J.R. Monterose

J.R. Monterose, distinct from the tenor saxophonist Jack Montrose, earned his chief recognition through a 1956 association with Charles Mingus that brought him little personal satisfaction, namely his appearance on the bassist’s breakthrough album Pithecanthropus Erectus. Raised in Utica, New York, he first worked in Midwest territory bands before settling in New York City in the early 1950s. His résumé from that period includes a 1952 stint with Buddy Rich, engagements alongside Claude Thornhill, and sideman dates with Teddy Charles, Jon Eardley, and Eddie Bert, among others. After parting ways with Mingus over personal differences, Monterose joined Kenny Dorham’s Jazz Prophets and led a strong Blue Note session under his own name. Although he continued performing into the 1980s, adding soprano saxophone in later years, broader fame remained elusive. In addition to the Blue Note date, he headed dates for Jaro—a 1959 session later reissued by Xanadu—Studio 4, which V.S.O.P. subsequently reissued, a little-known 1969 album for the Dutch label Heavy Soul Music, and, between 1979 and 1981, releases on Progressive, Cadence, and two albums for Uptown.