Laurence “Larry” Howard Ridley II (born September 3, 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 ...
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
and
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
. He is an inductee of the
Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame.
Early life
Ridley was born on September 3, 1937, in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. Music became an important of his life since he was five years old. Ridley's mother would pay seventy-five cents for Ruth McArthur to give him violin lessons. McArthur had been renown in Indianapolis for helping push African Americans forward in the music community. She had opened a music school for those students who were being negatively impacted by segregation within the city's schools. This represented a chance to Ridley to open his eyes to the world of music and build a classical music background.
Ben Hollman, who was the father of Ridley's uncle's wife, introduced him to jazz and blues. Because this was the early stages when jazz was gaining more popularity within the United States, it was more important to gain an understanding of blues as that genre was heavily influencing jazz's development. Ridley also met and asked bassist Monk Montgomery for lessons.
After graduating from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, he enrolled in 1955 in
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
. He was fortunate enough to earn a violin scholarship that would help cover his continued education at the school of music at the university. During his time there, Ridley had the opportunity to be a part of jazz groups and to play with the
David Baker Band. When Ridley had enrolled in the university, it was rare for jazz to be a part of an institution's music program. In an interview, he stated that "the only thing that had been set up on sort of like a university type level was the Berklee College of Music, which was started in 1947." When he arrived at the university, he quickly realized that this institution could offer him countless opportunities to sharpen his skills. He was able to perform numerous times with the school's symphony orchestra and opera orchestra. Ridley was able to gain knowledge on different styles of music, but he still honed in on jazz. Along with a group of students, they would gather in the rehearsal halls to practice jazz. Ridley also met many musicians who came from the European classical tradition that played all around the world, and they would come to the university to teach classes.
Career - Musician
In 1957, Ridley organized a jazz band that was called the Jazz Contemporaries. His fellow members were
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
James Spaulding, Paul Parker, and Walter Miller. The group of musicians was underaged, but they were still able to perform six nights a week at George's Bar. In the early 1960s, Ridley relocated to New York to pursue a musical career in jazz. He became extremely involved in the New York jazz scene in an attempt to help it grow. During that decade, he appeared on records with
Hubbard,
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...
,
Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...
,
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...
,
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...
,
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death.
Bio ...
, and
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 ...
. During the 1970s, he was able to record his first album where he was the bandleader this time. In addition, Ridley was a part of meaningful collaborations as a sideman for
James Moody and
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
. He became the bassist for
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
as well.
During his career as a musician, the performances he has held closest to his heart were his yearly concerts at the
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. These concerts were tributes to three pianists he played with throughout his career:
Duke Pearson
Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record pro ...
,
Sonny Clark
Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.
Early life
Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town east of P ...
, and
Kenny Drew
Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist.
Biography
Drew was born on August 28, 1928, in New York City, United States, and he received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, ...
. Because all three had already passed away, he felt that it was the least he could do for them since they had no presence in the commercial scene anymore. He credits "the creator" with having given him the opportunity to get to know these people and learn from all of them about he could grow both as a person and a musician. As a result, Ridley felt that holding these tribute concerts was something that he was moved to do to make sure they never fade away and become anonymous musicians.
Furthermore, the Schomburg Center was a special institution for Ridley. He held it in very high regard as it was one of "the world's leading institutions as far as the type of information they have that relates to African or black culture." To him, it is one of the best displays of "intellectual and artistic artifacts". As a way of showing respect to the invaluable institution that the Schomburg Center had become, Ridley would try to mix education with his performances. When he would design the programs for his concerts, he would make notes giving overviews of the musicians he would be honoring throughout his performance.
Career - Educator
As previously mentioned, music education was of utmost importance during his development. In 1971 he became a professor of music at
Rutgers
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
. He became extremely involved with the Rutgers Institute for Jazz Studies to help make it as important of a repository for intellect and history like the Schomburg Center. He was one of the first active, African American musicians who became involved in the education aspect of the industry. Ridley, in addition, was a founding member of the jazz faculty at Rutgers. He brought in to the program a multitude of jazz musicians:
Ted Dunbar
Earl Theodore Dunbar (January 17, 1937 – May 29, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator.
Career
Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Dunbar trained as a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, but by the 1970s he only did pharmac ...
,
Kenny Barron
Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era.
Early life
...
