Ron English
Ron English, with
his Washburn guitar, 2007. Photo by Derek English.
Artist Statement:
Reflections on "Devotions", One Year Later
Jazz guitarist Ron English has enjoyed a long and varied music career, with roots wide and
deep in blues, Broadway, bebop, avant-garde, funk, Motown and
gospel. Ron began playing standards for dances and receptions
around his native Lansing, where his father was a well-known
guitar teacher. He then graduated to a roadhouse jazz and blues
mix, playing with drummer Bud Spangler and Jackson tenor man
Benny Poole and various organ trios. At this time, he also met
and worked with Lyman Woodard, his long time employer and
collaborator. Along the way, Ron contributed the guitar solo on
a classic blues rock “nugget,” the Woolies’ 1967 cover of Bo
Diddley’s Who Do You Love?
He joined the Detroit
Contemporary 5, led by trumpeter Charles Moore, in the
mid-60's. Its first edition also included drummer Danny
Spencer, bassist John Dana and saxophonist Larry Nozero. The
DC5 was the house band of the Detroit Artists Workshop Society,
an arts collective spearheaded by legendary poet and activist
John Sinclair.
In the 70's, Ron played with
some of the later expanded editions of the Contemporary Jazz
Quartet, led by Charles Moore and pianist Kenny Cox, a band
dedicated to exploring post-bop and avant-garde musical paths.
He participated in the artistic self-determination efforts of
the 70's with the Strata complex of organizations, which
produced concerts and records including CJQ’s
Locations and Lyman
Woodard’s Saturday Night
Special, on which Ron was featured.
From the 70's into the 90's, Ron
toured and recorded with Michigan jazz artists Lyman Woodard,
Phil Ranelin, Wendell Harrison, Kenny Cox, the Jimmy Wilkins
Orchestra, the Austin-Moro Big Band, and Eddie Russ, with whom
he toured Europe. He also toured as a backing musician for the
Four Tops, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, and the Supremes’ Mary
Wilson, and recorded with Gladys Knight and the Pips. He made
much of his living for a number of years in the pit orchestras
for the Fisher Theater and others, backing Broadway musicals and
pop acts.
Beginning in the late 70's, Ron
led his own jazz groups in the greater Detroit area, starting
when his quartet played every Thursday night at Cobb’s Corner.
Ron’s groups opened concerts for Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner
and the Jazz Crusaders, among others, and appeared frequently in
Detroit’s Labor Day Jazz Festival at Hart Plaza. His 1988 LP
From Now to Then was
drawn from live concerts at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
In the 80s, Ron reunited with
bassist John Dana, who had left Detroit in 1971 for New York and
worked with Art Blakey, Blood Ulmer, Kenny Dorham and Rashied
Ali. Back in Detroit, John played with Ron in a number of
contexts, often as a duo. Both underwent a life changing
religious conversion and began attending Rosedale Park Baptist
Church, where they applied their musical skills in worship.
Drummer Gerald Cleaver was at that time a member of the same
church, and the three began playing together as the Psalm 150
Ensemble, occasionally augmented with guest musicians. From
1992 to 2000, Ron was Minister of Music at Rosedale, and he
continues on staff.
In addition to his Psalm 150
Ensemble work, Ron plays jazz in restaurants, clubs and
concerts. Ron also is a member of Vincent York’s “Jazzistry,” a
live jazz history concert presentation for school assemblies and
community groups since 1995, as well as M.L. Liebler’s Magic
Poetry Band since 2005.
Ron English currently teaches
guitar, jazz theory and ensemble classes in the Continuing
Education program at Marygrove College. He previously taught in
Jazz Studies programs at Oakland University and Michigan State
University.
Upcoming Dates:
The
Psalm 150 Ensemble:
Monday, September 1 at 12:45 PM -
Detroit
International Jazz Festival, downtown Detroit
on the Chase Main Stage in Cadillac Square
Ron English Trio:
Tuesday, September 2 at 8:00 PM -
Baker's Keyboard Lounge,
20510 Livernois, Detroit
**Look for the
Trio at Baker's on Tuesday, October 7 and Tuesday, November 4. (On
November 4, stop by Baker's for a soulful dinner with
jazz guitar accompaniment after you vote and before the
returns start coming in!)
Ron English Quartet:
Wednesday, November 5 - Saturday, November 8 -
Dirty Dog Jazz
Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe Farms
Ron English:
Saturday, November 22 -
Cliff Bell's,
2030 Park Ave., Detroit
Come see this reunion gig with Lyman Woodard, Leonard
King and an all star horn section.