Jazz Articles about Houston Person

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Houston Person: Moment to Moment

by Greg Simmons
February 2, 2011

Tenor saxophonist Houston Person's Moment to Moment begins with an instant nostalgia trip to the classic Blue Note Sessions of the 1960s. It should not come as any surprise, then, that this album was recorded in the legendary Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ by the man himself, Rudy Van Gelder--rarely a bad thing. The tenor and trumpet front line in the opener, “Bleeker Street," would be at home on an old Donald Byrd or Tina Brooks ...

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Houston Person: Mellow

by Andrew Velez
March 5, 2010

Houston Person's Mellow could easily have been called “Up Close and Personal." With dozens and dozens of recordings to his credit, it's just the latest in a long list of exemplary sets that always evidence the warmth of his tone and the directness of his tenor sax phrasing. Also mixed in as well is a funky R&B feeling. That is particularly noticeable on the bouncy “Sunny" that opens the set. Everyone gets into a sweet heat, most notably when James ...

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Houston Person: The Wizard of Jazz A Tribute to Harold Arlen, Well,Alright! Nancy Kelly Live, A Song For You

by Andrew Velez
July 4, 2009

Peter Hand Big BandThe Wizard of Jazz: A Tribute to Harold Arlen (feat. Houston Person)Savant2009 Nancy KellyWell, Alright!: Live! with Houston PersonSaying It With Jazz2009 Ernestine AndersonA Song For YouHighNote2008 As he continues on well into his 8th decade as the go-to tenor sax man, the ...

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Houston Person: Don't Misunderstand & Thinking of You

by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
November 3, 2007

Etta Jones/Houston Person Don't Misunderstand HighNote 2007 Houston Person Thinking of You HighNote 2007

Collaborations are ubiquitous in jazz. Legendary ones are rarer, but still existent. When one of the two talents involved passes away and is survived by the other, many listeners refuse to let go of the memory and ...

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Houston Person: Having a Good Time

by Joao Moreira dos Santos
September 7, 2005

We met Houston Person in July at Estoril Jazz, the oldest jazz festival held in Portugal. He was due to play with Joey DeFrancesco but as the Hammond B3 player missed the show he jumped from guest to main attraction. Before the concert we had the chance to interview this much underrated tenor saxophonist and talk about his 40 years of jazz playing and his relationship with audiences all over the world.

All About Jazz: Is it different ...

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Houston Person: To Etta With Love

by John Kelman
October 1, 2004

With an increasing emphasis on high-priced concert venues and large summer festivals, one forgets that for the longest time jazz resided in the not-quite-PC environment of the smoky bar. And while there's nothing wrong with jazz reaching a larger public through bigger venues, there's something about the ambience of a club that's lost in larger, more opulent settings. Hearing a great band in a club was always an event, but more intimate, more relaxed. Every now and then, though, an ...

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Houston Person

by Russ Musto
March 15, 2004

Houston Person is jazz' working class hero, a true man of the people. Person who was born in Newberry, South Carolina in 1934, first received moderate national attention with a series of soulful albums recorded for Prestige back in the '60s. In 1968 he began a sympathetic and successful musical partnership with the great Etta Jones that lasted over 30 years until her recent passing. A passionate tenor saxophonist, alternately tough and tender, Person's own talent was often overlooked because ...