Jimmy Knepper

James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin, and, most famously, Charles Mingus in the late-1950s and early-1960s.

Biography Knepper was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, as part of a cultural exchange during the Cold War, in which the Bolshoi Ballet also came to the US. This groundbreaking yet disastrous tour was also documented in Knepper's letters.

Knepper also played in the pit orchestra through the entire run of the Broadway show Funny Girl, with Barbra Streisand, and later, Mimi Hines. After seventeen previews, the Broadway production opened on March 26, 1964, at the Winter Garden Theatre, subsequently transferring to the Majestic Theatre and the Broadway Theatre to complete its total run of 1,348 performances. In 1967–1968, he played in the pit orchestra at the Mark Hellinger Theatre for An Evening with Marlene Dietrich, for which Dietrich received a Tony Award in 1968. Knepper also appeared on and off Broadway in On Your Toes, and The Me Nobody Knows.

While he was playing Funny Girl, Knepper became a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, a big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis around 1965, Nevertheless, in the 1970s, the two eventually reconciled thoroughly enough to play together in concert and on at least one of Mingus's last albums.

Following Mingus's death, and the death of the first Mingus Dynasty bandleader, drummer Dannie Richmond, Knepper led the Mingus Dynasty orchestra

Discography As leader Jazz Workshop Presents: "Jimmy Knepper" (Debut, 1957; Danish EP reissued on Mingus Rarities, Volume 1, OJC) A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper (Bethlehem, 1957) The Pepper-Knepper Quintet (MetroJazz Records, 1958) Cunningbird (Steeplechase, 1976) Jimmy Knepper in L.A. (Inner City, 1977) Just Friends (Hep, 1978) with Joe Temperley Tell Me... (Daybreak, 1979) Primrose Path (Hep, 1980) with Bobby Wellins 1st Place (BlackHawk, 1982 ) I Dream Too Much (Soul Note, 1984) Dream Dancing (Criss Cross Jazz, 1986) T-Bop (Soul Note, 1991) with Eric Felten

As sideman With Charles Mingus Tijuana Moods (1957) RCA East Coasting (1957) Bethlehem A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (1957) Bethlehem The Clown (1957) Atlantic Mingus Ah Um (1959) Columbia Mingus Dynasty (1959) Columbia Blues & Roots (1959) Atlantic Mingus Revisited (1960) Mercury Reincarnation of a Lovebird (1960) Candid Oh Yeah (1961) Atlantic, Tonight at Noon (1957–61) Atlantic Cumbia & Jazz Fusion (1978) Atlantic

With Mose Allison Swingin' Machine (Atlantic, 1963) With Joshua Breakstone Evening Star (Contemporary, 1988) With Benny Carter Central City Sketches (MusicMasters, 1987) With Richard Davis Muses for Richard Davis (MPS, 1969) With Gil Evans Out of the Cool (1960) Impulse! The Individualism of Gil Evans (1964) Verve Blues in Orbit (Enja, 1971) Where Flamingos Fly (1971) Artists House Collaboration with Helen Merrill (1987) EmArcy With Ricky Ford Shorter Ideas (Muse, 1984) With Dizzy Gillespie Perceptions (Verve, 1961)

With Jazz Artists Guild Newport Rebels (Candid, 1961)

With Langston Hughes Weary Blues (MGM, 1959) With Clark Terry Color Changes (Candid, 1960) With Kai Winding The Incredible Kai Winding Trombones (1960) Impulse! With Chuck Israels National Jazz Ensemble directed by Chuck Israels (Chiaroscuro, 1976) With Herbie Mann My Kinda Groove (Atlantic, 1964) Our Mann Flute (Atlantic, 1966) With Kenny Burrell Guitar Forms (Verve, 1965) With Gary Burton A Genuine Tong Funeral (RCA, 1967) With the Jazz Composer's Orchestra The Jazz Composer's Orchestra (1968) JCOA Escalator over the Hill with Carla Bley (1971) JCOA With the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis featuring Miss Ruth Brown (1968) Solid State Monday Night (1968) Solid State Central Park North (1969) Solid State Basle, 1969 (1996) TCB Music – recorded 1969 Consummation (1970) Solid State Suite for Pops (1972) A&M Live in Tokyo (1974) Denon Jazz Potpourri (1974) Philadelphia International Thad Jones / Mel Lewis and Manuel De Sica (1974) PAUSA With Dick Katz In High Profile (Bee Hive, 1984) With Lee Konitz Lee Konitz Nonet (Chiaroscuro, 1977) Yes, Yes, Nonet (SteepleChase, 1979) Live at Laren (Soul Note, 1979 ) With Al Kooper You Never Know Who Your Friends Are (1969) Columbia

With the Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band Road Time (1976) RCA/Victor

With George Adams & Dannie Richmond Hand to Hand (1980) Soul Note Gentleman's Agreement (1983) Soul Note

With Mingus Dynasty Chair In The Sky (Electra 1979) Live at Montreux (Atlantic 1980) Reincarnation (Soul Note 1982) Mingus' Sounds of Love (Soul Note 1987) Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 1 (Soul Note 1988) Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt/Paris, Vol. 2 (Soul Note 1988)