Houston Person

Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the "Eubie Blake Jazz Award" in 1982.

Houston Person
Person performing at the Cellar in 2006
Background information
Born	(1934-11-10) November 10, 1934 (age 90) Florence, South Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, soul jazz, swing
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, bandleader, producer
Instrument	Saxophone
Labels	Prestige, Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, Muse, HighNote, Telarc

Biography

Person in New York, 1984

Person grew up in Florence, South Carolina, and first played piano, before switching to tenor saxophone.^[1] He studied at South Carolina State College, where he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1999.

In the United States Air Force, he joined a service band stationed in West Germany, and played with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton, and Leo Wright. Person later continued his studies at Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut.

He first became known for a series of albums for Prestige in the 1960s. Contrary to popular belief, he was never married to the vocalist Etta Jones, but did spend many years as her musical partner, recording, performing and touring, and for much of his career this association was what he was best known for. They first met playing in organist Johnny Hammond's band.^[2]

There are more than 75 albums recorded by Person as a bandleader, on Prestige, Westbound, Mercury, Savoy, and Muse, and he has most recently been recording on HighNote. He has recorded with Charles Brown, Ron Carter, Bill Charlap, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Etta Jones, Lou Rawls, Janis Siegel, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Cedar Walton, plus Billy Butler, Don Patterson, Grant Green, Sonny Phillips, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Richard "Groove" Holmes^[3] and others.

Person has been a resident of Newark, New Jersey.^[4]

Person performing with his combo at the Red Bank Jazz & Blues Festival in 2009.

Person in Paris, France, in 1980

Awards

Person received the Eubie Blake Jazz Award in 1982, and in 2011 the Jazz Legend Award, presented in San Diego.^[5]

Discography

As leader

• Underground Soul! (Prestige, 1966)
• Chocomotive (Prestige, 1967)
• Trust in Me (Prestige, 1967)
• Blue Odyssey (Prestige, 1968)
• Soul Dance! (Prestige, 1968)
• Goodness! (Prestige, 1969)
• Truth! (Prestige, 1970)
• Person to Person! (Prestige, 1970)
• Houston Express (Prestige, 1971)
• Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (Prestige, 1972)
• Sweet Buns & Barbeque (Prestige, 1972)
• Island Episode (Prestige, 1971/1973 [1997])
• The Real Thing [live] (Eastbound, 1973) - 2LP
• Houston Person '75 (Westbound/20th Century, 1975)
• Get Out'a My Way! (Westbound/20th Century, 1975)
• Pure Pleasure (Mercury, 1976)
• Harmony (Mercury, 1977)
• Stolen Sweets (Muse, 1976 [1977])
• Wild Flower (Muse, 1977 [1978])
• The Nearness of You (Muse, 1977 [1978])
• The Gospel Soul of Houston Person (Savoy, 1978)
• The Big Horn (Muse, 1976 [1979])
• Suspicions (Muse, 1980)
• Very PERSONal (Muse, 1980 [1981])
• Heavy Juice (Muse, 1982)
• Road Warriors (Greene Street, 1984) - with Les McCann
• Creation (Greene Street, 1984) - with Roger Kellaway
• Always on My Mind (Muse, 1985)
• The Talk of the Town (Muse, 1987)
• We Owe It All to Love (Baseline [UK], 1989)
• Basics (Muse, 1987 [1989])
• Something in Common (Muse, 1989 [1990]) - with Ron Carter
• The Party (Muse, 1989 [1991])
• Now's the Time (Muse, 1990) - with Ron Carter
• Just Friends (Muse, 1990 [1992]) - with Buddy Tate and Nat Simkins
• Why Not! (Muse, 1990)
• The Lion and His Pride (Muse, 1991)
• Christmas with Houston Person and Friends (Muse, 1994) - with Randy Johnston, Etta Jones, Grady Tate, Benny Green [note: reissued as Santa Baby on Savoy in 2003]
• Horn to Horn (Muse, 1994 [1996]) - with Teddy Edwards
• Close Encounters (HighNote, 1996 [1999]) - with Teddy Edwards
• Person-ified (HighNote, 1996 [1997]) - with Richard Wynands, Ray Drummond, Kenny Washington
• Lost & Found - with Charles Brown (32 Jazz, 1997) [note: first issue of a previously unreleased Muse album Sweet Slumber, recorded in 1991]
• The Opening Round (Savant, 1997)
• Christmas With Houston Person and Etta Jones (32 Jazz, 1997) - compilation of various Muse material
• My Romance (HighNote, 1998)
• Soft Lights (HighNote, 1999)
• Together at Christmas (HighNote, 2000) - with Etta Jones
• The Way We Were: Live in Concert (HighNote, 2000 [2011]) - with Etta Jones
• In a Sentimental Mood (HighNote, 2000)
• Dialogues (HighNote, 2000 [2002]) - with Ron Carter
• Blue Velvet (HighNote, 2001)
• Sentimental Journey (HighNote, 2002)
• Social Call (HighNote, 2003) - with Paul Bollenback
• To Etta with Love (HighNote, 2004) - with Paul Bollenback
• You Taught My Heart to Sing (HighNote, 2004 [2006]) - with Bill Charlap
• All Soul (HighNote, 2005)
• Just Between Friends (HighNote, 2005 [2008]) - with Ron Carter
• Thinking of You (HighNote, 2007)
• The Art and Soul of Houston Person (HighNote, 2008) -3CD
• Mellow (HighNote, 2009)
• Moment to Moment (HighNote, 2010)
• So Nice (HighNote, 2011)
• Naturally (HighNote, 2012)
• Nice 'n' Easy (HighNote, 2013)
• The Melody Lingers On (HighNote, 2014) - with Steve Nelson
• Something Personal (HighNote, 2015)
• Chemistry (HighNote, 2015 [2016]) - with Ron Carter
• Rain or Shine (HighNote, 2017)
• Remember Love (HighNote, 2018) - with Ron Carter^[6]
• I'm Just a Lucky So and So (HighNote, 2019)^[7]
• Live in Paris (HighNote, 2019 [2021])
• Reminiscing at Rudy's (HighNote, 2022)

As sideman

With The 3B's

• Soothin' 'N Groovin' with The 3B's (3B's Music, 1994)

With Gene Ammons

• The Boss Is Back! (Prestige, 1969)

With Charles Brown

• Blues and Other Love Songs (Muse, 1992)

With Paul (PB) Brown

• Paul Brown Quartet Meets The Three Tenors (Brownstone, 1998)

With Billy Butler

• This Is Billy Butler! (Prestige, 1968)
• Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (Prestige, 1970)
• Night Life (Prestige, 1971)

With Ron Carter

• Orfeu (Somethin' Else/Blue Note, 1999)

With Emmet Cohen

• Masters Legacy Series Volume 5: Houston Person (La Reserve Records, 2023)

With Joey DeFrancesco

• All About My Girl (Muse, 1994)
• Plays Sinatra His Way (High Note, 1998 [rel. 2004])

With Charles Earland

• Black Talk! (Prestige, 1969)
• Pleasant Afternoon (Muse, 1981)

With Grant Green

• Live at Club Mozambique (Blue Note, 1971 [rel. 2006])

With Tiny Grimes

• Profoundly Blue (Muse, 1973)

With Peter Hand Big Band

• The Wizard of Jazz: A Tribute to Harold Arlen (Savant, 2005 [rel. 2009])
• Out of Hand (Savant, 2013)
• Blue Topaz (Whaling City, 2024)

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

• Good Vibrations (Muse, 1977 [rel. 1980])
• Broadway (Muse, 1980)
• Blues All Day Long (Muse, 1988)
• Hot Tat (Muse, 1989 [rel. 1991])

With Randy Johnston

• Detour Ahead (HighNote, 1998 [rel. 2001])

With Etta Jones

• Etta Jones '75 (Westbound/20th Century, 1975)
• Ms. Jones to You (Muse, 1976)
• My Mother's Eyes (Muse, 1977)
• If You Could See Me Now (Muse, 1978)
• Save Your Love for Me (Muse, 1980)
• Fine and Mellow (Muse, 1986)
• I'll Be Seeing You (Muse, 1987)
• Sugar (Muse, 1989)
• Christmas with Etta Jones (Muse, 1990)
• Reverse the Charges (Muse, 1992)
• At Last (Muse, 1995)
• The Melody Lingers On (HighNote, 1997)
• My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson (HighNote, 1998)
• All the Way (HighNote, 1999)
• Easy Living (HighNote, 2000)
• Etta Jones Sings Lady Day (HighNote, 2001)

With Charles Kynard

• Afro-Disiac (Prestige, 1970)

With Johnny Lytle

• Fast Hands (Muse, 1980)
• Good Vibes (Muse, 1982)
• Moonchild (Muse, 1992)

With Don Patterson

• Four Dimensions (Prestige, 1967)
• Oh Happy Day (Prestige, 1969)
• Tune Up! (Prestige, 1969)

With Sonny Phillips

• Sure 'Nuff (Prestige, 1969)

With Jimmy Ponder

• Come On Down (Muse, 1991)

With Bernard Purdie

• Shaft (Prestige, 1971 [rel. 1973])

With Shirley Scott

• Oasis (Muse, 1989)

With Rhoda Scott

• Feelin' the Groove (Verve, 1993)

With Janis Siegel

• Friday Night Special (Telarc, 2003)

With Horace Silver

• That Healin' Feelin' (Blue Note, 1970)

With Johnny "Hammond" Smith

• Mr. Wonderful (Riverside, 1963)
• A Little Taste (Riverside, 1963)
• The Stinger (Prestige, 1965)
• The Stinger Meets the Golden Thrush (Prestige, 1966) - with Byrdie Green
• Gettin' Up (Prestige, 1967)
• Soul Flowers (Prestige, 1967)
• Dirty Grape (Prestige, 1968)
• Nasty! (Prestige, 1968)
• Here It 'Tis (Prestige, 1970)

With Melvin Sparks

• Sparks! (Prestige, 1970)

With Warren Vaché

• Horn of Plenty (Muse, 1993)

References

1. Collar, Matt. "Houston Person Biography". AllMusic.
2. Shaw, Lew (March 31, 2020). "Houston Person: It's Been a Wonderful Journey". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
3. Henderson, Alex. "Richard "Groove" Holmes, Biography". AllMusic.
4. Stewart, Zan (September 28, 2003). "The State of Jazz: Meet 40 More Jersey Greats". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2017. Houston Person -- Deep-toned, blues-rich tenor saxophonist Person, who lives in Newark, has performed and/or recorded with Johnny Hammond, Cedar Walton and Charles Earland, among many others.
5. Varga, George (February 23, 2023). "Sax great Houston Person, a reluctant 'acid-jazz' legend at 88, the 2023 San Diego Jazz Party". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
6. "Houston Person, Remember Love - Review by Alex Henderson" (PDF). NYCJR. No. 197. September 2018. p. 16. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
7. "Houston Person, I'm Just a Lucky So and So - Review by Scott Yanow" (PDF). NYCJR. No. 209. September 2019. p. 31. Retrieved September 26, 2019.

External links

• Houston Person NAMM Oral History Program Interview (2006)