Johnny Coles
Encyclopedia
Johnny Coles was an American jazz
trumpeter.
Coles spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson
(1948–1951), Bull Moose Jackson
(1952), and Earl Bostic
(1955–1956). He was with James Moody
from 1956 to 1958, and played with Gil Evans
's orchestra between 1958 and 1964, including on the Miles Davis
album Sketches of Spain
. After this he spent time with Charles Mingus
in his sextet which also included Eric Dolphy
, Clifford Jordan
, Jaki Byard
, and Dannie Richmond
. Following this he played with Herbie Hancock
(1968–1969), Ray Charles
(1969–1971), Duke Ellington
(1971–1974), Art Blakey
(1976), Dameronia
, Mingus Dynasty
, and the Count Basie Orchestra
under the direction of Thad Jones
(1985–1986).
Coles, nicknamed "Little Johnny C", recorded as a leader several times over the course of his career. He died of cancer
in 1997.
With Gil Evans
With Booker Ervin
With Grant Green
With Herbie Hancock
With Charles Mingus
With Horace Parlan
With Duke Pearson
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter.
Coles spent his early career playing with R&B groups, including those of Eddie Vinson
Eddie Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product.-Biography:Vinson was born in Houston, Texas...
(1948–1951), Bull Moose Jackson
Bull Moose Jackson
Benjamin Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson was an American blues and rhythm and blues singer and saxophonist, who was most successful in the late 1940s.-Career:...
(1952), and Earl Bostic
Earl Bostic
Earl Bostic was an American jazz and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist, and a pioneer of the post-war American Rhythm and Blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which showed off his...
(1955–1956). He was with James Moody
James Moody (saxophonist)
James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
from 1956 to 1958, and played with Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
's orchestra between 1958 and 1964, including on the Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
album Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
. After this he spent time with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
in his sextet which also included Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
, Clifford Jordan
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan was a jazz saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after which he recorded three albums for Blue Note. He also recorded with Horace Silver, J.J. Johnson, Kenny...
, Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard
Jaki Byard was an American jazz pianist and composer who also played trumpet and saxophone, among several other instruments. He was noteworthy for his eclectic style, incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz...
, and Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond was an American drummer who was best known among jazz fans for his work with Charles Mingus, and among pop fans for his work with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond....
. Following this he played with Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
(1968–1969), Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
(1969–1971), Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
(1971–1974), Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
(1976), Dameronia
Dameronia
Dameronia was the name of a bebop jazz ensemble founded by Don Sickler and Philly Joe Jones in the 1980s in tribute to Tadd Dameron. They recorded two albums, one for Uptown Records and the other for Soul Note Records, and continued to perform even after Jones' death in 1985....
, Mingus Dynasty
Mingus Dynasty
Mingus Dynasty is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released in 1959, and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.- Track listing :All compositions by Charles Mingus except where noted.# "Slop"# "Diane"# "Song With Orange"...
, and the Count Basie Orchestra
Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
under the direction of Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
(1985–1986).
Coles, nicknamed "Little Johnny C", recorded as a leader several times over the course of his career. He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1997.
As leader
- The Warm Sound (Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, 1961) - Little Johnny CLittle Johnny CLittle Johnny C is an album by American trumpeter Johnny Coles recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The typically impressive Blue Note lineup handles the obscure material with creative...
(Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
, 1963) - Katumbo (Mainstream RecordsMainstream RecordsMainstream Records was an American record label, which released jazz, rock music, and soundtracks during the 1970s.It was founded in 1964 by Bob Shad, and in its early history reissued material from Commodore Records and Time Records in addition to some new jazz material...
, 1971) - New Morning (Criss Cross JazzCriss Cross JazzCriss Cross Jazz is a Dutch jazz record label, specializing in American jazz.Criss Cross was founded in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German professor. The label, which releases about 20 albums per year, is noted for its simple, block-color cover art...
, 1982)
As sideman
With Tina BrooksTina Brooks
Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and composer.-Early years:Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was the brother of David "Bubba" Brooks. The nickname "Tina", pronounced Teena, was a slight variation of "Teeny", a childhood moniker....
- The Waiting GameThe Waiting Game (album)The Waiting Game is the final recorded session of hard-bop tenor Tina Brooks, recorded on March 2, 1961 for Blue Note. It was shelved until 2002...
(Blue Note, 1961)
With Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
- New Bottle Old WineNew Bottle Old Wine-Track listing:# "St. Louis Blues" - 5:26# "King Porter Stomp" - 3:19# "Willow Tree" - 4:40# "Struttin' With Some Barbeque" - 4:34# "Lester Leaps In" - 4:17...
(World Pacific, 1958) - Great Jazz StandardsGreat Jazz Standards-Track listing:# "Davenport Blues" - 4:26# "Straight, No Chaser" - 6:19# "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" - 4:00# "Joy Spring" - 2:48# "Django" - 8:06...
(World Pacific, 1959) - Out of the CoolOut of the Cool-Reception:The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" calling it "Evans' masterpiece under his own name and one of the best examples of jazz orchestration since the early Ellington bands".-Track listing:...
(Impulse!, 1960) - The Individualism of Gil EvansThe Individualism of Gil EvansThe Individualism of Gil Evans is an album by pianist, conductor, arranger and composer Gil Evans originally released on the Verve label in 1964. It features Evans' big band arrangements of five original compositions and compositions by Kurt Weill, Bob Dorough, John Lewis and Willie Dixon...
(Verve, 1964) - Where Flamingos FlyWhere Flamingos FlyWhere Flamingos Fly is an album by jazz composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Gil Evans, recorded in 1971, but not released until 1981, and performed by Evans with a orchestra featuring Billy Harper, Howard Johnson, Johnny Coles, and Don Preston....
(Artists House, 1971 [1981])
With Booker Ervin
Booker Ervin
Booker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player. He was perhaps best known for his association with bassist Charles Mingus....
- Booker 'n' BrassBooker 'n' BrassBooker 'n' Brass is an album by American jazz saxophonist Booker Ervin featuring performances recorded in 1967 for the Pacific Jazz label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...
(Pacific Jazz, 1967)
With Grant Green
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- Am I BlueAm I Blue (album)Am I Blue is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1963 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
(Blue Note, 1962)
With Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- The PrisonerThe Prisoner (album)The Prisoner is the seventh album by Herbie Hancock, his final on the Blue Note label, released and recorded in 1969. His next record would be on Warner Bros. Records. Hancock confessed in 1969 that he had been able to get close to his real self with this album than on any other previous ones...
(Blue Note, 1969) - Fat Albert RotundaFat Albert RotundaFat Albert Rotunda is the eighth album by jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock, released in 1969. It also was the first album that Hancock had on the Warner Bros. Records label, since leaving Blue Note Records.-About the Album:...
(Warner Bros., 1969)
With Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
- Town Hall ConcertTown Hall ConcertTown Hall Concert is a 1964 live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.-Track listing:All songs written by Charles Mingus.# "So Long Eric" – 17:48# "Praying With Eric" – 27:31-Personnel:*Charles Mingus – Bass...
(Fantasy, 1964) - The Great Concert of Charles MingusThe Great Concert of Charles MingusThe Great Concert of Charles Mingus is a 1964 live album by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus.-Track listing:All songs written by Charles Mingus, except where noted.# "Introduction and Presentation" – 1:35# "So Long Eric, Pt. 1" – 23:30...
(America, 1964) - Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy Cornell 1964Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy Cornell 1964Cornell 1964 is a live concert recording of the Charles Mingus Sextet featuring Eric Dolphy recorded at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, on March 18, 1964...
(Blue Note, 1964 [2007])
With Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan
Horace Parlan is an American hard bop and post-bop piano player.He is noted for his contributions to the classic Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots....
- Happy Frame of MindHappy Frame of MindHappy Frame of Mind is the seventh album by American jazz pianist Horace Parlan featuring performances recorded in 1961 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1988...
(Blue Note, 1964 [1998])
With Duke Pearson
Duke Pearson
Duke Pearson was an American jazz pianist and composer. Allmusic notes him as being a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a producer."-History:...
- Hush!Hush!Hush! is the fifth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances by Pearson with Donald Byrd, and Johnny Coles originally recorded in 1962 and released on the short-lived Jazzline label...
(Jazzline, 1962) - HoneybunsHoneybunsHoneybuns is the seventh album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson featuring performances by Pearson's nonet recorded in 1965 and released on the Atlantic label in 1966.-Reception:...
(Atlantic, 1965) - Prairie DogPrairie Dog (album)Prairie Dog is the eighth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, and his second for the Atlantic label, recorded in 1966.-Reception:...
(Atlantic, 1966)