Duke Pearson

Duke Pearson - born Columbus Calvin Pearson, Jr. on August 17, 1932, in Atlanta, Georgia - was a jazz pianist and composer who played hard bop jazz with an assortment of major players in concert performances and on recordings. His 1960 song “Jeannine” was recorded by Cannonball Adderley on his Them Dirty Blues album and went on to become a jazz standard, later recorded by Donald Byrd and, in a singing version, Manhattan Transfer. Duke Pearson learned to play trumpet and piano as a young man but after military service, where he met pianist Wynton Kelly, he focused solely on the piano. Duke Pearson performed locally and in Florida, eventually moving to New York City. There, he played with the Benny Golson / Art Farmer Sextet (known as the Jazztet). He joined trumpet player Donald Byrd and saxophonist Pepper Adams in their quintet and toured with singer Nancy Wilson in 1961. He wrote four pieces for Byrd's 1963 album A New Perspective and the two men formed their own big band with sidemen including pianist Chick Corea, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and trombonist Garnett Brown. His recordings as band leader began on Blue Note Records in 1959 with Profile and continued with albums such as Tender Feelings (1960), Wahoo! (1964), Sweet Honey Bee (1967), The Right Touch (1968), and Merry Ole Soul (1969). After the death of Blue Note Records co-founder Francis Wolf in 1971, Duke Pearson left the label and his final release for them was It Could Only Happen with You (1974), which had been recorded in 1970. In the early ‘70s, he continued to perform with artists such as Carmen McRae as well as working behind the scenes and teaching music at Clark College. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the early 1970s, Duke Pearson died on August 4, 1980, at the age of 47.