingué Lovers'' (Verve, 1957) With Barney Kessel * ''

To Swing or Not to Swing ''To Swing or Not to Swing'' (subtitled ''Barney Kessel Volume 3'') is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel released on the Contemporary label which was recorded at sessions in 1955.

'' (Contemporary, 1955) * '' Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By'' (Contemporary, 1956) * '' Let's Cook!'' (Contemporary, 1957 962 * '' Some Like It Hot'' (Contemporary, 1959) With Lee Konitz * ''

Tenorlee ''Tenorlee'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz originally released on the Choice label in 1978 and rereleased by Candid Records, Candid on CD in 1996 with two bonus tracks.Julie London * '' Julie'' (

, 1957) * '' Julie...At Home'' (

, 1960) With

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

* '' Great Ideas of Western Mann'' ( Riverside, 1957) * ''

The Magic Flute of Herbie Mann ''The Magic Flute of Herbie Mann'' is an album by American jazz flautist Herbie Mann recorded in 1957 for the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1957) With Carmen McRae * '' The Great American Songbook'' (Atlantic, 1972) With Gerry Mulligan * ''

Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 1 ''Gerry Mulligan Quartet Volume 1'' is an album by saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in 1952 and originally released as the first 10-inch LP on the Pacific Jazz label.Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster'' (Verve 1959) With

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

* '' The Wailing Buddy Rich'' (Norgran, 1955) With

* '' NAT: An Orchestral Portrait of Nat "King" Cole'' (Reprise, 1966) With Pete Rugolo * '' The Music from Richard Diamond'' (EmArcy, 1959) * ''

The Original Music of Thriller ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

, 1961) * ''

10 Saxophones and 2 Basses ''10 Saxophones and 2 Basses'' is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances recorded in 1961 and first released on the Mercury label as part of its audiophile Perfect Presence Sound Series.Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thr ...

* ''

Bud Shank - Shorty Rogers - Bill Perkins In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be sp ...

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1955) With

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

* ''Party'' (Choice, 1976) * '' If I'm Lucky'' (Pablo, 1977) * '' For Lady Day'' (Pablo, 1978 991 * '' Warm Tenor'' (Pablo, 1978) * ''Passion Flower'' (Pablo, 1979) * ''I Wish I Were Twins'' (Pablo, 1980) * ''The Swinger'' (Pablo, 1982) * ''Suddenly It's Spring'' (Pablo, 1983) * ''Live in San Francisco 1978'' (Fog, 2014) With

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...

* '' Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements'' (Verve, 1959) With Ben Webster * '' Ben Webster at the Renaissance'' (Contemporary, 1960) With

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in the ...

* ''Heartbeat'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, 1978) With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

* '' California Soul'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968) With

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 ...

and Lew Tabackin * '' Phil Woods/Lew Tabackin'' (Omnisound, 1981) With Henry Mancini * '' Experiment in Terror'' (RCA Victor, 1962) * ''

Uniquely Mancini ''Uniquely Mancini: The Big Band Sound of Henry Mancini'' is an album by Henry Mancini and His Orchestra. It was released in 1963 on RCA Victor (catalog no. LSP-2692). It entered ''Billboard'' magazine's pop album chart on July 6, 1963, peaked ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1963) * '' Charade'' (RCA Victor, 1963) * '' The Pink Panther'' (RCA Victor, 1963) * '' The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini'' (RCA Victor, 1965) * ''

Mancini '67 Mancini () is a surname of Italian origin which, etymologically, comes from the Italian adjective ''mancino'', which literally means "left handed". People Art and literature *Antonio Mancini (1852–1930), Italian painter *Dominic Mancini, 15th-c ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1967) * ''The Party'' (RCA Victor, 1968)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowles, Jimmy 1918 births 1996 deaths Post-bop pianists Mainstream jazz pianists Swing pianists Cool jazz pianists West Coast jazz pianists Ella Fitzgerald American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Spokane, Washington Xanadu Records artists Capitol Records artists Columbia Records artists Contemporary Records artists 20th-century American pianists American male jazz musicians Black & Blue Records artists Pablo Records artists 20th-century American male musicians