Name Ronnie Ross | Role Soloist | |
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Died December 12, 1991, London, United Kingdom Albums Memories Of Scotland, Jazz Essentials Similar People Allan Ganley, Bill Le Sage, Tubby Hayes, Don Lusher, Hans Koller | ||
Albert Ronald "Ronnie" Ross (2 October 1933 – 12 December 1991) was a British jazz baritone saxophonist.
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Born in Calcutta, India, to Scottish parents, Ross moved to England in 1946 and was educated at the Perse School in Cambridge. He began playing tenor saxophone in the 1950s with Tony Kinsey, Ted Heath, and Don Rendell. During his tenure with Rendell, he switched to baritone saxophone. He played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 and formed a group called the Jazz Makers with drummer Allan Ganley that same year. He toured the United States in 1959 and Europe later that year with the Modern Jazz Quartet. From 1961 to 1965 he played with Bill Le Sage, and later with Woody Herman, John Dankworth, Friedrich Gulda, and Clark Terry.
Ross was a saxophone tutor for a young David Bowie, played tenor saxophone on The Beatles' White Album track "Savoy Truffle" and years later was the soloist on the Lou Reed song "Walk on the Wild Side", which was co-produced by Bowie. He also had guest appearances as a soloist on several Matt Bianco albums. The 2004 Matt Bianco album Matt's Mood contains three songs composed by band member Danny White that were drawn from demos he and Ross recorded together—including the tribute song "Ronnie's Samba".
He died in London, aged 58.