Richard Kamuca. Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1930. Died Los Angeles,
California, July 22, 1977. Tenor saxophonist.
Having seen Richie Kamuca play several times in my life, I would like to preserve a small piece of his memory on this web page. I heard him play during two occasions in his brief but effluent career as a swinging jazz saxophonist. The first time was when he played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the Fifties. Whenever Stan wanted a strong, swing styled solo he would call on Richie to deliver. The other times I saw him perform were several occasions at Shelly Mannes club: Shellys Manne Hole in Los Angeles. One of the finest groups to come out of the West Coast, Shelly Manne and his men featured Richie on Tenor, Conte Condoli on trumpet, Monty Budwig on bass and Russ Freeman on piano. During these sessions Richie played more extended solos and showed his true grit in performing with this driving group.
Below is a brief but excellent discography of Richie Kamuca
Joe Gordon & Scott LaFaro
Fresh Sound Records FSCD-1030 $14.99
1. Our Delight (Dameron) 5'29"
2. Summertime (Gershwin-Heyward) 11'48"
3. Poinciana (Simon-Lliso-Bernier) 11'42"
Joe Gordon/Trumpet
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Russ Freeman/Piano
Monty Budwig/Bass
Shelly Manne/Drums
4. It Could Happen To You (Burke-vanHeusen) 11'08"
5. Bass Blues (Coltrane) 15'12" [506k Ulaw File]
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Victor Feldman/Piano
Scott LaFaro/Bass
Stan Levey/Drums
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Bill Perkins & Richie Kamuca
Pacific Jazz CDP 7 97195 2 $13.99
1. Cotton Tail (Ellington) 4'34"
2. I Want A Little Girl (Mool-Mencher) 5'55"
3. Blues For Two (Mitchell) 4'26"
4. Indian Summer (Herbert) 4'26"
5. Don't Be That Way (Goodman-Sampson-Parrish) 5'01"
6. Oh! Look At Me Now (Bushkin-DeVries) 5'32"
7. Spain (Jones-Kahn) 4'58"
8. Pick A Dilly (Cohn) 4'20"
9. Solid De Sylva (Perkins) 4'28"
10. Just Friends (Klenner-Lewis) 5'06" [402k Ulaw Soundfile]
11. All Of Me (Simons-Marks) 4'30"
12. Limehouse Blues (Braham-Furber) 3'16"
13. Sweet and Lovely (Arnheim) 5'02"
Bill Perkins/Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet, Flute
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Pete Jolly/Piano (1-8)
Hampton Hawes/Piano (9-13)
Red Mitchell/Bass
Stan Levey/Drums (1-8)
Mel Lewis/Drums (9-13)
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Richie Kamuca - Bill Holman
1. Way Down Under (Holman) 3'32"
2. Blue Jazz (Kamuca) 4'20" [268k Ulaw Soundfile]
3. Angel Eyes (Dennis-Brent) 3'55"
4. Stella By Starlight (Young-Washington) 3'19"
5. Star Eyes (Raye-DePaul) 4'34"
6. I Hadn't Anyone Till You (Noble) 4'23"
7. Linger Awhile (Rose-Owens) 3'42"
8. The Things We Did Last Summer (Styne-Cahn) 4'37"
9. Indiana (Hanley -McDonald) 4'33"
Frank Rosolino/Trombone
Bill Holman/Baritone Sax
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Conte Candoli/Trumpet
Ed Leddy/Trumpet
Vince Guaraldi/Piano
Monty Budwig/Bass
Stan Levey/Drums
Richie Kamuca Quartet
Side A-
1. Just Friends (Klenner-Lewis)
2. Rain Drain (Kamuca) [424k Ulaw Soundfile]
3. What's New (Haggart-Burke)
4. Early Bird (Perkins)
Side B-
1. Nevertheless (Kalmar-Ruby)
2. My One And Only Love (Wood-Mellin)
3. Fire One (Perkins)
4. Cherokee (Noble)
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Carl Perkins/Piano
Leroy Vinnegar/Bass
Stan Levey/Drums
Cy Touff
His Octet & Quintet
Pacific Jazz PJ-1211 12" LP series
Side One-
1. Keester Parade (Mandel) 7'47" [566k Ulaw Soundfile]
2. TNT (Kahn) 4'53"
3. What Am I Here For? (Ellington) 4'19" [259k Ulaw Soundfile]
4. Groover Wailin' (Mandel) 4'08"
Cy Touff/Bass Trumpet
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Harry Edison/Trumpet
Conrad Gozzo/Trumpet
Matt Utal/Baritone & Alto Saxes
Russ Freeman/Piano
Leroy Vinnegar/Bass
Chuck Flores/Drums
Side Two-
1. Prez-ence (Young-Touff-Kamuca) 5'22"
2. Half Past Jumping Time (Hefti) 3'48"
3. A Smooth One (Goodman) 6'56"
4. Primitive Cats (Touff Kamuca) 5'36"
Cy Touff/Bass Trumpet
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax
Pete Jolly/Piano
Leroy Vinnegar/Bass
Chuck Flores/Drums
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Bill Perkins-Art Pepper-Richie Kamuca
Pacific Jazz PJM-401
1. Just Friends (Klenner-Lewis) 5'08"
2. A Foggy Day (Gershwin-Gershwin) 3'52"
3. All Of Me (Simons-Marks) 4'31"
4. Diane-A-Flow (Pepper) 4'02"
5. Limehouse Blues (Braham-Furber) 3'20"
6. What Is This Thing Called Love (Porter) 5'27"
7. Solid De Sylva (Perkins) 4'36"
8. Sweet and Lovely (Arnheim-Daniels-Tobias) 5'08"
9. Zenobia (Pepper) 5'15"
Bill Perkins/Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet, Flute
Richie Kamuca/Tenor Sax (1,3,5,7,8)
Art Pepper/Alto Sax (2,4,6,9)
Hampton Hawes/Piano (1,3,5,7,8)
Jimmy Rowles/Piano (2,4,6,9)
Red Mitchell/Bass (1,3,5,7,8)
Ben Tucker/Bass (2,4,6,9)
Mel Lewis/Drums