Don Lanphere
b. 26 June 1928, Wenatchee, Washington, USA. Lanphere first played tenor saxophone professionally at 13, having already played in public as a guest with visiting bands. At the age of 17 he guested with the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when they played a gig in his home town. After studying music at Northwestern University, Illinois, Lanphere recorded in New York under his own name with, among others, Fats Navarro and Max Roach. In 1949, he joined Woody Herman and the following year was with Artie Shaw. In 1951, he was in Sonny Dunham's band which was touring with Bob Hope. It was then that addiction to narcotics interrupted his career but he straightened out and made brief appearances in bands led by Herman, Charlie Barnet, Billy May, Herb Pomeroy and others during the period 1958-61. Further personal problems, with alcohol and drugs, then arose and little was heard of him until the early '80s. Thoroughly straight this time, actively supported by his wife, Midge, and encouraged by UK record producer Alastair Robertson, Lanphere subsequently toured extensively and made many fine records. Originally a Coleman Hawkins disciple, Lanphere later absorbed the work of Lester Young and Charlie Parker, but was able to retain his own strikingly individual approach to jazz. In addition to tenor, Lanphere also plays alto and, since his return, has proved to be an especially adept and interesting player on soprano saxophone and, in turn, exhilaratingly inventive on fast numbers and lyrical on ballads.