April 3, 1936 – November 13, 1987

Click here to Support Jazz on the Tube

Hard bop and soul jazz saxophonist Harold Edward Vick was born April 3, 1936 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Music started for him at 13 with the gift of a clarinet from his uncle, Prince Robinson, a member of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers.

Three years later, he found the tenor sax and not much later was playing in R & B bands, something he continued to do while studying psychology at Howard University.

He began releasing LPs as the leader of a quintet during the ’60s featuring Blue Mitchell and went on to play with many greats throughout his career.

He went on to perform with many prominent players including Donald Byrd, Horace Silver, Mercer Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Nat Adderley, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Recorded in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 27, 1963 and released on Blue Note.

Personnel:

Harold Vick, tenor sax
Blue Mitchell, trumpet
Grant Green, guitar
John Patton, organ
Ben Dixon, drums

Click here to Support Jazz on the Tube