Dick Cary

Richard Durant Cary (July 10, 1916 – April 6, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger.

He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Cary earned a bachelor's degree in music from Wesleyan University in 1938 and started working in Connecticut and New York. He landed full-time solo work at Nick's in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1941 (through 1943) and played with Joe Marsala in 1942. In 1943, he also worked as a staff arranger for Benny Goodman and played with the Casa Loma Orchestra and Brad Gowans. During a stint in the Army in 1944-46 stationed on Long Island, he managed to continue recording with Muggsy Spanier and Wild Bill Davison among others. After his discharge he worked with Billy Butterfield, then was pianist in the initial formation of Louis Armstrong's All-Stars in 1947–48. In 1949–50 he was in Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra, and in the 1950s worked with Eddie Condon, Pee Wee Russell, Max Kaminsky, Bud Freeman, Jimmy McPartland, and starting in 1957 a long-term collaboration with Bobby Hackett at the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York.

When that engagement ended in 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, where he became an active freelance, touring, and studio musician. He also began writing and arranging music for the Tuesday Night Friends, who convened at his home every Tuesday for decades, a tradition that continued following his passing. The band was rarely heard by the public except for annual appearances at the Los Angeles Classic Jazz Festival and Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

In the latter days of his life some of these rehearsals were recorded, forming the basis of the posthumous release Dick Cary and His Tuesday Night Friends Playing Dick Cary Originals. The ongoing group, directed by Dick Hamilton, recorded the album Dick Cary's Tuesday Night Friends: Catching Up in 1997. Cary also provided an extended interview to Floyd Levin in 1991. His life is the subject of the bio-discography Strictly a Musician: Dick Cary by Derek Coller, published in 2012.

Dick Cary died in April 1994, in Glendale, California, at the age of 77.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 10, 1916 (Hartford), Died April 6, 1994 (Glendale)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1942 - 1955

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 62 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor D7VB-1082 10-in. 10/16/1947 A song was born Louis Armstrong ; Louis Armstrong All-Stars ; Jack Teagarden Male vocal duet, with jazz sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D7VB-1083 10-in. 10/16/1947 Please stop playing those blues, boy Louis Armstrong ; Louis Armstrong All-Stars ; Jack Teagarden Male vocal duet, with jazz sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D7VB-1084 10-in. 10/16/1947 Before long Louis Armstrong ; Louis Armstrong All-Stars Male vocal solo, with jazz sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D7VB-1085 10-in. 10/16/1947 Lovely weather we're having Louis Armstrong ; Louis Armstrong All-Stars Male vocal solo, with jazz sextet instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 71001 10-in. 7/6/1942 Chimes blues Joe Marsala and his Chosen Seven instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 71002 10-in. 7/6/1942 Sweet Mama Joe Marsala and his Chosen Seven instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 71003 10-in. 7/6/1942 Walkin' the dog Joe Marsala and his Chosen Seven instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 71004 10-in. 7/6/1942 Lazy Daddy Joe Marsala and his Chosen Seven instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80352 1/15/1951 Muskrat ramble, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80353 1/15/1951 Muskrat ramble, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80354 1/15/1951 (What did I do to be so) Black and blue, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80355 1/15/1951 (What did I do to be so) Black and blue, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80356 1/15/1951 Royal garden blues, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80357 1/15/1951 Royal garden blues, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80358 1/15/1951 Lover-1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80359 1/15/1951 Stars fell on Alabama, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80360 1/15/1951 Stars fell on Alabama, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80361 1/15/1951 I cried for you, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80362 1/15/1951 I cried for you, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80363 1/15/1951 Since I fell for you, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80364 1/15/1951 Since I fell for you, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80365 1/15/1951 Tea for two, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80366 1/15/1951 Tea for two, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80367 1/15/1951 Body and soul, part 1 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
Decca 80368 1/15/1951 Body and soul, part 2 Louis Armstrong All-Stars instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 1-25 of 62 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Cary, Dick," accessed April 20, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/307492.

Cary, Dick. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/307492.

"Cary, Dick." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 20 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/307492

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