Jimmy Raney was born 20 August 1927 and died 10 May 1995. He is most famous for his work with Stan Getz from 1951-1952, 1962-1963, and 1953-1954, and his work with the Red Norvo trio. He won the Down Beat critics’ poll for guitar in 1954 and 1955. Raney was a versatile musician, working in many jazz styles, including mainstream jazz, cool jazz, bebop. Jimmy Raney started his career in jazz guitar at an early age. His history shows that he was 17 when he joined the Jerry Wald band. He was hired as a guitarist for the Max Miller Quartet in Chicago in 1946, which was his first paid gig. Raney was also a member of the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and collaborated for nine months with Woody Herman in 1948. He recorded and collaborated with Buddy DeFranco and Al Haig, and later with Bob Brookmeyer. He left New York City in 1967 to escape from alcoholism and other professional problems. In the 1970s, he resurfaced and worked with Doug, his son who is also a guitarist. Raney was nearly deaf for 30 years due to Meniere’s Disease. His playing was unaffected, however. Raney, who was just 68 years old, died in Louisville Ky. from heart failure on May 10, 1995. In an obituary published in The New York Times, Jimmy Raney was described as “one of the most talented and influential postwar jazz guitar players in the world.” Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
