Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist.

Early life

McClure was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph Iadone and, later, with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky. McClure attended the Hartt School of Music, graduating in 1963.

Later life and career

McClure worked in the

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, ...

Sextet in 1963. He then joined

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

's big band and, afterwards,

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

in 1964; and then assumed the bass chair in the

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 ...

Trio vacated by

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop er ...

in 1965 (playing behind guitarist

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 ...

). From 1966 to 1969, he was a member of Charles Lloyd's "classic quartet" with pianist

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

and drummer

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

, which was voted "Group of the Year" in 1967 by ''Downbeat'' magazine. In 1970, with pianist-composer

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, who lives and works in Australia. Biography Nock was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, but spent his childhood in Ngāruawāhia. Nock began studying piano at 11. H ...

, drummer

Eddie Marshall Edwin "Eddie" Marshall (April 13, 1938 – September 7, 2011Obituary
) was an American

and violinist Michael White, he co-founded the

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

group, the Fourth Way. He also participated in

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

's album, ''

Escalator over the Hill ''Escalator over the Hill'' (or ''EOTH'') is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction", with "words by Paul Haines (poet), Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Mic ...

'', and worked with saxophonist

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

. In April and May 1972, while McClure was teaching at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, he worked three jobs lasting a total of four weeks as the bassist in the Thelonious Monk Quartet. In 1974, McClure joined

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

, staying until 1975 and performing on three albums: ''

Mirror Image A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflection (physics), reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical phenomenon, optical effect, it r ...

'', '' New City'' and '' In Concert''. In the 1980s, he joined

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...

, led by saxophonist

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

, which also included drummer

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drumming, jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest (b ...

and pianist

Richie Beirach Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist ...

. He also recorded a duo album with pianist

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. Despite his health condition and rel ...

. McClure's major engagements in the 1990s through the early 2000s were with

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

, and then with the reassembled Quest. His solo output include the contributions of

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

, John Abercrombie,

Vic Juris Victor Edward Jurusz Jr. (September 26, 1953 – December 31, 2019), known professionally as Vic Juris, was an American jazz guitarist. Music career Juris was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but he moved with his family to Parsippany-Troy Hill ...

Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...

, Michael Eckroth,

, and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Home Base'' (Ode ew Zealand 1979) * ''Descendants'' ( Ken Music

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1980) * ''Yesterday's Tomorrow'' (EPC/European Music Productions, 1989) with John Abercrombie, Aldo Romano * ''McJolt'' ( SteepleChase, 1990) with John Abercrombie * ''Never Forget'' ( SteepleChase, 1990) with Eddie Henderson, Vincent Herring * ''Inspiration'' (Ken Music

1991) * ''Tonite Only'' ( SteepleChase, 1991) with John Abercrombie * ''Sunburst'' ( SteepleChase, 1992) * ''Inner Account'' ( SteepleChase, 1993) * ''Never Always'' ( SteepleChase, 1995) * ''Concrete Canyon'' ( SteepleChase, 1996) * ''Pink Cloud'' ( Naxos Jazz, 1997) * ''Closer to Your Tears'' (SteepleChase, 1997) * ''Dream Team'' ( SteepleChase, 1998) * ''Double Triangle'' (Naxos Jazz, 1999) * ''Match Point'' ( SteepleChase, 2002) * ''Age of Peace'' ( SteepleChase, 2003) * '' Soft Hands'' ( SteepleChase, 2007) * ''Wonderland'' ( SteepleChase, 2008) with

Harold Danko Harold Danko (born June 13, 1947 in Ohio) is an American jazz pianist. Danko attended Youngstown State University. Among his credits are work in the big bands of Woody Herman and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, as well as smaller ensembles with Gerry Mull ...

* ''New Moon'' ( SteepleChase, 2009) * ''Dedication'' ( SteepleChase, 2011) * ''Crunch Time'' ( SteepleChase, 2012) * ''Ready or Not'' ( SteepleChase, 2013) * ''Hello Stars'' (McJolt Records, 2016) * ''Hope & Knowledge'' (McJolt Records, 2018) * ''Lucky Sunday'' ( SteepleChase, 2019) * ''NightQuest'' ( SteepleChase, 2022)

As sideman

With

* '' If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

, 1970) * ''Jazz Patterns'' (Everest, 1970

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...

* '' In Pursuit of Blackness'' (Milestone, 1971) With

* '' Zounds'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1990) * '' It's You'' (SteepleChase, 1996) * '' Dig-It'' (SteepleChase, 1999) with Ted Brown With

David Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...

* '' The Opal Heart'' (44 Records, 1979) * '' Doin' It Again'' ( Timeless, 1979) * '' If They Only Knew'' (Timeless, 1980) With Charles Lloyd * '' Love-In'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1967) * '' Journey Within'' (Atlantic, 1967) * '' Charles Lloyd in the Soviet Union'' (Atlantic, 1970) *''

Soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

'' (Atlantic, 1969) With Karlheinz Miklin * ''Next Page'' (SOS Music ustria 1991) * ''Decisions'' (1993) * ''Last Waltz'' (Acoustic Music, 1997) * ''From Here to There'' (TCB Records, 2002) * ''In Between'' (2004) With Jarmo Savolainen * ''First Sight'' (Timeless, 1992) * ''True Image'' ( A-Records, 1995) With others *

Johnny Alegre Juan Bautista H. Alegre III (born June 4, 1955), known professionally as Johnny Alegre, is a jazz guitarist and composer from Manila, Philippines. He leads the jazz group Johnny Alegre Affinity and the world music group Humanfolk. Biography Ca ...

, ''Johnny Alegre 3'' (MCA Music hilippines 2009) * Burak Bedikyan, ''Leap of Faith'' (SteepleChase, 2015) *

, ''

'' ( JCOA, 1971) *

, ''

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 ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1989) *

George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Art ...

, '' Quiet Fire'' (SteepleChase, 1994) *

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became intereste ...

, ''

Sienna Sienna () is an earth pigment containing iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural state, it is yellowish brown, and it is called raw sienna. When heated, it becomes a reddish brown, and it is called burnt sienna.''Shorter Oxford English ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1989) *

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 ...

, '' Almost Everything'' (SteepleChase, 1995) *

Trio, '' Full View'' (Milestone, 1968) *

, ''Cold Blues'' (OWL, 1985) *

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

, ''

'' ( Blue Thumb, 1973) *

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. Biog ...

, '' Love, Love'' (

ECM ECM may refer to the following: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Lenstra's Elliptic curve method for factor ...

, 1973) * George Russell, '' Live in an American Time Spiral'' (Soul Note, 1983) * James Spaulding, '' The Smile of the Snake'' ( HighNote, 1997) * Dave Stryker, ''Strike Zone'' (SteepleChase, 1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClure, Ron 1941 births Living people Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists Blood, Sweat & Tears members University of Hartford Hartt School alumni Jazz musicians from Connecticut 21st-century American double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Fourth Way (band) members Quest (band) members