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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Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 - The Sixties
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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We'll Be Together Again
Jazz - Released by Prestige on Aug 26, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gene Ammons And Friends At Montreux (live)
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Jan 1, 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jammin' With Gene (Album Version)
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Jul 13, 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Goodbye
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Mar 1, 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Gene Ammons Story: Organ Combos
Jazz - Released by Prestige on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live! In Chicago
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Aug 29, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
God Bless Jug And Sonny
Jazz - Released by Prestige on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits: The 50s
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo