John Heard (musician)

John Heard is a bass player and artist. His recording credits include albums with Pharoah Sanders, George Duke, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Zoot Sims, Ahmad Jamal, Frank Morgan, George Cables. His professional jazz performance career lasted from the 1960s to the early 2010s, during which he also worked as a visual artist, producing drawings, paintings, and sculptures.

John Heard
BornJuly 1938
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Jazz musician
artist
InstrumentsDouble bass
Electric bass
Years active1960s–present
LabelsITI Records
Associated actsCount Basie
Heard Ranier Ferguson
The John Heard Trio
Oscar Peterson

Background

He was born John William Heard in July 1938.

He also played saxophone in his early years.[1][2] He began playing bass at the age of 14. His professional career began in a band that included sax player Booker Ervin, drummer J.C. Moses, pianist Horace Parlan and trumpet player Tommy Turrentine. While in high school, he attended special classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

In 1958 he joined the United States Air Force and was sent to Germany. Because of his art experience he was given a job of designing posters for events. He also did some art teaching, teaching the wives of officers. He left the Air Force in 1961 and enrolled at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He returned to music and went to Buffalo and later to California.[3]

Art

In the 1980s he had converted a North Hollywood garage into a studio and was spending much time there painting. He said that he was hanging out with Santa Monica-based sculptor, Jim Casey who was teaching him the way he wanted to learn. 18 months prior to his being interviewed for the article he had taken up sculpturing. His first one was a bust of Duke Ellington then one of Billy Eckstine. At the time he was working on one of Louis Armstrong.[4]

Examples of his work are held in the Oakland Museum of California. They include drawings of Bud Powell and Milt Jackson.[5][6]

Musical career

1960s

Playing double-bass he has worked with Tommy Turrentine and Al Jarreau from the mid to late 1960s. Also in the late 1960s he worked with Jean-Luc Ponty, Sonny Rollins and Wes Montgomery.

1970s

In the 1970s he performed with Toshiko Ashiyoki, Count Basie, Louie Bellson, John Collins, Joe Henderson, Ahmad Jamal, Blue Mitchell and Oscar Peterson.

1980s

In the 1980s he performed with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Buddy Montgomery and Pharoah Sanders.[7]

In 1981, he played bass on the Blue Balkan album by pianist Larry Vuckovich. Other musicians to play on the album were vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and drummer Eddie More.[8] Heard also played with Vuckovich band on their first "Club Date" show on PBS which was picked up by at least 120 cities in the U.S. In addition to Heard and Vuckovitch, the band included Tom Harrell on trumpet, and Sherman Ferguson on drums. As an unexpected bonus, the group was joined by saxophonist Charles McPherson for their last piece. The show's producer Paul Marshall spotted him in the audience and asked him if he had his saxophone which he did and asked him to join them.[9]

In 1983 he joined Tom Ranier and Sherman Ferguson to create the group Heard, Ranier, Ferguson, which released an eponymous album on the ITI Records label in 1983. The album art included a lithograph of Count Basie that was drawn by John Heard.[10][11] An article in the Billboard Magazine October 1983 issue indicated that he was going to be used as a graphic artist for the label. He was to be marketed as both an artist and a musician.[12]

In an article in the LA times dated 31 May 1987, he said that he had always wanted to paint, and planned to leave music.[13] Before his retirement he had managed to record with musicians such as Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Art Pepper, Clark Terry, Pharoah Sanders, Zoot Sims and Joe Williams.[14]

1990s

After taking time out from music to do painting, he returned to the scene and played with, Benny Carter, Jamal and others.[15]

2000s

In 2005 he had his album The Jazz Composer's Songbook released on Straight Ahead Records and produced by Stewart Levine and mastered by Bernie Grundman.[16]

Around the mid-2000s onwards his group The John Heard Trio would play at Charlie O's club in Van Nuys. In 2005, the group consisted of John Heard on bass, Tom Garvin on piano and Roy McCurdy on drums. At the club they played with the likes of Justo Almario and Rickey Woodard.[17] Around 2010, the group consisted of Heard on bass, Andy Langham on piano and Roy McCurdy on drums and later around 2011, Lorca Hart instead of McCurdy was on drums. They would play Fridays and Saturdays there. Some of the musicians they would appear with were trumpet player Scotty Barnhart, trumpet player Ron King, saxophonists Chuck Manning, Don Menza, Lanny Morgan and guitarist Thom Rotella.[18][19]

Discography

LP

CD

Appearances (selective)
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References
  1. Secondhand songs Artist John Heard
  2. Allmusic Artist Biography by Scott Yanow
  3. All About Jazz John Heard
  4. Los Angeles Times 31 May 1987 Jazz John Heard Carves Out New Career by Leaonard Feather
  5. Oakland Museum of California OMCA Collections african american art drawing figure, male Bud Powell
  6. Oakland Museum of California OMCA Collections african american art drawing figure, male Milt Jackson
  7. Historical Dictionary of Jazz by John S. Davis Page 161 Heard, John William (1938 -)
  8. Berkeleyside 3 October 2013 Larry Vuckovich: He’s got those Balkan Blues again by Andrew Gilbert
  9. Larry Vuckovich website Photo Gallery: Group Dates Club Date (PBS)
  10. WorldCat Heard, Ranier, Ferguson
  11. Discogs Heard* – Ranier* – Ferguson* – Heard Ranier Ferguson
  12. Billboard 15 October 1983 Page 36, Jazz – Fledgling ITA Label Maps Ambitious Plans
  13. Los Angeles Times 31 May 1987 Jazz John Heard Carves Out New Career by Leaonard Feather
  14. Pittsburgh Music History Pittsburgh Music Story > Jazz > Modern Era > John Heard
  15. Historical Dictionary of Jazz by John S. Davis Page 161 Heard, John William (1938 -)
  16. Discogs John Heard & Co. – The Jazz Composer's Song Book
  17. Jazz Police August 2005 Live Jazz in Los Angeles Tuesday, 26 May 2015
  18. All About Jazz 2010-05-10 Legendary John Heard Returns to Charlie O's
  19. Healdsburg Jazz Festival 7 April 2011 "Healdsburg All Stars at the Raven – June 11"
  20. Discogs Heard* – Ranier* – Ferguson* – Heard Ranier Ferguson
  21. Discogs John Heard & Co. – The Jazz Composer's Song Book
  22. Discogs John Heard & Co. – The Jazz Composer's Song Book
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