Jerry Weldon

Jerry Weldon (born 27 September 1957 in New York City) [1] is a tenor saxophonist, noted for his involvement in various groups such as Lionel Hampton Orchestra and Harry Connick, Jr.s big band. He is seen as a "veteran" of the New York jazz scene.[2]

Jerry Weldon
Birth nameGerard Joseph Weldon
Born09/27/1957
GenresJazz, hard bop
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsTenor Saxophone
Years active1981-Present
Associated actsHarry Connick, Jr.
Lionel Hampton
Jack McDuff
WebsiteWebsite

Biography

Weldon graduated from Rutgers University Jazz Program in 1981 and joined the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Weldon worked with Hampton until he died in 2002. Jerry subsequently worked with organist Jack McDuff & his "Heatin' System," as well as organists Jimmy McGriff, Joey DeFrancesco, Bobby Forrester, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Mel Rhyne, trombone great Al Grey, piano giants George Cables and Cedar Walton, drum legends Roy Haynes and Jimmy Cobb as well as guitarist/singer George Benson, guitarist Earl Klugh, bassist Keter Betts, singer Mel Tormé and many other jazz legends.

In 1990, Jerry became a charter member and featured soloist with Harry Connick Jr.'s newly formed big band. Since then Jerry has toured the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia with Harry and was also part of Connick's Broadway musical production, "Thou Shalt Not" and appeared on stage as well as in the orchestra. From 2016-2018 Jerry was a member of the “house band” on HARRY, Connick’s daytime television variety show. In addition to Weldon's work with Connick, he performs regularly as a leader of his own groups in New York City and tours throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Discography

As leader and collaborations
  • Five by Five with Bobby Forrester (Cats Paw, 1994)
  • The Second Time Around with Bobby Forrester (Cats Paw, 1995)
  • Midtown Blues (Amosaya, 1998)
  • Head to Head with Michael Karn (Criss Cross, 1998)
  • 3 O'Clock in the Morning: Live at Smoke (Dex Jazz, 2006)
  • Well Done! (Recorded Live at Smoke) (Dex Jazz, 2008)
  • Don't Look Back (Index Jazz, 2010)
  • On the Move! (Doodlin', 2016)
  • What's New with Massimo Faraò (Venus [jp], 2017)
  • We're Rollin' with Hammond Groovers (Nuccia [it], 2017)
  • Those Were the Days (Cellar Live, 2018)[3]
  • Massimo Faraò Trio Meets Jerry Weldon [live] (Racing Jazz, 2020)

With The N.Y. Hardbop Quintet
  • The Clincher (TCB, 1995)
  • Rokermotion (TCB, 1996)
  • A Whisper Away (TCB, 1998)
  • A Mere Bag Of Shells (TCB, 2000)

As sideman
  • Post No Bills (Joe Ascione, 1996)
  • Remembering Blakey: A Tribute to Art Blakey (Ron Aprea, 2012)
  • Bass, Buddies & Blues (Keter Betts, 1998)
  • Bass, Buddies, Blues & Beauty Too (Keter Betts, 1999)
  • Live at the East Coast Jazz Festival (Keter Betts, 2000)
  • The Dreamer in Me: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (Freddy Cole, 2009)
  • Blue Light, Red Light (Harry Connick, Jr. 1991)
  • When My Heart Finds Christmas (Harry Connick, Jr. 1993)
  • Star Turtle (Harry Connick, Jr. 1995)
  • Come By Me (Harry Connick, Jr. 1999)
  • Songs I Heard (Harry Connick, Jr. 2001)
  • Harry for the Holidays (Harry Connick, Jr. 2003)
  • Only You (Harry Connick, Jr. 2004)
  • Oh, My Nola (Harry Connick, Jr. 2007)
  • Your Songs (Harry Connick, Jr. 2009)
  • In Concert on Broadway (Harry Connick, Jr. 2011)
  • Smokey Mary (Harry Connick, Jr. 2013)
  • That Would Be Me (Harry Connick, Jr. 2015)
  • True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter (Harry Connick, Jr. 2019)
  • Joey D! (Joey DeFrancesco, 2008)
  • Big Shot (Papa John DeFrancesco, 2009)
  • What Time Is It? (Giacomo Gates, 2017)
  • Sentimental Journey (Lionel Hampton, 1985)
  • For the Love of Music (Lionel Hampton, 1995)
  • 90th Birthday Celebration (Lionel Hampton, 2003)
  • Greasy Street (Richie Hart, 2005)
  • My Little French Dancer (Diane Hoffman, 2006)
  • Write On, Capt'n (Jack McDuff, 1993)
  • The Heatin' System (Jack McDuff, 1994)
  • That's the Way I Feel About It (Jack McDuff, 1996)
  • Bringin' It Home (Jack McDuff, 1998)
  • Brotherly Love (Jack McDuff, 2001)
  • Endangered Species (David Schumacher, 2005)
  • Oriental Express (Akiko Tsuruga, 2009)
  • Sakura (Akiko Tsuruga, 2012)

References
  1. Feather, L; Gitler, I "The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz", p.684. Oxford University Press, 2007
  2. "Jerry Weldon". welovejazz.it. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  3. Jerry Weldon, Those Were the Days. Review by Alex Henderson, NYCJR, August 2018 - Issue 196, page 19. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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