Paul Winston Weeden (born 7 January 1923 in

Indianapolis 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 ...

– 2 July 2011 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

) was an American-Norwegian jazz guitarist and bandleader.

Biography

In his hometown he played

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 J. J. Johnson with his neighbor before moving to New York City and then

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He led the Paul Weeden Trio with organist Don Patterson and drummer Billy James, and they released an album 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

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 ...

(

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

, 1962). He also played in bands of

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

in the 1960s. After touring in Sweden in 1966, he moved to Norway in 1971. With

Magni Wentzel Magni Wentzel (born 28 June 1945 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (vocals and guitar), the daughter of musicians Odd Wentzel-Larsen and Åse Wentzel, and known for a number of jazz recordings. Career Wentzel started in "Totenla ...

, Håkon Nilsen and

Svein Christiansen Svein "Chrico" Christiansen (6 August 1941 – 25 November 2015) was a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number of recordings, and central on the Oslo Jazz scene. Career Christiansen started early to play drums in various ban ...

he made the ''I Remember Clifford'' for

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

's "Eurojazz" (

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

, 1971). Weeden was central to the people surrounding the

Club 7 Club 7 was a cultural club in Oslo, Norway, active from 1963 to 1985. It was regarded a centre for counterculture in Norway in the 1960s through the 1970s. There was a wide tolerance for alternative lifestyles, including homosexuality. History Clu ...

venue, where he led the band Youngbloods as well as his own quartet (including drummer

Ole Jacob Hansen Ole Jacob Hansen (16 April 1940 – 6 March 2000) was a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number recordings and international cooperation. Career Hansen was born in Oslo, and first established himself on the Oslo jazz scene in To ...

, guitarist Bill Mulholland, and bassist Ray Taylor). After the death of Freddie Green (1911–1987), Weeden replaced him on guitar in the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16- to 18-piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 19 ...

, recommended by

Harry Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard back ...

(1911–1999). He was contacted by the leader, Frank Foster (1928–2011) and joined on tour from January 1988. In the 1990s he performed his own October for recording, including

Vidar Johansen Vidar Johansen (born 17 December 1951) is a Norwegian former ice hockey player. He was born in Asker, Norway and represented the club Frisk Asker. He played for the Norwegian national ice hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winte ...

, Odd Riisnæs, Roy Nikolaisen, Eivin Sannes, Rune Nicolaysen, Kristen Svendsen, and

. The documentary ''Too Young To Be Old'' by Lene Midling-Jenssen (

, 2003) shows Weedens collaboration with "Grønnes Bad&Jazzforsyning" from Flekkefjord. This also led to record release (2003). He led up to 2006 his own quintet with Brinck Johnsen, Eivin Sannes, Kristen Svendsen and

Tom Olstad Tom Olstad (born 13 April 1953 in Gjøvik, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz drummer who has performed on many recordings. Career Olstad has lived in Oslo since 1973, when he started his musical studies at Østlandets Musikkonservatorium and Unive ...

. He lived in

to his death, and was the father of the musician Paul Weeden, Jr., Ronald Weeden, Cynthia Weeden, Genice DeLemos, Dwayne DeLemos, April Weeden, Rickey Weeden, Lasse Weeden, Dennis Michael Weeden, and Thomas Weeden.

Discography

* ''Now I Know Dreams Do Come True'' with Jimmy Coe (Weeden, 2000) * ''Nice But Easy'' (Kultur & Spetakkel, 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weeden, Paul 2011 deaths 1923 births American emigrants to Norway American jazz guitarists Norwegian jazz guitarists Norwegian jazz composers Musicians from Indianapolis