Ronald Mathews (December 2, 1935, 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 ...

– June 28, 2008, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

) was an American jazz pianist who worked with

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

from 1963 to 1968 and

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978–79. His most recent work was in 2008, as both a mentor and musician with Generations, a group of jazz musicians headed by veteran drummer

Jimmy Cobb Wilbur James "Jimmy" Cobb (January 20, 1929May 24, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. He was part of Miles Davis's First Great Sextet. He was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2009. Early life Cobb was born in Washington, D.C., on J ...

. He contributed two new compositions for the album that was released by San Francisco State University's International Center for the Arts on September 15, 2008. Critics have compared him to pianists

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 ...

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

, and

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

Biography

In his twenties, Mathews toured internationally and recorded with Roach,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was also a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1967 and 1968. By thirty, he began teaching jazz piano and led workshops, clinics and master classes at Long Island University in New York City. In the 1970s, whe worked 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

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

, and toured and recorded with the

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 ...

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 ...

Quintet and the Louis Hayes- Junior Cook Quintet. One of the highlights of his career, and one of his longest associations, was with the

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Quartet. For almost five years (1978-1982) he was an integral part of this band and forged lasting relationships with Griffin, Kenny Washington (drums) and

Ray Drummond Ray Drummond (born November 23, 1946, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an Master of Business Administration, MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He can be ...

(bass). ''The New York Times'' described Mathews as "a constant and provocative challenge to Mr. Griffin. ..Heis the energizer of the group". One of the few Johnny Griffin recordings that features Mathews' original compositions is "To the Ladies" (Galaxy). In the 1980s, Mathews began leading his own bands, performing in duo, trio and quartet configurations in North America and Europe. He also toured with

and

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

's United Nations Band. Mathews was pianist for the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, ''Black and Blue'' in 1989, and, in 1990, he was one of the artists who featured on the soundtrack of Spike Lee's ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (playe ...

'' film. After a stint touring and recording with the

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 ...

Big Band in the early 1990s, Mathews joined T.S. Monk for eight years of touring and recording. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' stated that "The soul of the band ..is pianist Ronnie Mathews, whose angular romanticism provides the horn players with a lush and spicy foundation for their improvising". Three albums were recorded with the T.S. Monk, Jr. Band, including ''Charm''. Mathews died of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2008, in

. In 1998, Hal Leonard Books published his collection of student arrangements: "Easy Piano of Thelonious Monk".

Discography

As leader

* 1963: '' Doin' the Thang!'' (

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 ...

) with

* 1975: ''Trip to the Orient'' (

East Wind An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in culture, mythology, poetry, and literature. In culture and mythology In Islam, the east wind Saba holds religious signi ...

) with

, Yoshio Suzuki * 1978: '' Roots, Branches & Dances'' (

Bee Hive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

) with

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (January 18, 1943 – May 28, 2025) was an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-1960s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and Swing music, swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and ...

, Frank Foster, Azzedin Weston * 1979: ''

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

'' (Bee Hive) with Ricky Ford,

Bill Hardman William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege. Career Hardman was born and grew ...

Walter Booker Walter Booker (December 17, 1933 – November 24, 2006) was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and ...

* 1980: ''Song for Leslie'' (

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

) with Ray Drummond, Kenny Washington * 1985: ''So Sorry Please'' ( Nilva) with Ray Drummond, Alvin Queen * 1988: ''Selena's Dance'' ( Timeless) with Stafford James, Tony Reedus * 1989: ''At Cafe Des Copains'' ( Sackville) * 1990: ''Dark Before the Dawn'' ( DIW) with Ray Drummond,

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

* 1992: ''Lament for Love'' (DIW) with David Williams,

Frank Gant Frank Gant (born May 26, 1931- July 19, 2021) was an American jazz drummer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Gant recorded with Donald Byrd, Sonny Stitt, and extensively with Yusef Lateef in the late 1950s and then Red Garland before becoming a membe ...

* 1995: ''Shades of Monk'' * 2001: ''Once I Love'' with Walter Booker, Alvin Queen * 2008: ''Fortuna'' with Roni Ben-Hur

As sideman

With

Roland Alexander Roland Alexander (September 25, 1935 – June 14, 2006) was an American post-bop jazz musician. Early life Born in Boston, Alexander grew up with his parents and sister, Gloria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a bachelor's degree in mus ...

