Larry Ridley


Larry Ridley is an American jazz bassist and music educator.

Biography

Ridley was born and reared in Indianapolis, Indiana. He began performing professionally while still in high school in the 1950s. He studied at the Indiana University School of Music and later at the Lenox School of Jazz. Ridley has been involved in jazz education, heading the jazz program at Rutgers University.
Dr. David Baker, another Indianapolis native and notable jazz musician, was one of his prime mentors. Ridley was bassist for David Baker's Big band during his studies at Indiana University.
Ridley served as chairman of the Jazz Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts and was the organization's National Coordinator of the "Jazz Artists in Schools" Program for five years. Ridley is a recipient of the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation's "Living Legacy Jazz Award", a 1998 inductee the International Association for Jazz Education Hall of Fame, an inductee of the Downbeat Magazine Jazz Education Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Benny Golson Jazz Award from Howard University, and was honored by a Juneteenth 2006 Proclamation Award from the New York City Council. Ridley is currently the Executive Director of the African American Jazz Caucus, Inc., an affiliate of IAJE. He is also the IAJE Northeast Regional Coordinator. He continues to actively teach as Professor of Jazz Bass at the Manhattan School of Music. Ridley is currently serving as Jazz Artist in Residence at the Harlem based New York Public Library/Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He established an annual series there dedicated to presenting the compositions of jazz masters that are performed by Ridley and his Jazz Legacy Ensemble.

Discography

As leader

With Chet Baker
With Bill Barron
With Kenny Burrell
With Al Cohn
With Dameronia
With Teddy Edwards
With Red Garland
With Dexter Gordon
With Stéphane Grappelli and Joe Venuti
'With Bunky Green
With Slide Hampton
With Roy Haynes
With Freddie Hubbard
  • Hub Cap
  • Blue Spirits
With Philly Joe Jones
  • To Tadd with Love with Dameronia
  • Look Stop Listen with Dameronia
With Jackie McLean
  • Destination... Out!
  • Jacknife
With Hank Mobley
With James Moody
With Lee Morgan
With Horace Silver
With Lucky Thompson
With Gerald Wilson