Richard Bently Boone (February 24, 1930 – February 8, 1999) was an American jazz trombonist and scat singer.

Career

Born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Boone sang in a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church choir as a boy, then began playing the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

at the age of twelve. He served with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

from 1948 to 1953 where he played trombone in a military band. Out of the Army, he returned to Little Rock to study music at

Philander Smith College Philander Smith University (previously Philander Smith College) is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNC ...

. In 1956 Boone moved to Los Angeles where he played in venues with

Dolo Coker Charles Mitchell "Dolo" Coker (November 16, 1927 – April 13, 1983) was a jazz pianist and composer who recorded four albums for Xanadu Records and extensively as a sideman, for artists like Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Lou Donaldson, Art Pepper, Ph ...

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography ...

, 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 ...

. Boone worked in the backup band for

Della Reese Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singl ...

between 1962 and 1966 then became a member of the

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

band. A few years later he left Basie and moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark, performing with the Ernie Wilkins Big Band.

Discography

As leader

* ''I've Got a Right to Sing'' (Nocturne, 1968) * ''Make Someone Happy'' with Bent Jaedig (Polydor, 1977) * ''Brief Encounter'' (Metronome, 1978) * ''Swingin' in Helsingborg'' with Al Grey (Four Leaf, 1991) * ''A Tribute to Love'' (Stunt, 1998)

As sideman

With

* '' Hollywood...Basie's Way'' (Command, 1966) * '' Broadway Basie's...Way'' (Command, 1966) * ''

Basie's in the Bag ''Basie's in the Bag'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Count Basie and Count Basie Orchestra, His Orchestra featuring performances of contemporary popular tunes recorded in 1967 and released on the Brunswick Records, Brunswick label.

'' (Brunswick, 1967) * '' Half a Sixpence'' (Dot, 1967) * '' The Board of Directors'' (Dot, 1967) * '' The Board of Directors Annual Report'' (Dot, 1968) with The Mills Brothers * '' Basie Straight Ahead'' (Dot, 1968) * ''

Standing Ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding, often after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. Standing ovations are considered to be a special honor. Often they are ...

'' (Dot, 1969) * '' Basie's Beat'' (Verve, 1967) * ''

The Happiest Millionaire ''The Happiest Millionaire'' is a 1967 American musical film starring Fred MacMurray, based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Sr., Anthony Drexel Biddle. The film, featuring music by the Sherman Brothe ...

'' (Coliseum, 1967) * '' Manufacturers of Soul'' with

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

(Brunswick, 1968) * ''

How About This ''How About This'' is an album by vocalist Kay Starr and pianist and bandleader Count Basie, released in 1969 by the Paramount Records label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MParamount Album Discography accessed November 15, 2015 Background In the 1960s, ...

'' with

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

(Paramount, 1968) With

* '' The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon'' (Jazzland, 1960) * ''More Than You Know'' (SteepleChase, 1975) With

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...

* ''By Jones I Think We've Got It'' (Metronome, 1978) * ''Eclipse'' (Metronome, 1980) * ''A Good Time Was Had by All'' (Storyville, 1989) With

Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direct ...

* ''Ernie Wilkins and the Almost Big Band'' (Storyville, 1981 * ''Live! At Slukefter Jazz Club in Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen'' (Matrix, 1982) * ''Montreux'' (SteepleChase, 1984) * ''On the Roll'' (SteepleChase, 1987)

References

The Jazz collections at the University Library of Southern Denmark
1930 births 1999 deaths American expatriates in Denmark American jazz singers Boone, Richard Bently 20th-century American singers Count Basie Orchestra members DR Big Band members {{US-jazz-singer-stub