,
Don Friedman
Donald Ernest Friedman (May 4, 1935 – June 30, 2016) was an American jazz pianist. He began playing in Los Angeles and moved to New York in 1958. In the 1960s, he played with both modern stylists and more traditional musicians.
Early life
Fr ...
,
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
,
Freddie Waits
Frederick Douglas Waits (April 27, 1943 – November 18, 1989) was an American hard bop and post-bop drummer.
Waits never officially recorded as leader, but was a prominent member and composer in Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble. He work ...
,
Michael Carvin
Michael Wayne Carvin (born December 12, 1944) is an American jazz drummer.
Biography
Born in Houston, Texas, Carvin began his musical training at the age of six with his father, one of the top drummers in Houston. By the age of twelve, Carvin be ...
,
Frank Foster, and more. Again, his source of inspiration behind aiding in establishing this institution at the university was that jazz programs were not popular back when he was in school. In addition, Ridley had seen ads for institutions with "jazz degrees" that said you had the opportunity to study with the greatest jazz musicians, but he said he would never recognize any of the names on there. As a result, he ensured to bring to Rutgers established and known musicians who could share professional and personal insight with all aspiring musicians. Another shortcoming of other attempts to establish a jazz degree was that they failed to incorporate the spiritual aesthetic of jazz, which Ridley viewed as "the feeling of the music that comes from Mother Africa through the whole African American experience." To him, a critical part of true jazz was having soul and spirituality in every song you performed. He viewed jazz as a platform to showcase to the world what life was like as an African American trying to live out the American dream, an idea that many musicians could relate to.
Ridley had the credentials to undertake the formation of the undergraduate and graduate jazz performance programs at Rutgers. Even though he had enrolled initially at Indiana University, he transferred to
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
to obtain his Bachelor's in Music Education. He also earned his Master's in Cultural Policy at
Empire State College
Empire State University (SUNY Empire) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State University is a multi-site institution offering associate degre ...
and a Doctor of Performing Arts degree at the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "Research Colleges and Universities" ...
. What inspired him though to get his Bachelor's in music education was that he felt that jazz needed a program similar to the general music education. He believed that the music academy "was not going to ever accept jazz a legitimate art form or music because there was always this thing about, 'Oh do you play legit?' or 'Do you play serious music?'".
One of the key lessons that Lester attempted to incorporate in the curriculum he developed was that you have to stay humble. He would tell his students, "Take your ego and put it in your back pocket and sit on it and just keep your humbleness so you really understand and that you keep learning." He believed that an ego was the biggest thing that could hinder a musician as it could lead them to blocking out everyone. Humility opens the eyes and ears to feedback and lessons that can transform a musician's perspective. Another key teaching Ridley instilled in the programs is the importance of using music to tell a story. The technique may be impressive, but the life experiences that influence the songs themselves are the true substance. Again, that spiritual aspect is what will show the audience who you are as a musician.
Influence - African American Jazz Caucus
Ridley was the primary founder in 1977 for the Black Jazz Music Caucus of the National Association of Jazz Educators, which now operates under the
African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC), where he later served as the executive director. The purpose of having established this caucus was to increase the "representation of African American Jazz artists and educators within the larger body of the Jazz Educators Association."
One of the early goals of the African American Jazz Caucus was to give support and resources to both African American artists and educators at elementary, secondary, and higher educational institutions. In addition, Ridley would help organize workshops and performances at conferences for the National Association of Jazz Educators. Like he did when he established the jazz faculty at Rutgers, he would invite renowned African American artists in an attempt to provide reliable mentorship opportunities for aspiring musicians and educators. The AAJC constantly tried to tackle any challenges that members can face when it comes to educating students. Some of these challenges included the "creation of employment opportunities, the sustenance and protection of employment and programming, the allocation of adequate resources, and, the creation and monitoring of curricula that rightfully acknowledge and position the history and contributions of African Americans as the progenitors of the Jazz art form."
Furthermore, Ridley and the AAJC ensured that jazz educators across the country recognized and acknowledged, to this day, the African American cultural influences upon which jazz was built around. He wanted educators to understand all ways that African Americans contributed to jazz's development in the United States: spirituality, individuality, diversity, improvisation, and theory, to name a few.
Discography
As leader
* 1975: ''Sum of the Parts'' (
Strata-East)
* 1989: ''Live at Rutgers University'' (Strata-East)
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 ...
