Born in Chicago, Illinois, Ammons studied music with instructor Walter Dyett at DuSable High School. Ammons began to gain recognition while still at high school when in 1943, at the age of 18, he went on the road with trumpeter King Kolax's band. In 1944 he joined the band of Billy Eckstine (who bestowed on him the nickname "Jug" when straw hats ordered for the band did not fit), playing alongside Charlie Parker and later Dexter Gordon. Notable performances from this period include "Blowin' the Blues Away," featuring a saxophone duel between Ammons and Gordon. After 1947, when Eckstine became a solo performer, Ammons then led a group, including Miles Davis and Sonny Stitt, that performed at Chicago's Jumptown Club. In 1949 Ammons replaced Stan Getz as a member of Woody Herman's Second Herd, and then in 1950 formed a duet with Sonny Stitt.
The 1950s were a prolific period for Ammons and produced some acclaimed recordings such as "The Happy Blues" (1955), featuring Freddie Redd and Lou Donaldson. Musicians who played in his groups, apart from Stitt, included Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Mal Waldron, Art Farmer, and Duke Jordan.
His later career was interrupted by two prison sentences for narcotics possession, the first from 1958 to 1960, the second from 1962 to 1969. He recorded as a leader for Mercury (1947-1949), Aristocrat (1948-1950), Chess (1950-1951), Prestige (1950-1952), Decca (1952), and United (1952-1953). For the rest of his career, he was affiliated with Prestige. After his release from prison in 1969, having served a seven-year sentence at Joliet penitentiary, he signed the largest contract ever offered at that time by Prestige's Bob Weinstock.
Ammons died in Chicago in 1974, at the age of 49, from cancer.
Ammons and Von Freeman were the founders of the Chicago school of tenor saxophone. Ammons's style of playing showed influences from Lester Young as well as Ben Webster. These artists had helped develop the sound of the tenor saxophone to higher levels of expressiveness. Ammons, together with Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, helped integrate their developments with the emerging "vernacular" of the bebop movement, and the chromaticism and rhythmic variety of Charlie Parker is evident in his playing.
While adept at the technical aspects of bebop, in particular its love of harmonic substitutions, Ammons more than Young, Webster or Parker, stayed in touch with the commercial blues and R&B of his day. For example, in 1950 the saxophonist's recording of "My Foolish Heart" made Billboard Magazine's black pop charts. The soul jazz movement of the mid-1960s, often using the combination of tenor saxophone and Hammond B3 electric organ, counts him as a founder. With a thicker, warmer tone than Stitt or Gordon, Ammons could at will exploit a vast range of textures on the instrument, vocalizing it in ways that look forward to later artists like Stanley Turrentine, Houston Person, and even Archie Shepp. Ammons showed little interest, however, in the modal jazz of John Coltrane, Joe Henderson or Wayne Shorter that was emerging at the same time.
Some fine ballad performances in his oeuvre are testament to an exceptional sense of intonation and melodic symmetry, powerful lyrical expressiveness, and mastery both of the blues and the bebop vernacular that can now be described as, in its own way, "classical."
King Pleasure recorded his vocalese take on Ammons' composition "Hittin' the Jug" under the title "Swan Blues".
"Answer Me, My Love" written by Fred Rauch, Carl Sigman and Gerhard Winkler, performed by Gene Ammons, is featured on the soundtrack for Romance & Cigarettes (2005).
He played on a Bb Conn 10M tenor saxophone with a Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece.
Ammons is considered a major influence on the style of popular jazz tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman a.o..
Old Folks
Gene Ammons Lyrics
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Like the seasons, he'll come and he'll go
Just as free as a bird and as good as his word
That's why everybody loves him so
Always leaving his spoon in his coffee
Tucks his napkin up under his chin
And that yellow cow-pie is so mellow it's ripe
Every Friday he'll go fishing, down on his favorite lake
But he only hooks a perch or two, the whale got away
Looks like we warm the steak
Someday there'll be no more Old Folks
What a lonesome old town this will be
Children's voice at play, will be still for a day
The day they take the Old Folks away
The Gene Ammons song "Old Folks" is a touching tribute to an elderly man whom everyone knows and loves. The song describes the man's idiosyncrasies, such as his habit of leaving his spoon in his coffee and tucking his napkin under his chin, but emphasizes how deeply respected and appreciated he is by those around him. The singer notes that the man is as "free as a bird" and always true to his word, implying that he has lived a long and full life that has earned him the admiration of those younger than him.
The song takes a poignant turn in the final verse, when the singer acknowledges that one day the old man will no longer be around. The town will be a "lonesome" place without him, and the children's voices will be silenced in mourning. The song is a beautiful meditation on the preciousness of life and the inevitability of aging and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone knows him as Old Folks
Old Folks is a well-known popular figure in the area.
Like the seasons, he'll come and he'll go
Old Folks is a transient individual who appears and disappears like the changing seasons.
Just as free as a bird and as good as his word
Old Folks is a free-spirited person who keeps his promises.
That's why everybody loves him so
Old Folks' carefree nature and reliability make him charismatic and beloved to all.
Always leaving his spoon in his coffee
Old Folks is forgetful and often leaves his spoon in his coffee cup after stirring.
Tucks his napkin up under his chin
Old Folks is traditional and puts his napkin under his chin to avoid spills while eating.
And that yellow cow-pie is so mellow it's ripe
Old Folks enjoys eating mellow yellow cow pies and sees no reason to be ashamed of his choice of cuisine.
But you needn't be ashamed of him
Despite his quirks, Old Folks is a lovable and accepted member of society.
Every Friday he'll go fishing, down on his favorite lake
Old Folks has a weekly routine of fishing at his preferred spot on the lake.
But he only hooks a perch or two, the whale got away
Old Folks enjoys fishing but is not particularly skilled, and rarely catches large fish.
Looks like we warm the steak
Old Folks prefers his steak cooked well done and may overcook it due to forgetfulness.
Someday there'll be no more Old Folks
Old Folks will inevitably pass away one day.
What a lonesome old town this will be
Old Folks' absence will leave a void in the community.
Children's voice at play will be still for a day
Old Folks' death will cause children to cease playing and acknowledge the loss.
The day they take the Old Folks away
The day Old Folks dies, the community will mourn his loss.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEDETTE LEE HILL, WILLARD ROBISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind