Richie Kamuca
An excellent cool-toned tenor who found his own voice in the Lester Young-influenced Four Brothers sound, Richie Kamuca tended to be overshadowed by those who came first (such as Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Al Cohn) but musicians knew how good he was. Kamuca was a soloist with the orchestras of Stan Kenton (1952-1953) and Woody Herman (1954-1956), and then worked steadily on the West Coast with such groups as those led by Chet Baker, Maynard Ferguson, the Lighthouse All-Stars (1957-1958), Shorty Rogers, and Shelly Manne (1959-1961). He recorded one album apiece as a leader for Liberty, Mode, and Hi Fi (1956-1957); the latter two have been reissued by V.S.O.P. Moving to New York in 1962, Kamuca worked with Gerry Mulligan, Gary McFarland, and Roy Eldridge (1966-1971), but was fairly obscure. In 1972, he moved back to Los Angeles to work in the studios, but he also played jazz locally with small groups and with Bill Berry's L.A. Big Band. In his later years (1977) before his death from cancer (the day before his 47th birthday), Richie Kamuca recorded three wonderful albums for Concord.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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West Coast Jazz in Hifi
Contemporary Jazz - Released by HIFI Records on 19 Feb 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Primitive Cats
Jazz - Released by Jazz City Series on 21 Nov 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Dog Collection (Original Recordings)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Dog Records on 22 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
West Coast Jazz in Hifi
Jazz - Released by Trigger Records on 19 Feb 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Just Friends (Album of 1957)
Bill Perkins, Art Pepper, Richie Kamuca
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 29 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cohn/Perkins/Kamuca - The Brothers! (Expanded Edition)
Al Cohn, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca
Jazz - Released by RCA - Legacy on 20 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Erotica
Contemporary Jazz - Released by HIFI Records on 19 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Just Friends
Bill Perkins, Art Pepper, Richie Kamuca
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 1 Jan 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Brothers! (Bonus Track Version)
Al Cohn, Bill Perkins, Richie Kamuca
Jazz - Released by Jazz Musts on 1 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tenors Head-On
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Music Manager on 9 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Erotica (Original Album)
Jazz - Released by J For Jazz Records on 3 Mar 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Dog Collection
Jazz - Released by Jazz Dog Records on 22 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jazz Erotica (Original Album)
Jazz - Released by Sector Records on 3 Mar 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richie Kamuca & Bill Holman: West Coast Jazz
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 19 Sep 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo