Houston Person: Biography

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• Stanley Turrentine
• Red Holloway
• Rusty Bryant
• Lou Donaldson
• James Clay
• David "Fathead" Newman
• Sil Austin

• Illinois Jacquet
• Gene Ammons
• Harold Land
• Hank Mobley
• Sonny Stitt

• The Sugarman 3

• Eddie Allen

• Ron Carter
• Sonny Phillips
• Horace Ott
• James Van Heusen
• Sonny Rollins
• Sammy Cahn
• Ran Blake

• Rudy Van Gelder
• Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
• Etta Jones
• Stan Hope
• Jimmy Ponder
• Melvin Sparks
• Johnny "Hammond" Smith

Born:

Nov 10, 1934 in Florence, SC

Genres:

Holiday Music, Jazz Music, Bop Jazz Music, Swing

Decades Active:

1960's|1970's|1980's|1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Medium

Popularity

Medium

Ratings Guide

In the 1990s, Houston Person kept the soulful thick-toned tenor tradition of Gene Ammons alive, particularly in his work with organists. After learning piano as a youth, Person switched to tenor. While stationed in Germany with the Army, he played in groups that also included Eddie Harris, Lanny Morgan, Leo Wright, and Cedar Walton. Person picked up valuable experience as a member of Johnny Hammond's group (1963-1966) and has been a bandleader ever since, often working with singer Etta Jones. A duo recording with Ran Blake was a nice change of pace, but most of Houston Person's playing has been done in blues-oriented organ groups. He has recorded a consistently excellent series of albums for Muse.

- Scott Yanow, All Music Guide