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Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born 15 February 1937), is 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.


Biography

Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After serving in the army, Lightsey worked in Detroit and California in the 1960s as an accompanist to singers. He also worked with jazz musicians such as
Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...
, Betty Carter,
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
,
Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...
,
Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) 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 his era, recording over ...
,
Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...
, and
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 ...
. From 1979 to 1983 he toured with
Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...
and was a member of The Leaders in the late 1980s. During the 1980s he led several sessions of his own, including duets with pianist Harold Danko. He is also an accomplished
flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
and occasionally doubles on flute in live performances. He has been living in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
since 2000.


Discography


As leader

* ''Habiba'' ( Gallo, 1974) with Rudolph Johnson * '' Lightsey 1'' ( Sunnyside, 1983) * ''
Isotope Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their Atomic nucleus, nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemica ...
'' ( Criss Cross, 1983) * '' Everything Happens to Me'' ( Timeless, 1983) with
Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...
* '' Shorter by Two'' (Sunnyside, 1983) with Harold Danko * '' Lightsey 2'' (Sunnyside, 1984) * '' Lightsey Live'' (Sunnyside, 1985) * '' First Affairs'' ( Limetree, 1986) * '' Everything Is Changed'' (Sunnyside, 1986) * '' Kirk 'n Marcus'' (Criss Cross, 1986) with Marcus Belgrave * '' From Kirk to Nat'' (Criss Cross, 1990) * '' Goodbye Mr. Evans'' (
Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
, 1994) * '' The Nights of Bradley's'' (Sunnyside, 1984 004 * ''Estate'' (Itinera, 2006) * ''Everybody’s Song But Our Own'' (33 Records, 2008) with Louise Gibbs * ''Lightsey To Gladden'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 2008) * ''Le Corbu'' ( Unit Records, 2015) with Tibor Elekes, Don Moye * ''Some Place Called Where'' ( Losen Records, 2017) with Marilena Paradisi * ''Coltrane Revisited'' (SteepleChase LookOut ,2021)


As sideman

With
Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...
* '' Smokin' with the Chet Baker 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 ...
, 1965) * '' Groovin' with the Chet Baker Quintet'' (Prestige, 1965) * '' Comin' On with the Chet Baker Quintet'' (Prestige, 1965) * '' Cool Burnin' with the Chet Baker Quintet'' (Prestige, 1965) * '' Boppin' with the Chet Baker Quintet'' (Prestige, 1965) With
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 ...
* '' Sky Street'' (
Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
, 1975) With Agostino Di Giorgio * ''The Path'' (Fonò, 2001) With Ricky Ford *'' Shorter Ideas'' (Muse, 1984) *'' Looking Ahead'' (Muse, 1986) *'' Saxotic Stomp'' (Muse, 1987) With
Sonny Fortune Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939 – October 25, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist. He played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute. Biography He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Af ...
* '' Four in One'' (Blue Note, 1994) With
Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...
* '' American Classic'' (Elektra Musician, 1982) With
Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player and composer. Originally from Chicago, Jordan later moved to New York City, where he recorded extensively in addition to touring across ...
* '' Two Tenor Winner'' (Criss Cross, 1984) With
Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...
*'' The Super Quartet'' (Timeless, 1994) With Blue Mitchell and Harold Land * '' Mapenzi'' ( Concord, 1977) With David "Fathead" Newman *'' Heads Up'' (Atlantic, 1987) *'' Fire! Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Atlantic, 1989) With David Murray *'' Black & Black'' (Red Baron, 1991) With The Leaders * '' Mudfoot'' (Black Hawk, 1986) * '' Out Here Like This'' ( Black Saint, 1987) * '' Unforeseen Blessings'' (Black Saint, 1988) * '' Heaven Dance'' (Sunnyside, 1988) * '' Slipping and Sliding'' (Sound Hills, 1994) With Jimmy Raney *'' The Master'' (Criss Cross, 1983) With Rufus Reid * '' Perpetual Stroll'' ( Theresa, 1980) With
Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...
* ''Saying Something '' (1995) * ''For Bird & Diz'' (In+Out, 1996) With Saheb Sarbib * ''It Couldn't Happen Without You'' ( Soul Note) With
Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century's most important and influentia ...
* ''
Imagination Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself. These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes ...
'' (
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
, 1987) With
Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) 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 his era, recording over ...
* '' Pow!'' (Prestige, 1965) With Rudolph Johnson * ''The Second Coming'' (Black Jazz Records, 1973)


References


Sources

* Kirk Lightseyat
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightsey, Kirk 1937 births Living people American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from Detroit Timeless Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians The Leaders members Sunnyside Records artists