Ronnie Cuber

Ronnie Cuber
Ronnie Cuber (left) and Chuck Rainey at the Porretta Soul Festival, 2005
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Edward Cuber
Born	(1941-12-25) December 25, 1941 (age 79) New York City
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Saxophone
Years active	1959–present
Labels	Projazz, SteepleChase
Associated acts	Mingus Big Band, George Benson, Fuse One, Players Association

Ronald Edward Cuber (born December 25, 1941) is a jazz saxophonist. He has also played in Latin, pop, rock, and blues sessions. In addition to his primary instrument, baritone sax, he has played tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet, and flute, the latter on an album by Eddie Palmieri as well as on his own recordings. As a leader, Cuber is known for hard bop and Latin jazz. As a side man, he has played with B. B. King, Paul Simon, and Eric Clapton.^[1] Cuber can be heard on Freeze Frame by the J. Geils Band, and one of his most spirited performances is on Dr. Lonnie Smith's 1970 Blue Note album Drives. He was also a member of the Saturday Night Live Band.

Cuber was in Marshall Brown's Newport Youth Band in 1959, where he switched from tenor to baritone sax. His first notable work was with Slide Hampton (1962) and Maynard Ferguson (1963–1965). Then from 1966 to 1967, Cuber worked with George Benson. He was also a member of the Lee Konitz nonet from 1977 to 1979.^[2]

He can be heard playing in Frank Zappa's group in the mid-1970s, including the album Zappa in New York. He has been a member of the Mingus Big Band since its inception in the early 1990s. He was an off-screen musician for the movie Across the Universe.

Discography[]

As leader[]

• 1976: Cuber Libre! (Xanadu)
• 1978: The Eleventh Day of Aquarius (Xanadu)
• 1981: New York Jazz
• 1985: Two Brothers (AMG)
• 1985: Pin Point (PID)
• 1985: Passion Fruit (PID)
• 1986: Live at the Blue Note (ProJazz)
• 1992: Cubism (Fresh Sound)
• 1993: The Scene Is Clean (Milestone)
• 1994: Airplay (SteepleChase)
• 1996: In a New York Minute (SteepleChase)
• 1997: N.Y.C.ats (SteepleChase)
• 1998: Love for Sale (with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra) (Koch)
• 2009: Ronnie (SteepleChase)
• 2011: Boplicity (SteepleChase)
• 2013: Live at JazzFest Berlin (SteepleChase) (recorded 2008)
• 2018 Ronnie's Trio (SteepleChase)
• 2019 Four (SteepleChase)

As sideman[]

With Patti Austin

• End of a Rainbow (CTI, 1976)
• Havana Candy (CTI, 1977)

With George Benson

• It's Uptown (1966)
• The George Benson Cookbook (1966)
• Good King Bad (CTI, 1975)

With Nick Brignola

• Burn Brigade (Bee Hive, 1979)

With Maynard Ferguson

• The New Sounds of Maynard Ferguson (Cameo, 1963)
• Come Blow Your Horn (Cameo, 1963)
• Color Him Wild (Mainstream, 1965)

With David Clayton-Thomas

• David Clayton-Thomas (1972)

With

• (Columbia, 1986)
• (Columbia, 1988)
• (A Touch 1994)

With Grant Green

• The Main Attraction (1976)

With Billy Joel

• An Innocent Man (1983)
• The Bridge (1986)

With Sam Jones

• Something New (Interplay, 1979)

With Lee Konitz

• Lee Konitz Nonet (Chiaroscuro, 1977)
• Yes, Yes, Nonet (SteepleChase, 1979)
• Live at Laren (Soul Note, 1979 [1984])

With Jimmy McGriff

• Feelin' It (Milestone, 2001)
• McGriff Avenue (Milestone, 2002)

With Idris Muhammad

• House of the Rising Sun (1976)
• Turn This Mutha Out (1977)

With Horace Silver

• The Hardbop Grandpop (1996)

With Lonnie Smith

• Move Your Hand (Blue Note, 1969)
• Drives (Blue Note, 1970)
• Live at Club Mozambique (Blue Note, 1970; released 1995)

With Mickey Tucker

• Sojourn (Xanadu, 1977)

With Gerald Wilson

• Detroit (Mack Avenue, 2009)

With Rare Silk

• New Weave (1986)

With Randy Brecker

• 34th N Lex (2003)

With Dr. John

• Duke Elegant (1999)

With Paul Simon

• Graceland (1986)

With Tom Scott

• Bebop United (2006)

With Eddie Palmieri

• Harlem River Drive (1971)
• (Tico, 1971)
• (Tico Records, 1972)
• (Coco Records, 1975)
• (Coco Records, 1976)
• (Epic, 1978)
• (Ropeadope Records, 2017)

References[]

External links[]

• A site with information on all the great Jazz Baritone Saxophonists and vintage horns