Larry Ridley facts for kids

Laurence "Larry" Howard Ridley II, born on September 3, 1937, is a famous American jazz musician who plays the double bass. He is also a dedicated music teacher. Larry Ridley is so important in jazz music that he was added to the Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame.

Larry Ridley's Early Life

Larry Ridley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on September 3, 1937. Music became a big part of his life when he was just five years old. His mother paid for him to take violin lessons from Ruth McArthur. Ms. McArthur was well-known in Indianapolis for helping African American musicians. She even started a music school for students who faced challenges because of segregation in schools. This school helped Larry discover the world of music and learn classical styles.

Larry's uncle's wife's father, Ben Hollman, introduced him to jazz and blues music. At that time, jazz was becoming very popular in the United States. It was important to understand blues music because it greatly influenced how jazz developed. Larry also met and took lessons from a bassist named Monk Montgomery.

College Years and Jazz

After finishing Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Larry went to Indiana University in 1955. He was lucky to get a scholarship for violin, which helped him study music at the university. While there, Larry played in jazz groups, including the David Baker Band.

When Larry started college, it was unusual for universities to have jazz programs. He said that only places like Berklee College of Music, which started in 1947, had jazz at a university level. At Indiana University, Larry found many chances to improve his skills. He performed often with the school's symphony and opera orchestras. He learned about different music styles but always focused on jazz. He and other students would practice jazz together in the rehearsal halls. Larry also met many famous musicians from around the world who taught classes at the university.

Larry Ridley's Music Career

In 1957, Larry Ridley started his own jazz band called the Jazz Contemporaries. His bandmates included Freddie Hubbard, James Spaulding, Paul Parker, and Walter Miller. Even though they were underage, they played six nights a week at George's Bar. In the early 1960s, Larry moved to New York City to become a jazz musician. He became very active in the New York jazz scene, helping it grow.

During the 1960s, he played on many records with famous musicians like Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, and Dexter Gordon. In the 1970s, Larry recorded his first album where he was the bandleader. He also played with other great musicians like James Moody and Duke Ellington. He even became the bassist for Thelonious Monk.

Special Concerts and Tributes

Larry Ridley especially loved his yearly concerts at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. These concerts honored three pianists he had played with: Duke Pearson, Sonny Clark, and Kenny Drew. Since these musicians had passed away, Larry felt it was important to keep their music alive. He believed that he was given the chance to know these people and learn from them. So, he felt he had to make sure their music was not forgotten.

The Schomburg Center was very special to Larry. He saw it as one of the best places in the world for information about African and Black culture. He called it a great display of "intellectual and artistic artifacts." To show his respect for the Schomburg Center, Larry often combined education with his performances. When he planned his concerts, he would write notes that gave information about the musicians he was honoring.

Larry Ridley as an Educator

Larry Ridley believed that music education was very important. In 1971, he became a music professor at Rutgers. He worked hard to make the Rutgers Institute for Jazz Studies as important as the Schomburg Center for learning and history. He was one of the first active African American musicians to teach in the music industry.

Larry was also a founding member of the jazz faculty at Rutgers. He brought many talented jazz musicians to teach there, including Ted Dunbar, Kenny Barron, Don Friedman, Jimmy Giuffre, Freddie Waits, Michael Carvin, and Frank Foster. Larry was inspired to build this program because jazz programs were not common when he was in school. He had seen ads for "jazz degrees" that promised study with great musicians, but he often didn't recognize the names. So, he made sure to bring well-known musicians to Rutgers who could share their professional and personal experiences with students.

The Soul of Jazz

Larry felt that other jazz programs often missed the "spiritual aesthetic" of jazz. He described this as "the feeling of the music that comes from Mother Africa through the whole African American experience." For him, true jazz needed soul and spirituality in every song. He saw jazz as a way to show the world what life was like for African Americans trying to achieve the American dream. Many musicians could relate to this idea.

Larry Ridley had the right background to create the undergraduate and graduate jazz performance programs at Rutgers. He first went to Indiana University, but then transferred to New York University to get his Bachelor's degree in Music Education. He also earned his Master's degree in Cultural Policy at Empire State College and a Doctor of Performing Arts degree at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He was inspired to get his Bachelor's in music education because he felt jazz needed a program like general music education. He believed that traditional music schools often didn't accept jazz as a serious art form.

Important Lessons for Students

One key lesson Larry taught his students was to stay humble. He would tell them, "Take your ego and put it in your back pocket and sit on it and just keep your humbleness so you really understand and that you keep learning." He believed that having too much ego could stop a musician from growing. Humility helps you listen to feedback and learn new things.

Another important teaching was the idea of using music to tell a story. While good technique is impressive, the real meaning comes from the life experiences that influence the songs. That spiritual part is what truly shows the audience who you are as a musician.

African American Jazz Caucus

In 1977, Larry Ridley was the main founder of the Black Jazz Music Caucus of the National Association of Jazz Educators. This group is now called the African American Jazz Caucus (AAJC), and Larry later became its executive director. The group was created to increase the number of African American jazz artists and educators in the larger jazz education community.

Supporting Artists and Educators

One of the early goals of the African American Jazz Caucus was to support African American artists and teachers at all school levels. Larry also helped organize workshops and performances at conferences for the National Association of Jazz Educators. Just like he did at Rutgers, he invited famous African American artists. This helped provide good mentors for young musicians and educators.

The AAJC worked to solve problems that members faced when teaching students. These problems included creating job opportunities, protecting jobs and programs, getting enough resources, and making sure school lessons correctly showed the history and contributions of African Americans as the creators of jazz.

Larry Ridley and the AAJC made sure that jazz educators across the country recognized the African American cultural influences that jazz was built upon. He wanted educators to understand all the ways African Americans helped jazz grow in the United States. This included spirituality, individuality, diversity, improvisation, and music theory.