{"title":"Billy Root","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn on 6 March 1934 in Philadelphia, Billy Root was an American tenor and baritone saxophonist whose father, a drummer, took him to see Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Jimmie Lunceford at the Earle Theater in 1939. Root started playing saxophone at age ten and was already sitting in with Hot Lips Page at age 16. He went on the road with Hal McIntyre's orchestra, then returned to Philadelphia to work smaller jazz clubs before becoming house tenor saxophonist at Philadelphia's Blue Note club, where he played with every act that passed through including Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Sonny Stitt, Eddie \"Lockjaw\" Davis, Art Blakey, and Kenny Dorham. In 1953, he arrived in New York with Bennie Green to play a featured show at the Apollo Theater.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the 1950s, Root worked extensively with Stan Kenton, Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, and Curtis Fuller. In 1959, he premiered John Lewis's large orchestra work \"European Windows\" as soloist with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He replaced Billy Mitchell with the Al Grey Quintet, playing major jazz clubs before appearing at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Jazz Festivals, then did a three-month stint with Harry James Orchestra. Returning to Philadelphia for his growing family, Root decided to stop travelling and worked local club dates whilst studying flute, alto flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet for seven years. In 1968, he performed two concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Gershwin's \u003cem\u003eRhapsody in Blue\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eAn American in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e on saxophone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRoot moved to Las Vegas in spring 1968, performing with large showroom orchestras for production shows and accompanying stars including Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, and Juliet Prowse. His sole leadership recording, \u003cem\u003eLive at Cappozzoli's\u003c\/em\u003e in Las Vegas with trumpeter Vinnie Tanno, was recorded in 1999. Root died on 30 July 2013 aged 79 from Parkinson's disease.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hank-mobley-billy-root-curtis-fuller-lee-morgan-monday-night-at-birdland-1977-japanese-roulette-vinyl-lp","title":"Hank Mobley \/ Billy Root \/ Curtis Fuller \/ Lee Morgan - Monday Night at Birdland (1977 Japanese Roulette Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVinyl\u003c\/b\u003e: EX\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleeve\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eVG+\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eNone\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur grading system explained \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dpbg4u-d1.myshopify.com\/pages\/secondhand-grading-guide\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ehere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003ePhoto is of the actual item.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHank Mobley \/ Billy Root \/ Curtis Fuller \/ Lee Morgan - \u003cem\u003eMonday Night at Birdland\u003c\/em\u003e Vinyl LP - 1977 Japanese Roulette Birdland Series Stereo Reissue\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLive hard bop at its most uninhibited\u003c\/strong\u003e, recorded at Birdland on 21 April 1958 during Symphony Sid's legendary Monday night sessions for young musicians\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA 19-year-old Lee Morgan\u003c\/strong\u003e leading the front line alongside Curtis Fuller and Hank Mobley, with Ray Bryant on piano and Specs Wright on drums\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFour extended performances\u003c\/strong\u003e including \"Walkin'\" and \"Bag's Groove\", the kind of open blowing vehicles that allowed this front line to stretch\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e1977 Japanese Roulette Birdland Series stereo pressing\u003c\/strong\u003e, manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecorded live at Birdland, New York City on 21 April 1958 and originally released on Roulette the same year, \u003cem\u003eMonday Night at Birdland \u003c\/em\u003ecaptures the Monday night sessions that disc jockey Symphony Sid hosted at the club when the regular bill was off and the younger musicians came in to play. The front line of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and Hank Mobley on tenor, with Billy Root on additional saxophone, Ray Bryant on piano, Tommy Bryant on bass and Specs Wright on drums, is an extraordinary gathering of hard bop talent at a moment when all of them were ascending. Morgan in particular commands attention: he was 19 years old at the time of the recording, already in possession of the clear, full-toned attack and rhythmically assertive phrasing that would define his Blue Note recordings across the decade ahead. The four tracks selected for this pressing, \"Walkin'\", \"All the Things You Are\", \"Bag's Groove\" and \"There Will Never Be Another You\", are the kind of open blowing vehicles that suited the Birdland setting, long enough to allow the front line to develop ideas at length without the constraints of a studio session. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMobley's tenor sits at the centre of the session, his characteristically warm, slightly smoky tone providing a point of contrast to Morgan's brightness and Fuller's French horn-like richness. Ray Bryant's piano comping, assured and rhythmically grounded, holds the rhythm section together beneath Specs Wright's drums across four performances that run as extended jam sessions rather than tightly arranged set pieces. Released in Japan in 1977 on Roulette (YW-7812-RO) as part of the Birdland Series and manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd., this pressing presents a live document of hard bop at street level, not a Blue Note session under Van Gelder's microphones but musicians playing for a room, the energy of the performance intact.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roulette","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43244579422267,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_6273.jpg?v=1772229000"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/billy-root.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}