Gene Ammons
Gene Ammons, who had a huge and immediately recognizable tone on tenor, was a very flexible player who could play bebop with the best (always battling his friend Sonny Stitt to a tie) yet was an influence on the R&B world. Some of his ballad renditions became hits and, despite two unfortunate interruptions in his career, Ammons remained a popular attraction for 25 years.
Son of the great boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons (who was nicknamed "Jug") left Chicago at age 18 to work with King Kolax's band. He originally came to fame as a key soloist with Billy Eckstine's orchestra during 1944-1947, trading off with Dexter Gordon on the famous Eckstine record Blowing the Blues Away. Other than a notable stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd in 1949 and an attempt at co-leading a two tenor group in the early '50s with Sonny Stitt, Ammons worked as a single throughout his career, recording frequently (most notably for Prestige) in settings ranging from quartets and organ combos to all-star jam sessions. Drug problems kept him in prison during much of 1958-1960 and, due to a particularly stiff sentence, 1962-1969. When Ammons returned to the scene in 1969, he opened up his style a bit, including some of the emotional cries of the avant-garde while utilizing funky rhythm sections, but he was still able to battle Sonny Stitt on his own terms. Ironically the last song that he ever recorded (just a short time before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer) was "Goodbye."
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Jazz Pearls
Jazz - Released by Jazz 2 Jazz Records on 14/06/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Jazz Players (Remastered Version)
Jazz - Released by Ornithology Rec. on 31/05/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live! In Chicago
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on 29/08/1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Gene (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 1/01/2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Twisting The Jug (Original Album)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 30/09/2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Funky (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1957)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Classics on 1/01/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Prestige Collection: 1960 - 1962
Bebop - Released by ENLIGHTENMENT on 19/06/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
God Bless Jug And Sonny
Jazz - Released by Prestige on 1/01/2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legends Of Acid Jazz: Gene Ammons (International Package Re-Design)
Jazz - Released by Prestige on 1/01/1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bad Bossa Nova (Remastered)
Contemporary Jazz - Released by RevOla on 4/11/2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
"Boss Tenors in Orbit!" Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt "Soul Summit"
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound Records on 11/07/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Up Tight! (Mono Version)
Jazz - Released by BNF Collection on 1/01/1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Greatest Hits: The 50s
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on 1/01/1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Stranger in Town
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 25/11/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bad! Bossa Nova (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1962)
Jazz - Released by Brazilian Classics on 1/01/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
On Prestige
Jazz - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 12/04/2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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