Richie Kamuca, Saxophone, 1930, Philadelphia,
While still in his teens, Richie played in the Philadelphia area with local bands, but did manage to make the acquaintance of Roy Eldridge who gave him some early guidance in the jazz world. By the early '50s Richie was performing and recording with Stan Kenton. During the mid '50s he was a principal soloist with the Woody Herman band. He later settled on the West Coast and worked with Cy Touff, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, and Shelly Manne. The mid '60s found him back in New York working with Eldridge. He also belonged to the orchestra working the Merv Griffin show which moved to Los Angeles in the early '70s. Back in California, Richie resumed working with many of the jazz musicians in the West Coast movement. Richie's playing displayed great technique and a wonderful feel for ballads. Richie Kamuca died in 1977.
Emmett Berry, Trumpet, 1915, Macon, Ga
Emmett was brought up in Cleveland and began his career playing in the Ohio area. In the early '30s he moved to New York and performed with numerous groups of all sizes. From 1936 to 1939 he was a member of Fletcher Henderson's orchestra, and from early '39 until the early '50s he performed and recorded with Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Raymond Scott, Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, and John Kirby. He later toured Europe with Sammy Price and Buck Clayton. During the early'60s Berry worked in Los Angeles, and the latter part of the decade, in New York. In 1970 he retired because of health problems and moved back to Cleveland. Emmitt had a wonderful, warm tone and a highly-developed technique that allowed him to play the most complex phrases with ease. His style was strongly influenced by Armstrong ,Eldridge, and Buck Clayton who was a peresonal friend. He made a large number of recordings with his own groups and as a sideman with others, and his most successful solos were played on the open trumpet. He was a most sought after trumpeter in his era.
Steve Lacy, Soprano sax/Composer, 1934, New York, NY
Steve decided on the soprano sax after hearing Sidney Bechet, and played dixieland, usually with older musicians, including Cecil Scott and Rex Stewart. Then, with a major style change in the mid '50s, he played in a quartet led by Cecil Taylor who was starting to play free jazz. He first worked with Gill Evans in 1957, and continued to be associated with him well into the 1980s. The early '60s found Steve working with Thelonious Monk, Roswell Rudd, and other musicians who performed this type of jazz. He also performed free jazz with Carla Bley, Don Cherry, and others. In 1967 he made his home in Rome, where he experimented with a hybrid of free jazz, contemporary art music, and electronic music with the group Musica Elettronica Viva, and also performed with various Italian avant-garde jazz and rock musicians. In 1970 Steve moved from Italy and settled in Paris. During the following years he formed a quintet with his wife Irene Aebi (cello), Steven Potts (saxophones), Kent Carter, Bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums, to mainly perform his own avant-garde pieces, which combined elements of formal compositions with jazz improvisations, poetry, and dance. Aebi's singing style had a strong influence on Steve's writing. From the early '70s Steve also gave many solo performances on soprano saxophone, and almost always included some of Monk's work. In the 1980s Steve did some work with Japanese and Indian musicians. Steve Lacy died in 2004.
