Albert Ronald Ross (2 October 1933 – 12 December 1991) was a British

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 ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Life

Born in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, India, to

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

parents, Ross moved to England in 1946 and was educated at

the Perse School The Perse School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging Day school, day and, in the case of the Perse, a former boarding school) in Cambridge, England. Founded i ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He began playing tenor saxophone in the 1950s with

Tony Kinsey Cyril Anthony Kinsey (11 October 1927 – 9 February 2025) was an English jazz drummer and composer. Early life Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England on 11 October 1927. He held jobs on trans-Atlantic ships while young, stud ...

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath also served for 51 year ...

, and

Don Rendell Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an English jazz musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Career Rendell was born in Plymouth, England, and r ...

. During his tenure with Rendell, he switched to baritone saxophone. He played at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in 1958, and formed a group called the Jazz Makers with drummer

Allan Ganley Allan Anthony Ganley (11 March 1931 – 29 March 2008) was an English jazz drummer and arranger. Career Ganley was born in Tolworth, Surrey, England. A self-taught drummer, in the early 1950s Ganley played in the dance band led by Bert Ambrose. ...

that same year. He toured the United States in 1959 and Europe later that year with the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphon ...

. From 1961 to 1965 he played with

Bill Le Sage William A. Le Sage (20 January 1927 – 31 October 2001) was a British pianist, vibraphonist, arranger, composer and bandleader. Early life Le Sage was born in London on 20 January 1927. His father, William (1899-1951) was a drummer and his tw ...

, and later with

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was 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 roo ...

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

, 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� ...

. Ross was a saxophone tutor for a young

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, played baritone saxophone on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' ''

White Album ''The Beatles'', commonly referred to as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover contains no graphics or te ...

'' track, "

Savoy Truffle "Savoy Truffle" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by George Harrison and inspired by his friend Eric Clapton's fondness for chocolate. The ...

", and four years later was the baritone sax soloist on the

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

song " Walk on the Wild Side", which was co-produced by Bowie. He also had guest appearances as a soloist on several

Matt Bianco Matt Bianco are a British band formed in 1983, performing sophisti-pop, jazz-funk and Latin-flavoured music. From around mid- to late-80s, the group scored a number of internationally charting singles, including " Get Out of Your Lazy Bed", " Wh ...

albums. The 2004 Matt Bianco album, '' Matt's Mood'', contains three songs composed by band member Danny White, that were drawn from demos he and Ross recorded together — including the tribute song "Ronnie's Samba". He died, having been diagnosed with cancer, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in December 1991, aged 58.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

*''Double Event'' (later released as ''Stompin' With The Ronnie Ross Quintet'' - 1958) - Ronnie Ross (alto and baritone sax), Bert Courtley (trumpet, mellophone), Eddie Harvey (piano, trombone), Pete Blanin (bass), Andy White (drums). *''The Swingin' Sounds Of The Jazz Makers'' (1959) - Ronnie Ross (alto and baritone sax), Allan Ganley (drums),

Art Ellefson Arthur Albert Ellefson (17 April 1932 – 2018) was a Canadian jazz saxophonist who worked in the UK during the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Having learned trumpet and euphonium as a boy, he began playing tenor saxophone at 16 and began his career ...

(tenor sax), Stan Jones (piano), Stan Wasser (bass). *''Presenting The Bill Le Sage - Ronnie Ross Quartet'' (April 1963) - Bill Le Sage (piano, vibes), Ronnie Ross (baritone sax),

Spike Heatley Brian John Heatley (17 February 1933 – 10 November 2021), better known as Spike Heatley, was a British jazz double bassist. Early life Heatley was born in Muswell Hill, North London in February 1933. Career He appeared with Vic Ash's sextet ...

(bass), Allan Ganley (drums). *''Cleopatra's Needle'' (1968) - Ronnie Ross (baritone sax),

(bass), Art Ellefson (tenor sax), Les Condon (trumpet), Bill Le Sage (vibes and piano), Tony Carr (drums).

References

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

and

Ira Gitler Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...

, ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. Oxford, 1999, p. 571.

External links

The Ronnie Ross Homepage (archived web site)
Fan site with comprehensive discography {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Ronnie 1933 births 1991 deaths British jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Jazz baritone saxophonists Musicians from Kolkata People educated at The Perse School 20th-century British saxophonists 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians