Ralph Sutton
Ralph Sutton was the greatest stride pianist to emerge since World War II, with his only close competitors being the late Dick Wellstood and the very versatile Dick Hyman. Nearly alone in his generation, Sutton kept alive the piano styles of Fats Waller and James P. Johnson, not as mere museum pieces but as devices for exciting improvisations. Although sticking within the boundaries of his predecessors, Sutton infused the music with his own personality; few could match his powerful left hand. Ralph Sutton played with Jack Teagarden's big band briefly in 1942 before serving in the Army. After World War II he appeared regularly on Rudi Blesh's This Is Jazz radio show and spent eight years as the intermission pianist at Eddie Condon's club, recording frequently. He spent time playing in San Francisco, worked for Bob Scobey, moved to Aspen in the mid-'60s, and became an original member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band with Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, and Bud Freeman. In the 1970s, he recorded many exciting albums for the Chaz label and then cut albums for quite a few labels. Despite suffering a stroke in the early '90s, Sutton kept a busy schedule through the mid-'90s, playing at jazz parties and festivals. He died suddenly on December 29, 2001, in his car outside a restaurant in Evergreen, CO. Although he would have received much greater fame if he had been born 20 years earlier and come to maturity during the 1930s rather than the 1950s, at the time of his death it was obvious that Ralph Sutton had earned his place among the top classic jazz pianists of all time.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Pocketful of Dreams
Don Vickery, Jim Galloway, Ralph Sutton
Jazz - Released by Sackville on 28 Apr 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Pocketful of Dreams
Ralph Sutton, Jim Galloway, Don Vickery
Jazz - Released by Sackville on 28 Apr 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Jazz Essentials
Jazz - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
St. Louis Piano
Jazz - Released by Shellac Revival on 20 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ralph Sutton Quartet Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by Storyville on 20 Sep 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ralph Sutton (Live)
Jazz - Released by Interstate Records on 15 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in San Francisco: Club Hangover 1954
Jazz - Released by Grammercy Records on 4 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Got Rhythm
Jazz - Released by Past Classics Jazz on 23 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wondrous Piano, Private Fami
Jazz - Released by Arbors Records on 5 Aug 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live (Live)
Jazz - Released by Nagel heyer records on 19 May 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Echoes of Swing (Live)
Jazz - Released by Nagel heyer records on 1 Mar 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Let a Song Go out of My Heart (Live)
Jazz - Released by Nagel heyer records on 21 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's so Nice It Must Be Illegal! (Live)
Jazz - Released by Nagel heyer records on 29 Mar 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Little Light (Live)
Jazz - Released by nagel heyer records on 9 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ralph Sutton At The Piano
Pop - Released by Leverage on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo