Jazz bass player and arranger, Howard Rumsey was born on November 7th, 1917 in Brawley, California. He studied piano, drums and contrabass in Los Angeles.
His first pro band was Vido Musso Orchestra, where he met pianist Stan Kenton. Then, he joined the band for trumpeteer and vocalist (and actor) Johnnie Davis.
STAN KENTON ORCHESTRA
In 1941, Rumsey was called Stan Kenton who was to start his own Stan Kenton Orchestra, although he soon left due to disagreements. Rumsey recorded several tracks with them, but with CD age, many albums have been released with alternate takes, rarities or radio broadcasts, featuring Rumsey.
This was the Stan Kenton Orchestra around 1941:
This was the Stan Kenton Orchestra around 1941:
|
STAN KENTON ORCHESTRA #? |
1941 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stan Kenton † piano, leader | Al Costi guitar | Howard Rumsey † bass | Chico Alvarez † trumpet | Frank Beach trumpet | Earl Collier trumpet, vocals |
Bob Gioga † sax | Jack Ordean sax | Ted Romersa sax | Hollis Bridwell sax | Red Dorris sax, clarinet, vocals | Harry Forbes trombone |
Dick Cole trombone | Marvin George drums |
| Other info on members of Stan Kenton Orchestra (I know up to 260 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (6): | Milt Bernhart, Larry Bunker, Joe Morello, Al Porcino, Bud Shank, Tommy Whittle |
| To be covered (253): | Pepper Adams, Sam Aleccia, Laurindo Almeida, Chico Alvarez, Jim Amlotte, John Anderson, Buddy Arnold, Don Bagley, Gabe Baltazar, Norman Baltazar, Michael Bard, Dave Barduhn, Gary Barone, Mike Barrowman, Dee Barton, Frank Beach, Tim Bell, Max Bennett, Bob Benrendt, Ernie Bernhart, Eddie Bert, Harry Betts, Allan Beutler, Ralph Blaze, John Bonnie,... up to 253 musicians. |
AND THEN...
Rumsey was also a member of Charlie Barnet Orchestra and Barney Bigard Orchestra, also forming his own combo.
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS
In 1949, Rumsey played with his band at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, and this changed his trajectory. He helped to raise The Lighthouse status as one of the best jazz venues. Rumsey started acting as musical director and later he became co-owner of the club. Many great jazz players were members of what was called The Lighthouse All Stars (to be more acurate, the credits in the albums say: Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars). There are many albums (mostly live) recorded there.
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in June 1952:
This was the lineup of The Lighthouse All-Stars circa 1953:
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in May 1953:
They recorded the live album Sunday jazz a la Lighthouse vol 2.
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in September 1953:
They appear in the bonus tracks on the CD issue of the live album Sunday jazz a la Lighthouse vol 2, along with Chet Baker guesting on trumpet.
This was the reduced lineup of The Lighthouse All-Stars in April 1956:
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in October 1957:
They recorded the live album Jazz Rolls Royce with the aid of some friends, such as Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Ed Leddy, George Worth, Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Red Callender, Hoyt Bohannon, Marshall Cram and Larry Bunker.
After leaving The Lighthouse, Howard Rumsey organized the famous Concerts By The Sea in Redondo Beach, California, where many big names in jazz appeared during 14 years.
Howard Rumsey passed away on July 15th, 2015 in Newport Beach, California. He was 97. But we still have his albums to remember him.
8 BANDS (WITH 32 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
3 ALBUMS FOR 2 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
4 SESSIONS (FOR 3 ARTISTS):
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in June 1952:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1952 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Frank Patchen piano | Shorty Rogers † trumpet | Bob Cooper † sax | Jimmy Giuffre † sax | Shelly Manne † drums |
This was the lineup of The Lighthouse All-Stars circa 1953:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1953 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Hampton Hawes † piano | Frank Patchen piano | Shorty Rogers † trumpet | Maynard Ferguson † trumpet | Jimmy Giuffre † sax |
Bob Cooper † sax | Milt Bernhart † trombone | Carlos Vidal percussion | Shelly Manne † drums |
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in May 1953:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1953 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Russ Freeman † piano | Shorty Rogers † trumpet | Bob Cooper † sax | Jimmy Giuffre † sax | Milt Bernhart † trombone |
Shelly Manne † drums |
They recorded the live album Sunday jazz a la Lighthouse vol 2.
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in September 1953:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1953 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Claude Williamson piano | OR | Lorraine Geller † piano | Rolf Ericson † trumpet | Bob Cooper † sax |
Bud Shank † sax | Max Roach † drums |
They appear in the bonus tracks on the CD issue of the live album Sunday jazz a la Lighthouse vol 2, along with Chet Baker guesting on trumpet.
This was the reduced lineup of The Lighthouse All-Stars in April 1956:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1956 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Sonny Clark † piano | Bud Shank † sax, flute | Bob Cooper † sax | Stan Levey † drums |
This was the Howard Rumsey´s Lighthouse All-Stars in October 1957:
|
THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS #? |
1957 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Rumsey † bass | Victor Feldman piano, vibes | Stu Williamson † trumpet | Bob Cooper † sax | Frank Rosolino † trombone | Stan Levey † drums |
They recorded the live album Jazz Rolls Royce with the aid of some friends, such as Pete Candoli, Al Porcino, Ed Leddy, George Worth, Milt Bernhart, Harry Betts, Red Callender, Hoyt Bohannon, Marshall Cram and Larry Bunker.
| Other info on members of The Lighthouse All-Stars (I know up to 36 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (4): | Milt Bernhart, Monty Budwig, Pete Jolly, Bud Shank |
| To be covered (30): | Gabe Baltazar, Conte Candoli, Sonny Clark, Bob Cooper, Sonny Criss, Teddy Edwards, Bob Enevoldsen, Rolf Ericson, Victor Feldman, Maynard Ferguson, Russ Freeman, Herb Geller, Lorraine Geller, Jimmy Giuffre, Hampton Hawes, Stan Levey, Shelly Manne, Larance Marable, Jack Nimitz, Anthony Ortega, Marty Paich, Frank Patchen, Bill Perkins, Max Roach, Shorty Rogers,... up to 30 musicians. |
| Not enough info (1): | Keith Williams |
After leaving The Lighthouse, Howard Rumsey organized the famous Concerts By The Sea in Redondo Beach, California, where many big names in jazz appeared during 14 years.
Howard Rumsey passed away on July 15th, 2015 in Newport Beach, California. He was 97. But we still have his albums to remember him.
8 BANDS (WITH 32 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Charlie Barnet Orchestra | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Barney Bigard Group |
| |||||||||
| Johnnie Davis Group |
| |||||||||
| Stan Kenton Orchestra | 7 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| The Lighthouse All-Stars | 18 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Vido Musso Group |
| |||||||||
| Howard Rumsey Group | ||||||||||
| Freddie Slack Orchestra |
| |||||||||
3 ALBUMS FOR 2 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Hampton Hawes Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Shorty Rogers Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
4 SESSIONS (FOR 3 ARTISTS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||
| Miles Davis Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||
| Dodo Marmarosa Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||
| Art Pepper Group | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||
RELATED MUSICIANS:
Howard Rumsey mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Bob Cooper (27)
Bud Shank (18)
Milt Bernhart (14)
Shelly Manne (14)
Shorty Rogers (12)
Frank Rosolino (12)
Bob Gioga (11)
Stan Kenton (11)
Stan Levey (11)
Conte Candoli (10)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 30/July/2015 - Last modified on: 30/July/2015. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com
Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.
