Search - Artist/Band: Gene Ammons

• Name: Gene Ammons
• Birthday: 04/14/1925
• Birth Place: Chicago, IL
• Died: 08/06/1974
• Decades Active: 1940,1950,1960,1970
• Genre: Jazz
• Styles: Bop, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz
• Moods: Amiable/Good-Natured, Earthy, Energetic, Organic, Rousing, Bravado, Dramatic, Earnest, Exuberant, Freewheeling, Greasy, Passionate, Playful, Rambunctious, Sophisticated, Street-Smart, Warm, Witty, Wry

Title	Release
Swingin' the Jug	07/07/2008
Baby Sax	10/01/2007
1951-1953 WA	02/21/2006
My Foolish Heart [ZYX] WA	2006
You Can Depend on Me	02/28/2005
1950-1951	09/21/2004
1949-1950	01/20/2004
Fine and Mellow WA	09/09/2003
Tenor Eleven	11/27/2002
1947-1949	10/02/2002
My Foolish Heart WA	07/02/2002
A Stranger in Town	04/23/2002
Blowing the Blues Away 1944-1947	02/05/2002
Gentle Jug, Vol. 3	10/10/2000
Greatest Hits: The 70s	11/10/1998
Greatest Hits: The 50s	03/25/1998
Legends of Acid Jazz	06/23/1997
Gentle Jug, Vol. 2	04/17/1995
Red Top	11/08/1994
Young Jug	06/21/1994
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Sixties	1988
The Gene Ammons Story: Gentle Jug WA	1977
The Gene Ammons Story: Organ Combos	1977
The Gene Ammons Story: The 78 Era	1977
Goodbye	1975
Brasswind	10/30/1973
Brother Jug	1969
The Boss Is Back WA	1969
Makes It Happen	1967
Bad! Bossa Nova WA	09/09/1962
Preachin' WA	05/03/1962
Jug & Dodo WA	05/1962
Late Hour Special WA	1962
Soul Summit WA	1962
Boss Tenors: Straight Ahead from Chicago 1961 WA	08/27/1961
We'll Be Together Again	08/26/1961
Jug WA	01/27/1961
Up Tight! WA	1961
Angel Eyes	06/17/1960
Boss Tenor WA	06/16/1960
Blue Gene WA	05/03/1958
Big Sound	01/03/1958
Groove Blues WA	01/03/1958
Jammin' in Hi Fi with Gene Ammons	04/12/1957
Funky WA	01/11/1957
Jammin' with Gene WA	07/13/1956
The Happy Blues WA	04/23/1956
All-Star Sessions WA	1955

Gene Ammons, who had a huge and immediately recognizable tone on tenor, was a very flexible player who could play bebop with the best (always battling his friend Sonny Stitt to a tie) yet was an influence on the r&b world. Some of his ballad renditions became hits and, despite two unfortunate interruptions in his career, Ammons remained a popular attraction for 25 years.

Son of the great boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons (who was nicknamed "Jug") left Chicago at age 18 to work with King Kolax's band. He originally came to fame as a key soloist with Billy Eckstine's orchestra during 1944-1947, trading off with Dexter Gordon on the famous Eckstine record Blowing the Blues Away. Other than a notable stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd in 1949 and an attempt at co-leading a two tenor group in the early '50s with Sonny Stitt, Ammons worked as a single throughout his career, recording frequently (most notably for Prestige) in settings ranging from quartets and organ combos to all-star jam sessions. Drug problems kept him in prison during much of 1958-1960 and, due to a particularly stiff sentence, 1962-1969. When Ammons returned to the scene in 1969, he opened up his style a bit, including some of the emotional cries of the avant-garde while utilizing funky rhythm sections, but he was still able to battle Sonny Stitt on his own terms. Ironically the last song that he ever recorded (just a short time before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer) was "Goodbye." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide