Roy McCurdy
Encyclopedia
Roy McCurdy, born November 28, 1936 in Rochester, New York
, is a jazz drummer
.
Before joining Cannonball Adderley's Quintet in 1965 and staying with the band until Adderley's death in 1975, he had played with Chuck
and Gap Mangione
in the Jazz Brothers (1960–1961), as well as with Bobby Timmons
, Betty Carter
and Sonny Rollins
(1963–1964), appearing on the classic 1963 album Sonny Meets Hawk!
.
He attended the Eastman School of Music
from sixteen to eighteen, during which time he also played professionally with Roy Eldridge
and with Eddie Vinson
at seventeen. In 1960 he joined the Art Farmer
- Benny Golson
Jazztet and remained for two years.
Among the influences he cites Louie Bellson
, Shelly Manne
, Sam Woodyard
, Buddy Rich
, Papa Jo Jones
, Philly Joe Jones
and the bands of Duke Ellington
, Jimmie Lunceford
and Lionel Hampton
.
He has also played and/or recorded with Count Basie
, Wes Montgomery
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Sarah Vaughan
, Carmen McRae
, Joe Williams
, Herbie Hancock
, Oscar Peterson
, Bud Powell
, Art Pepper
, and the jazz rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears, etc.
He appears on the classic 1983 recording Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company featuring Milt Jackson
on vibes, J. J. Johnson on trombone, Ray Brown
on bass, Tom Ranier on piano, and John Collins
on guitar.
As of 2010, McCurdy is an Adjunt Professor in the Jazz Studies Department of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles, California.
With Nat Adderley
With Count Basie
With Betty Carter
With Sonny Rollins
With Bobby Timmons
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, is a jazz drummer
Jazz drumming
Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz...
.
Before joining Cannonball Adderley's Quintet in 1965 and staying with the band until Adderley's death in 1975, he had played with Chuck
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good." Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.-Early life and career:...
and Gap Mangione
Gap Mangione
Gaspare "Gap" Mangione is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader from Rochester, New York, United States.Born and raised in Rochester, Mangione's younger brother is Grammy-winning flugelhornist Chuck Mangione. Members of a music-loving family, both Gap and Chuck took up instruments...
in the Jazz Brothers (1960–1961), as well as with Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
, Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
(1963–1964), appearing on the classic 1963 album Sonny Meets Hawk!
Sonny Meets Hawk!
Sonny Meets Hawk! is a 1963 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, with Coleman Hawkins appearing as guest artist. It was recorded at RCA Victor Studio "B" in New York City on July 15 and 18, 1963....
.
He attended the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
from sixteen to eighteen, during which time he also played professionally with Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
and with Eddie Vinson
Eddie Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product.-Biography:Vinson was born in Houston, Texas...
at seventeen. In 1960 he joined the Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
- Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
Jazztet and remained for two years.
Among the influences he cites Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
, Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
, Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
, Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, Papa Jo Jones
Jo Jones
Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
, Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
and the bands of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Jimmie Lunceford
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.-Biography:...
and Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
.
He has also played and/or recorded with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Carmen McRae
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
, Joe Williams
Joe Williams (jazz singer)
Joe Williams was a well-known jazz vocalist, a baritone singing a mixture of blues, ballads, popular songs, and jazz standards.-Early life:...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
, Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, and the jazz rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears, etc.
He appears on the classic 1983 recording Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company featuring Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson
Milton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
on vibes, J. J. Johnson on trombone, Ray Brown
Ray Brown (musician)
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
on bass, Tom Ranier on piano, and John Collins
John Collins (jazz guitarist)
John Elbert Collins was a jazz guitarist who accompanied many swing era names from 1935–1950, including Art Tatum, Roy Eldridge, Billie Holiday and Lester Young. His longest association was with Nat "King" Cole, 1951-1965. Known for his rhythm work, he soloed infrequently...
on guitar.
As of 2010, McCurdy is an Adjunt Professor in the Jazz Studies Department of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los Angeles, California.
As sideman
With Cannonball Adderley- Money in the PocketMoney in the PocketMoney in the Pocket is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at The Club in Chicago in 1966, but not released on the Capitol label until 2005, featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Lewis and Roy McCurdy...
(Capitol, 1966 [2005]) - Great Love ThemesGreat Love ThemesGreat Love Themes is an album recorded in April, 1966 by jazz saxophonist Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley. It was released on the Capitol label featuring performances of Broadway show tunes by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Lewis and Roy McCurdy...
(Capitol, 1966) - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club' is a 1966 album by jazz musician Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Though the original liner notes state that it was recorded at the Club DeLisa in Chicago, it was actually recorded at Capitol's Hollywood studio with an invited audience and an open bar...
(Capitol, 1966) - Cannonball in JapanCannonball in JapanCannonball in Japan is a live recording by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Sankei Hall in Tokyo, Japan.- Track listing :#"Work Song" – 4:30#"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" – 5:20...
(Capitol, 1966) - Radio NightsRadio NightsRadio Nights is an album released in 1991 featuring previously unreleased live radio broadcasts by the Cannonball Adderley Quartet, Quintet and Sextet from New York City's Half Note Club jazz club. They were recorded by Alan Grant and broadcast live on radio in the last week of 1967 and the first...
(Night, 1967-68 [1991]) - 74 Miles Away74 Miles Away74 Miles Away is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in Hollywood, California in 1967 featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Victor Gaskin and Roy McCurdy. The Allmusic review by Richard S...
(Capitol, 1967) - Why Am I Treated So Bad!Why Am I Treated So Bad!Why Am I Treated So Bad! is a live album by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, recorded at the Capitol studios in Los Angeles in 1967.The song "I'm on My Way", was written by his nephew Nat Adderley, Jr., who at the time was an 11-year-old living in Teaneck, New Jersey.- Track listing :#...
(Capitol, 1967) - In Person (Capitol, 1968)
- Country PreacherCountry PreacherCountry Preacher is a live album recorded by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in 1969.Recorded at an unidentified church meeting of the Chicago chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Operation Breadbasket, the album spent two months in the Cash Box R&B charts in 1970.Described by...
(Capitol, 1969) - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & OrchestraThe Cannonball Adderley Quintet & OrchestraThe Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in Los Angeles, California in 1970 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet featuring Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with an unidentified orchestra conducted by...
(Capitol, 1970) - Love, Sex, and the ZodiacLove, Sex, and the ZodiacLove, Sex, and the Zodiac is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in Berkeley, California in 1970, but not released on the Fantasy label until 1974, featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet featuring Nat Adderley, Hal Galper, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest...
(Fantasy, 1970 [1974]) - The Price You Got to Pay to Be FreeThe Price You Got to Pay to Be FreeThe Price You Got to Pay to Be Free is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in Los Angeles, California in 1970 featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest appearances by Nat Adderley, Jr. and Bob West. The...
(Capitol, 1970) - The Happy PeopleThe Happy PeopleThe Happy People is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in 1970, but not released on the Capitol label until 1972, and performed by Adderley's Quintet featuring Nat Adderley, George Duke, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest musicians and vocalists...
(Capitol, 1970 [1972]) - The Black MessiahThe Black MessiahThe Black Messiah is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California in 1970 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with Nat Adderley, George Duke, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest appearances by Airto Moreira, Mike Deasy,...
(Capitol, 1970) - Music You AllMusic You AllMusic You All is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California in 1970 at the same residency that produced The Black Messiah and featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with Nat Adderley, George Duke, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy...
(Capitol, 1970 [1976]) - Inside StraightInside Straight (album)Inside Straight is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at the Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California in 1973 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with Nat Adderley, Hal Galper, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest percussionist King Errisson...
(Fantasy, 1973) - PyramidPyramid (Cannonball Adderley album)Pyramid is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California in 1974 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with Nat Adderley, Hal Galper, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest appearances by Phil Upchurch, George Duke, and Jimmy Jones...
(Fantasy, 1974) - PhenixPhenix (album)Phenix is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at the Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California in 1975 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet with Nat Adderley, Michael Wolff, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with guest percussionist Airto Moreira and sessions featuring past...
(Fantasy, 1975)
With Nat Adderley
Nat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
- Sayin' Somethin'Sayin' Somethin'-Track listing:# "Manchild" - 2:48# "Call Me" - 3:08# "Walls of Jericho" - 6:56# "Gospelette" - 3:13# "Satin Doll" - 2:43# "Cantaloupe Island" - 7:22...
(Atlantic, 1966) - Live at Memory LaneLive at Memory Lane-Track listing:# "On My Journey Now" - 4:49# "Fun" - 6:40# "In the Good Old Summertime" - 9:49# "Lavender Woman" - 8:16# "Painted Desert" - 8:48# "Theme" - 4:49...
(Atlantic, 1966) - The ScavengerThe Scavenger-Track listing:# "The Scavenger" - 8:07# "Bittersweet" - 4:45# "But Not For Me" - 5:53# "Sweet Emma" - 4:47# "Rise, Sally, Rise" - 5:19# "Unilateral" - 5:58# "Melnat" - 3:00...
(Milestone, 1968) - Soul ZodiacSoul Zodiac-Track listing:# "Introduction" - 3:02# "Aries" - 4:57# "Libra" - 3:21# "Capricorn" - 6:13# "Aquarius" - 7:57# "Pisces" - - 3:53# "Sagittarius" - 5:21...
(Capitol, 1972) - Soul of the BibleSoul of the Bible-Track listing:# "In the Beginning" - 1:20# "Yield" - 2:20# "Obeah" - 7:36# "Fun in the Church" - 7:08# "The Eternal Walk" - 6:48...
(Capitol, 1972) - Double ExposureDouble Exposure (album)-Track listing:# "Watermelon Man" - 3:37 # "Go and Pass" - 4:20 # "Quit It" - 3:46 # "Conant 19" - 5:02 # "Traffic" - 4:05 # "In a Silent Way" - 5:20...
(Capitol, 1974)
With Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
- Mostly Blues...and Some OthersMostly Blues...and Some OthersMostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album by Count Basie. - Track listing :# "I'll Always Be in Love with You" Mostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album by Count Basie. - Track listing :# "I'll Always Be in Love with You" Mostly Blues...and Some Others is a 1983 studio album...
(Pablo, 1983)
With Betty Carter
Betty Carter
Betty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style...
- Inside Betty CarterInside Betty CarterInside Betty Carter is a 1964 Betty Carter album. It contains the first recording of Carter's signature song, "Open the Door". Originally released on the United Artists label with eight tracks, it was reissued by Capitol Records in 1993 with seven previously unreleased tracks from a 1965 recording...
(United Artists, 1964)
With Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
- Sonny Meets Hawk!Sonny Meets Hawk!Sonny Meets Hawk! is a 1963 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, with Coleman Hawkins appearing as guest artist. It was recorded at RCA Victor Studio "B" in New York City on July 15 and 18, 1963....
(RCA Victor, 1963) - Now's the Time (RCA Victor, 1964)
- Nucleus (Milestone, 1975)
With Bobby Timmons
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons was an African American jazz pianist and composer.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is best known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here", each of which are typical of his...
- Sweet and Soulful SoundsSweet and Soulful SoundsSweet and Soulful Sounds is an album by American jazz pianist Bobby Timmons recorded in 1962 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:...
(Riverside, 1963)