Dick Vance

Last updated
Dick Vance
Birth nameRichard Thomas Vance
BornNovember 28, 1915
Mayfield, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJuly 27, 1985(1985-07-27) (aged 69)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
Instrument(s)Trumpet, Vocals

Dick Vance (November 28, 1915 - July 31, 1985) was an American jazz trumpeter and arranger. [1]

Contents

Biography

Richard Thomas Vance was born in Mayfield, Kentucky, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, [1] where he learned violin before concentrating on trumpet. [2] He played in Cleveland with J. Frank Terry (1932) before joining Lil Armstrong's band in 1934. [1] He moved to New York City and played with Willie Bryant, Kaiser Marshall, and Fletcher Henderson (1936–38); [1] in Henderson's band he was lead trumpeter and occasionally sang. In 1939, he joined Chick Webb's orchestra, and remained in the group when Ella Fitzgerald took over leadership. [1] Upon the disbanding of the Webb band, Vance became the staff arranger for Glen Grey's band and, in 1942, joined the Lucky Millinder Orchestra. [1] Following this he worked with Charlie Barnet, Don Redman, Eddie Heywood (1944–45), and Ben Webster. From 1944 to 1947 he studied at Juilliard, and moonlighted as a pit orchestra musician and an arranger for artists Harry James, Cab Calloway, Earl Hines and Duke Ellington. During this time he played on notable Broadway productions including Pal Joey , Beggar's Holiday , and in the off-stage band for Streetcar Named Desire . [1] In 1950, Vance reunited with his former band leader, Fletcher Henderson, and played in his New York-based sextet (this was actually Henderson's last public engagement before his death). [1] 1951 to 1952 Dick Vance was a member of Duke Ellington's band's trumpet section where he arranged most of the items for the album Ellington ‘55. In 1958 he co-composed "Jazz Festival Suite" with Ellington for performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. [1] Vance led Sonny Stitt's trumpet section on the album Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass (recorded in 1962). He toured abroad with his own band in 1969, which later appeared (1970) in the film L’aventure du jazz. [3]

He toured with Redman in 1953 and was a regular at the Savoy Ballroom throughout the 1950s. [1] He released two albums in the 1960s and toured with Eddie Barefield in 1969.

He appears briefly in episode 9 of the music documentary series All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music . [4] In 1979, he was cited as the composer for the documentary film No Maps on My Taps, starring Lionel Hampton and Howard Sims. [5]

Vance died in New York City in July 1985, at the age of 69. [1]

Discography

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 463. ISBN   1-85227-937-0.
  2. ↑ "Jazzed in Cleveland - Part 125 - Cleveland Trumpeter Dick Vance". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  3. ↑ Yanow, Scott (2003). Vance, Dick. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J463400. ISBN   978-1-56159-263-0.
  4. ↑ "All You Need is Love (TV Series 1977) - IMDb". IMDb .
  5. ↑ "No Maps on My Taps (1979) - IMDb". IMDb .
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