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Jimmy Forrest (musician)

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This article is about the jazz musician. For other people, see James Forrest (disambiguation).
Jimmy Forrest
Forrest in 1959
Forrest in 1959
Background information
Birth nameJames Robert Forrest Jr.
Born(1920-01-24)January 24, 1920
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 1980(1980-08-26) (aged 60)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
  • Jazz
  • R&B
  • blues
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentTenor saxophone
Years active1935–1980
Labels

James Robert Forrest Jr. (January 24, 1920 – August 26, 1980)[1] was an American jazz musician who played tenor saxophone throughout his career.[2]

Forrest is known for his first solo recording of "Night Train". It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart in March 1952, and stayed at the top for seven weeks. "Hey Mrs. Jones" (No. 3 R&B) and "Bolo Blues" were his other hits. All were made for United Records, for which he recorded between 1951 and 1953; he recorded frequently as both a sideman and a bandleader.

Biography

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Born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States,[2] Forrest played alongside Fate Marable as a young man. He was with Jay McShann in 1940-42 and with Andy Kirk[3] from 1942 until 1948 when he joined Duke Ellington.[1] During the early 1950s, Forrest led his own combos.[1] He also played with Miles Davis, in early 1952 at The Barrel Club. After his solo career, he played in small combos with Harry "Sweets" Edison and Al Grey, as well as appearing with Count Basie.[1]

Late in life Forrest married Betty Tardy (November 30, 1929 – October 21, 2011), and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he died in August 1980, aged 60, from heart failure.[4][2]

Other media

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Forrest performs an extended version of "Night Train" with the Basie Orchestra in the 1979 film The Last of the Blue Devils.

Forrest's version of "Night Train" was the theme song of a nightly rhythm and blues radio program in the Houston, Texas area. Also called Night Train, the program was hosted by William A. "Rascal" McCaskill, and was broadcast on KREL-AM between 1954 and 1957.

During the late 1970s, Forrest appeared with an all-star line-up in New York, including Howard McGhee on trumpet, John Hicks on piano, Major Holley on bass, and Charlie Persip on drums.[citation needed]

In his 2000 book, The Devil and Sonny Liston, author Nick Tosches notes that Forrest's music was a favorite of heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston, also from St. Louis, who would listen to "Night Train" and other Forrest music during training sessions and before fights.

Discography

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As leader

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As sideman

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With Cat Anderson

  • Cat on a Hot Tin Horn (Mercury, 1958)

With Count Basie

  • In Europe (LRC, 1974)
  • Fun Time (Pablo, 1975)
  • Basie Big Band (Pablo, 1975)
  • I Told You So (Pablo, 1976)
  • Prime Time (Pablo, 1977)
  • Montreux '77 (Pablo, 1977)

With Miles Davis

  • Live at The Barrel (Prestige P-7858, 1952 [rel. 1983]; reissued on CD as Prestige PCD-24117 [rel. 1992] with a new title: Our Delight: Recorded Live At The Barrel, St. Louis)
  • Live at The Barrel, Volume Two (Prestige P-7860, 1952 [rel. 1984]; reissued on CD as Prestige PCD-24117 [rel. 1992] with a new title: Our Delight: Recorded Live At The Barrel, St. Louis)

With Harry "Sweets" Edison

With Bennie Green

  • Swings the Blues (Enrica, 1959)
  • Bennie Green (Time, 1960)
  • Hornful of Soul aka Cat Walk (Bethlehem, 1960)

With Grant Green

  • First Recordings CD Reissue - All the Gin is Gone / Black Forrest

With Al Grey

  • Grey's Mood (Disques Black And Blue 33.085, 1973–1975; reissue: Classic Jazz CJ-118 [rel. 1979]; reissued on CD as Black & Blue BB-912 [rel. 2000])
  • Struttin' and Shoutin' (Columbia FC-38505, 1976 [rel. 1983])
  • Travelers Lounge Live (Travelers TRV-3001, 1977)
  • Al Grey featuring Arnett Cobb (Disques Black And Blue 33.143, 1977; reissued on CD as Black & Blue BB-954 [rel. 2002] with a new title: Ain't That Funk For You)

With Jo Jones

With Jack McDuff

With Blue Mitchell

With Oliver Nelson

With Waymon Reed

With Betty Roché

With Joe Williams

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 149. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ a b c "The Dead Rock Stars Club - The 1980s". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Evans, Joe, and Christopher Brooks, Follow Your Heart: Moving with the Giants of Jazz, Swing, and Rhythm and Blues. University of Illinois Press, 2008 ISBN 0-252-03303-5 ISBN 978-0-252-03303-2. Joe Evans autobiography at Google Books
  4. ^ "St. Louisan Jimmy Forrest Dies; Was Jazz Musician". Retrieved 26 December 2018 – via newspapers.com.
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