Houston Person

Houston Person
File:Houston Person.jpg Person performing at the Cellar in 2006
Background information
Born	(1934-11-10) November 10, 1934 Florence, South Carolina United States
Genres	Jazz, hard bop, soul jazz, swing
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer
Instruments	Saxophone
Labels	Prestige Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, Muse Records, HighNote Records, Telarc Records
Associated acts	Etta Jones

Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. Person is also known for his distinctive sassy sound and his expressive style of playing. He received the Eubie Blake Jazz Award in 1982.

Biography

Person grew up in Florence, South Carolina, and first played piano before switching to tenor saxophone. He studied at South Carolina State College where he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the United States Air Force, he joined a service band stationed in West Germany, and played with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton, and Leo Wright. He later continued his studies at Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut.

He first became known for a series of albums for Prestige Records in the 1960s. Contrary to popular belief, he was never married to the vocalist Etta Jones, but did spend many years as her musical partner, recording, performing and touring, and for much of his career this association was what he was best known for. They first met playing in organist Johnny Hammond's band.

There are more than 75 albums recorded by Houston Person as a bandleader, on Prestige, Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, and Muse Records, and he has most recently been recording on HighNote Records. He has recorded with Charles Brown, Bill Charlap, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Etta Jones, Lou Rawls, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Billy Butler, Richard "Groove" Holmes and others.

Houston Person performing with his combo at the Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival in 2009.

File:Houston Person 1980.jpg

Houston Person in Paris, France in 1980

Discography

As leader

• Underground Soul! (Prestige, 1966)
• Chocomotive (Prestige, 1967)
• Trust in Me (Prestige, 1967)
• Blue Odyssey (Prestige, 1968)
• Soul Dance! (Prestige, 1968)
• Goodness! (Prestige, 1969)
• Truth! (Prestige, 1970)
• Person to Person! (Prestige, 1970)
• Houston Express (Prestige, 1971)
• Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (Prestige, 1972)
• Sweet Buns & Barbeque (Prestige, 1972)
• The Real Thing (Eastbound, 1973)
• '75 (Westbound, 1974)
• Get Outa My Way (Westbound, 1975)
• Stolen Sweets (Muse, 1976)
• The Big Horn (Muse, 1976 [1979])
• Pure Pleasure (Mercury, 1976)
• Harmony (Mercury, 1977)
• Wild Flower (Muse, 1977)
• The Nearness of You (Muse, 1977)
• The Gospel Soul of Houston Person (Savoy, 1978)
• Suspicions (Muse, 1980)
• Very PERSONal (Muse, 1980)
• Heavy Juice (Muse, 1982)
• Always on My Mind (Muse, 1985)
• The Talk of the Town (1987, Muse)
• Basics (1987, Muse)
• We Owe It All to Love (1988, Baseline)
• Something in Common (1989, Muse)
• The Party (1989, Muse)
• Now's the Time! (1990, Muse) with Ron Carter
• Why Not (1990, Muse)
• The Lion and His Pride (1991, Muse)
• Christmas with Houston Person and Friends (Muse, 1994)
• Person-ified (1996, High Note) with Richard Wynands, Ray Drummond, Kenny Washington
• The Opening Round (Savant, 1997) with Joey DeFrancesco
• My Romance (1998, High Note)
• Soft Lights (High Note, 1998) with Richard Wynands, Russell Malone, Ray Drummond, Grady Tate
• In a Sentimental Mood (2000) High Note
• Dialogues (High Note, 2000) with Ron Carter
• Blue Velvet (High Note, 2001)
• Sentimental Journey (High Note, 2002
• Social Call (High Note, 2003)
• To Etta with Love (2004) with Stan Hope, Paul Bollenback, Per-Ola Gadd High Note
• All Soul (High Note, 2005) with Stan Hope, Randy Jonston
• Just Between Friends (High Note, 2005) with Ron Carter
• Thinking of You (High Note, 2007)
• Mellow (High Note, 2009)
• Moment to Moment (HighNote Records Inc., 2010)
• Naturally (HighNote Records Inc., 2012) with Cedar Walton, Ray Drummond, Lewis Nash
• Nice ′n′ Easy (HighNote, 2013 HCD7257) with John di Martino p, Chuck Redd vib, Ray Drummond b, Lewis Nash d

As sideman

With The 3B's

• Soothin' n Groovin' with The 3B's (1994)

With Gene Ammons

• The Boss Is Back! (Prestige, 1969)

With Billy Butler

• This Is Billy Butler! (Prestige, 1968)
• Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (Prestige, 1970)
• Night Life (Prestige, 1971)

With Joey DeFrancesco

• Joey DeFrancesco Plays Sinatra His Way (Highnote, 1998)

With Grant Green

• Live at Club Mozambique (Blue Note, 2006)

With Tiny Grimes

• Profoundly Blue (Muse, 1973)

With Charles Earland

• Black Talk! (Prestige, 1969)

With Charles Kynard

• Afro-Disiac (Prestige, 1970)

With Johnny Lytle

• Fast Hands (Muse, 1980)
• Good Vibes (Muse, 1982)

With Don Patterson

• Four Dimensions (Prestige, 1967)
• Oh Happy Day (Prestige, 1969)
• Tune Up! (Prestige, 1969)

With Sonny Phillips

• Sure 'Nuff (Prestige, 1969)

With Bernard Purdie

• Shaft (Prestige, 1971)

With Shirley Scott

• Oasis (Muse, 1989)

With Janis Siegel

• Friday Night Special – (Telarc Records, 2003)

With Horace Silver

• That Healin' Feelin' (Blue Note, 1970)

With Johnny "Hammond" Smith

• Mr. Wonderful (Riverside, 1963)
• A Little Taste (Riverside, 1963)
• The Stinger (Prestige, 1965)
• The Stinger Meets the Golden Thrush (Prestige, 1966) – with Byrdie Green
• Gettin' Up (Prestige, 1967)
• Soul Flowers (Prestige, 1967)
• Dirty Grape (Prestige, 1968)
• Nasty! (Prestige, 1968)
• Here It 'Tis (Prestige, 1970)

With Melvin Sparks

• Sparks! (Prestige, 1970)