*'' Pleasure Bent'' (Prestige New Jazz 1961) With

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...

*'' Live! at Slug's NYC (1968)'' (Everest 1977 as Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers) *'' Moanin' (Live)'' (Laserlight CD 1997) (completely different tunes than Slug's) With

Thomas Chapin Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophone, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. His music spanned the full range of 20th century creative music, from his time as Lionel Hampton's bandleader ...

*'' I've Got Your Number'' (Arabesque, 1993) With

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

*'' New High'' (HighNote, 2000) With

Kenny Dorham McKinley Howard "Kenny" Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and occasional singer. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention ...

*'' The Flamboyan Queens NY 1963'' (Uptown CD 2009) with

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 ...

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 ...

*'' Ladies Man'' (HighNote, 2000) With

*'' Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (2 LPs Columbia 1976) With

*'' Return of the Griffin'' (Galaxy 1978) *'' NYC Underground'' (Galaxy 1979) *''

To the Ladies To the Ladies may refer to: * To the Ladies (film), a 1923 American silent comedy film * To the Ladies (album), a 1982 album by Johnny Griffin * To the Ladies (play), a 1922 Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly Marcus Cook C ...

'' (Galaxy 1980) *'' Live / Autumn Leaves'' (Recorded 1980–1981) (Polydor Gitanes CD 1997) With

*'' Saying Something'' (

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

1961) With

*'' Breath of Life'' (Muse, 1974) *''

Ichi-Ban ''Ichi-Ban'' is an album by the Louis Hayes – Junior Cook Quintet featuring Woody Shaw recorded in 1976 and released on the Dutch Timeless label and on Timeless Muse in the U.S.Junior Cook

*'' The Real Thing'' (Muse, 1977) *'' Blue Lou'' (SteepleChase, 1993) With

* '' Cracklin''' (New Jazz, 1963) with

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

* '' Cymbalism'' (New Jazz, 1963) with

Frank Strozier Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist and occasional flutist. Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Co ...

With

* ''

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

'' (Verve, 1997) With

* '' Breaking Point!'' (

Blue Note 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 German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 1965) * '' At Jazz Jamboree Warszawa '91: A Tribute to Miles'' (Sunburst, 1991) With Sam Jones * '' Visitation'' (Steeplechase 1979) With

*'' Play What You Feel'' (Mapleshade, 1990

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power stru ...

*'' Down Through the Years'' (Milestone, 1991) With T. S. Monk *'' Take One'' (Blue Note, 1992) *'' Changing of the Guard'' (Blue Note, 1993) *'' The Charm'' (Blue Note, 1995) *'' Monk on Monk'' (N2K, 1997) With

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

*''

Mood Indigo "Mood Indigo" is a jazz song with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard and lyrics by Irving Mills. Composition Although Irving Mills—Jack Mills's brother and publishing partner—took credit for the lyrics, Mitchell Parish claimed in a ...

'' (Antilles, 1989) *'' Reflections'' (HighNote, 2006) 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 ...

* ''

The Rumproller ''The Rumproller'' is an album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan released on the Blue Note label. It was recorded mainly on April 21, 1965 and features performances by Morgan with Joe Henderson, Ronnie Mathews, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. R ...

'' (Blue Note, 1965) With

Sal Nistico Salvatore Nistico (April 2, 1940 – March 3, 1991) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Associated for many years with Woody Herman's Herd, Nistico played in the group from 1962 to 1965, considered one of Herman's best bands, with ...

* '' Neo/Nistico'' (

, 1978) With

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, N ...

* '' Charles Persip and the Jazzstatesmen'' (Bethlehem 1960) With

* ''

Drums Unlimited ''Drums Unlimited'' is an album by American jazz drummer Max Roach recorded in 1965 and 1966 and released on the Atlantic label.

'' (

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 ...

, 1965) With

* '' Little Red's Fantasy'' (

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 ...

, 1976) * '' The Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage'' (Muse, 1976) * '' The Tour – Volume One'' ( HighNote, 2016) With James Spaulding *'' Blues Nexus'' (Muse, 1993) 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 ...

* '' Rearin' Back'' (

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

, 1962) * '' Primitivo Soul!'' (Prestige, 1963)

References

External links

All Music AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the datab ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Ronnie 1935 births 2008 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from New York City 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians