Houston Person and Me…
Well, it's uplifting and important, and a release and a relief. That's what it is...jazz. It's important that it's relaxing. Something that when the end of the day comes, after a hard and frustrating day out in the world, relieves you, relaxes you and makes you feel good. Solid melodies with some improvisation and plenty of blues feel. You always want that dance feeling there, that happy, happy feeling.
Houston Person
Goodness! (1969) signed by Houston
Silence is as much a part of the music as the notes are. After all, if you were to speak to someone and not pause here and there, everything would have equal importance. You use silence to underline something, whether you play it on an instrument or speak it in a conversation.
Houston Person
Person To Person! (1970) signed by Houston
There wasn't so much division as there is now, with everybody insisting on doing their own thing. Back in the day, there were common denominators for just about anybody who could play. It was danceable and had the blues in it. Even people now thought of as abstract, like (Thelonious) Monk or (Charles) Mingus.
Houston Person
Truth! (1970) signed by Houston
I spend my spare time researching stuff. There are good anthologies for all major composers like Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Duke Ellington. I know many of the neglected composers as well... I look at how each of these composers assemble the tune, then I re-study the lyrics to see what they mean as well. Investigating the verses of tunes is interesting. Sometimes, I really learn new things about songs we all think we already know.
Houston Person
Houston Express (1971) signed by Houston
I tell young people they should search for their own sound, and see what they hear. Everyone looks for different things. Me, I just want beauty. I want a pretty sound. It should also fill the room. A big, pretty sound that fills the room, that's what I want to do.
Houston Person
I just play good music. I look for a great melody and great lyrics. A composer puts a lot of time into coming up with the perfect melody and I always try to let those melodies speak for themselves and be true to the composer’s intentions.
Houston Person
Good Vibrations (1980) signed by Houston
Few artists, if any, cover John Lennon, Randy Newman, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Thelonious Monk in the same career. Only tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Houston Person had the audacity (and chops) to cover each of these disparate artists in the same album, Broken Windows, Empty Hallways, a 1972 soul jazz classic. "Imagine", "I Think It's Going To Rain Today", "Mr. Bojangles" and "Let's Call This" comprise an unlikely and unique Great Jazz Songbook in Houston's skilled hands.
Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (1972) signed by Houston
Born in Florence, South Carolina, Houston Person grew up with the earthy, gospel music of the church. Initially, Houston played piano and then switched to the tenor saxophone when he began his studies at South Carolina State College. Learning his craft, he gigged as a sideman at rhythm and blues concerts, following in the tradition of his hard blowing heroes, Gene Ammons and Illinois Jacquet. Of Jacquet, Houston confided, Illinois was "my main influence. He was a great musician, he was a great entertainer. He knew how to approach an audience. He had a wonderful sound and his music was always fun, very impressive."
The Gospel Soul Of Houston Person (1978) signed by Houston
Houston also performed with a country and western band, an improbable alliance. As he said, "I played in a country and western band with two guitars. That was a challenge to cut through. When you are done with all of that experience, you have something to work with. When you hear my sound, you hear all of that other stuff. You get a little bit of it all." Houston's thick, warm sonorous sound, dripping like slow, honeyed molasses, was a fusion of the blues, country, gospel, and soul music which surrounded him.
The Big Horn (1976 recordings, 1979 release) signed by Houston
Houston's real jazz education began when he joined the U.S. Air Force after college. He was stationed at the Ramstein Air Force base in Heidelberg, West Germany from 1957-58 and jammed on weekends with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris and Cedar Walton, musicians and colleagues who left a lasting impression. Houston was self deprecating about the experience, "They were all really playing. The only person who wasn't playing was me! So they had me to kick around on weekends." When he returned to the United States, Houston took additional studies at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut where, "They didn't have any jazz there, it was strictly classical music."
Heavy Juice (1982) signed by Houston
Houston's first recordings with Johnny "Hammond" Smith, the Hammond B3 maestro, had a big influence developing Houston's expressive and expansive sound, "Oh yeah, you've got to fight that Leslie (woofer and Hammond organ), got to learn how to cut through those sustained chords. But on the ballads, those sustained chords show you how to take your time. I learned a lot from the organ groups, they helped me get it together."
The Best Of Richard Groove Holmes (1969)
Indeed, Houston got it together and has had a prolific recording career with more than seventy-five albums as a leader, and hundreds more as a sideman. Houston is particularly well known for his exquisite blowing on ballads. This skill was enhanced by his time accompanying singers, especially the thirty years he performed with Etta Jones, a wonderful jazz artist. The lyrics and phrasing formed an integral part of Houston's musicianship, a lesson learned from one of his heroes, Ben Webster. Many years ago in a studio recording session, Ben Webster in a gorgeous tenor solo in full flight stopped abruptly. When the producer asked why? Ben chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot the words." The many times I have seen Houston through the years, he has never forgotten the words!
Black Talk! (1969) signed by Houston
I saw Houston Person recently at the Jazz Standard in New York City. He was celebrating his eighty-second birthday with his quartet, John DiMartino on piano, Matthew Parrish on bass, and former Tom Waits drummer, Chip White. They opened with "Why Not?" an upbeat groover that Houston wrote, then the gorgeous ballad, "All My Tomorrows" from the pen of Jimmy Van Heusen and the voice of Frank Sinatra, and a frenetic, hard blowing "Lester Leaps In", a romp written by Lester Young during his stint with Count Basie in the 1930s. Other highlights were a Latin inflected "Bossa For Baby" by Hank Mobley, and a mid-tempo, strolling treatment of "Nice 'n' Easy", another beautiful song from the Frank Sinatra canon. The encore was "Since I Fell For You", a deep, mournful blues, wrung out and strung out, slowly and sensually rendered by a master balladeer. As always, Houston took his time.
Spicy! (1967) signed by Houston, Pat Martino
After the show, I visited with Houston in his dressing room. I wished him a Happy Birthday and told him I felt (almost!) guilty having him sign his vinyl after bestowing us with such a wonderful show, his music was a gift to all. He smiled, "That's alright. I'm glad you're here, and my daughter brought me a cake! Now, let's see what you got." I handed him Harmony, an album which depicts a comely swimsuit model strategically cradling his saxophone. "What's going on here?" I inquired. A long pause as he searched the cover and the image. "Nothing," came the emphatic and stern reply. Then a broad smile creased his lips, "That was a fun record." I handed him a couple of Richard "Groove" Holmes records, one he played on, one he didn't. He happily signed both, "I can see why you like this cover," he chuckled as he handed me back the aptly titled Spicy. He loved the album The Gospel Soul, a nod to his beginnings in the church. I told him that the album was unavailable digitally. "You should go to Japan. All my stuff is available there," he advised. I couldn't resist a Tom Waits reference, "So, you're big in Japan?" "Yes, they have everything. You need to go there," he replied. I thanked him again for sharing his birthday with us, and especially his gorgeous tenor sound.
Blues All Day Long (1988) signed by Houston
Houston Person, an underrated and relatively unknown tenor Saxophone Colossus. He is pure pleasure.
Pure Pleasure (1976) signed by Houston
Postscript: I saw Houston Person November 26, 2021 at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, New York, fronting a great quartet with Larry Fuller on piano, Matthew Parrish on bass and Vincent Ector on drums. The only concession to Houston’s recent eighty-seventh birthday was his approach to perform mostly sitting on a stool. The sound of his tenor saxophone remained resonant and luminous whether he played a lugubrious ballad “As Time Goes By,” a bluesy and brassy “Since I Fell For You,” an uptempo “Blue Moon,” or a bumping and brash “Sunny” to close the set.
Broadway (1980) signed by Houston
Before the show I visited with Houston and he signed some more vinyl. As I handed Underground Soul, he laughed, “This was my first album, that was a long, long time ago.” I mentioned that I loved all his work, but especially the Hammond B3 collaborations with masters Charles Earland, Richard Groove Holmes and Johnny Hammond Smith. “Thank you,” he replied, “You need to check out my latest with Ben Patterson. He’s really good, and they’re selling it at the coat check.” Sadly not on vinyl, only on CD, I bought it and Houston was right, it’s fabulous! I asked him what we was going to play, hoping for a preview. “Yeah, I don’t know, I never know. When I get out there, we just figure it out.” I guess with over eighty-five albums, countless sessions and songs, and seventy years of performing gives Houston that right, and he never disappoints!
Choice Houston Person Cuts (per BK's request)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmhKnHRbrE
"Since I Fell For You" The Blues, Nothin' but the Blues!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PjYQndM-JM
“More Today Than Yesterday" with Charles Earland on Hammond B3, Melvin Sparks on guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7AJj2AlvTc
“All My Tomorrows" sumptuous balladry without Frank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWfIhwTv9M8
“What's Goin' On?" Houston swings Marvin Gaye!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-npjVDK2XU
“Let's Stay Together" Houston swings Al Green!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB9fiA_HXmU
"Shaft" Houston and "Pretty" Purdie swing Isaac Hayes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gs_CL7fLkQ
“At Last" Houston swings Etta James!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFjZwmY8eWk
“Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered" Houston swings Frank!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou871xaLpSM
"In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" Houston Swings more Frank!
Bonus Track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWIR9mvf-IU
"Big In Japan" Tom Waits Mule Variations 1998
Always On My Mind (1985) signed by Houston
Wild Flower (1978) signed by Houston
Suspicions (1980) signed by Houston
In The Pocket (1982) signed by Houston
Stolen Sweets (1977) signed by Houston
Very Personal (1981) signed by Houston
The Players: Pearls Of Love (1957) signed by Houston
Why Not! (1990) signed by Houston
