Biography
Among jazz's overlooked tenor saxophonists stands Harold Vick, sharing company with Booker Ervin, David "Fathead" Newman, Wilton Felder, and James Clay — players known for their robust, blues-infused approach within advanced bop modernism. Fellow bandleaders held him in particular esteem, above all the soul-jazz organists Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott, and Big John Patton, while his résumé also includes work with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ashford & Simpson, Angela Bofill, Abbey Lincoln, and Lena Horne.
Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina — the same small town that produced pianist Thelonious Monk two decades earlier — Vick received his first instrument, a clarinet, at age thirteen from his uncle Prince Robinson, the respected tenor saxophonist who had performed with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers in the 1920s and 1930s. Two years later he switched to tenor saxophone and soon joined R&B ensembles. During the 1950s he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he pursued psychology studies at Howard University while continuing to perform primarily with R&B groups.
Associations with organists McDuff and McGriff began drawing notice, leading Vick to front his own ensembles that featured trumpeter Blue Mitchell and guitarist Grant Green. His debut as a leader, Steppin' Out!, appeared on Blue Note in 1963; between 1966 and 1974 he recorded additional sessions for RCA, Muse, and Strata East. In 1972 he joined Jack DeJohnette's Compost, one of the drummer's earliest ventures as a bandleader.
After the mid-1970s Vick largely ceased recording under his own name, yet his sideman activity expanded. He remained active with Scott and McGriff, Franklin and Charles, Dizzy Gillespie's big band, and various R&B projects both live and in the studio. Not long before his death in 1987, he participated in a pair of Billie Holiday tributes alongside Abbey Lincoln for the enja label. Sonny Rollins later honored Vick's memory by composing and recording the 1998 piece "Did You See Harold Vick?"
Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina — the same small town that produced pianist Thelonious Monk two decades earlier — Vick received his first instrument, a clarinet, at age thirteen from his uncle Prince Robinson, the respected tenor saxophonist who had performed with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers in the 1920s and 1930s. Two years later he switched to tenor saxophone and soon joined R&B ensembles. During the 1950s he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he pursued psychology studies at Howard University while continuing to perform primarily with R&B groups.
Associations with organists McDuff and McGriff began drawing notice, leading Vick to front his own ensembles that featured trumpeter Blue Mitchell and guitarist Grant Green. His debut as a leader, Steppin' Out!, appeared on Blue Note in 1963; between 1966 and 1974 he recorded additional sessions for RCA, Muse, and Strata East. In 1972 he joined Jack DeJohnette's Compost, one of the drummer's earliest ventures as a bandleader.
After the mid-1970s Vick largely ceased recording under his own name, yet his sideman activity expanded. He remained active with Scott and McGriff, Franklin and Charles, Dizzy Gillespie's big band, and various R&B projects both live and in the studio. Not long before his death in 1987, he participated in a pair of Billie Holiday tributes alongside Abbey Lincoln for the enja label. Sonny Rollins later honored Vick's memory by composing and recording the 1998 piece "Did You See Harold Vick?"
Albums