*''Chet Baker Quartet/Live in France 1978'', one track only, (Gambit Records, 2005)
With
Bill Barron
*''
Hot Line'' (Savoy, 1962
964
Year 964 ( CMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
Byzantine Empire
* Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II continues the reconquest of south-eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey). He recaptures Cyp ...
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 ...
*''
Groovin' High
"Groovin' High" is an influential 1945 song by jazz composer and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. The song was a bebop mainstay that became a jazz standard, one of Gillespie's best known hits, and according to ''Bebop: The Music and Its Players'' author ...
'' (Muse, 1981
984
Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4 years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II, Duke of Bavaria ("the Wrangler"), wh ...
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 ...
*''
Play It Now'' (Xanadu, 1975)
With
Dameronia
*''
To Tadd with Love'' (Uptown, 1982)
* ''
Look Stop Listen'' (Uptown, 1983)
* ''
Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt Paris'' (Soul Note, 1989
994
Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...
With
Teddy Edwards
Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Biography
Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone ...
*''
The Inimitable Teddy Edwards'' (Xanadu, 1976)
With
Red Garland
William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...
*''
The Nearness of You
"The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1937 by Hoagy Carmichael (1899–1981), with lyrics by Ned Washington (1901–1976). Intended for an unproduced Paramount Pictures film titled Romance In The Rough, the studio's publishing divi ...
'' (Jazzland, 1961)
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 ...
* ''
The Panther!
''The Panther!'' is an album by saxophonist Dexter Gordon that was recorded in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.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 ...
, 1970)
With
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...
and
Joe Venuti
Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist.
Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...
*''Venupelli Blues'' (Affinity, 1969)
'With
Bunky Green
Vernice "Bunky" Green Jr (April 23, 1933 – March 1, 2025) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator.
Life and career
Green was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played the alto saxophone, mainly at a local club called "The Br ...
*''
My Babe
"My Babe" is a Chicago blues song and a List of blues standards, blues standard written by Willie Dixon for Little Walter. Released in 1955 on Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, the song was the only Dixon composition ever to become ...
'' (Vee-Jay, 1960
965
Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim resid ...
With
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...
*''
Somethin' Sanctified
''Somethin' Sanctified'' is an album by American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger Slide Hampton which was released on the Atlantic Records, Atlantic label in 1961.Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...
*''
Cracklin'
''Cracklin is an album recorded by American jazz drummer Roy Haynes with tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin and released in July 1963 by Prestige Records.
The two tracks written by pianist Ronnie Mathews–"Honeydew" and "Dorian"– were also releas ...
'' (New Jazz, 1963)
*''
Cymbalism
''Cymbalism'' is an album recorded by American drummer Roy Haynes in 1963 for the New Jazz label.Roy Hayn ...
'' (New Jazz, 1963)
With
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
*''
Hub Cap'' (Blue Note, 1961)
*''
Blue Spirits'' (Blue Note, 1965)
*''
The Night of the Cookers'' (Blue Note, 1965)
With
Jackie McLean
John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death.
Bio ...
*''
Destination... Out!'' (Blue Note, 1963)
*''
Jacknife'' (Blue Note, 1965)
With
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...
*''
Dippin''' (Blue Note, 1965)
*''
Straight No Filter
''Straight No Filter'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley, recorded mostly in 1963 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1985. The CD edition compiles performances recorded at four different sessions from 1963 to 1966.
Receptio ...
'' (Blue Note, 1989)
With
James Moody
*''
Feelin' It Together
''Feelin' It Together'' is an album by saxophonist James Moody recorded in 1973 and released on the Muse label.Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...
and
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of 1 ...
*''Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings'' (Resonance, 1965)
With
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...
*''
Cornbread
Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are st ...
'' (Blue Note, 1965)
With
Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...
*''
The Jody Grind'' (Blue Note, 1966)
With
Lucky Thompson
Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano sa ...
*''
Goodbye Yesterday'' (Groove Merchant, 1973)
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. He arranged music for D ...
*''
New York, New Sound'' (Mack Avenue, 2003)
References
External links
http://www.larryridley.comhttp://www.juneteenth.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Larry
Manhattan School of Music faculty
Strata-East Records artists
1937 births
Living people
American jazz educators
Musicians from Indiana
Dameronia members
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American musicians