Home » Jazz Musicians » Anthony Ortega

Anthony Ortega

Anthony Ortega is one of the finest bop reedmen of the second half of the 20th century, though he is better known in Europe than in the U.S. A highly original improviser with impeccable tone and great emotional range, Ortega's style blends bebop with forms and techniques that evolved later. He is currently active and has released "Afternoon In Paris," in 2007.

Coming out of the famed Los Angeles Central Avenue scene, Ortega was very much the peer of such sax men as Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon. After a stint in the Army, he came back in ‘51 to join up with Lionel Hampton with whom he traveled to Europe where he would garner quite a reputation. He came back to the states in ’58 and played steadily though not in the limelight until his release in ’61 of “A Man And His Horn.” This was a great hard bop set where he was accompanied by pianist Hank Jones.

In 1966-67 two albums issued on Revelation, "New Dance" and "Permutations", established Anthony Ortega as a master of advanced Jazz improvisation. As critic Art Lange wrote: "In retrospect, it was this lyricism, plus his restraint and sense of contemplation—a sparce controlled manner of expression that sculptured new lines out of spontaneous alterations of tempos and dynamics—that set Ortega's playing apart. Unlike most improvisers, who embellish or ornament their material, Ortega was here stripping away the musical excess, replacing it with elastic, elliptical statements that reshaped and redefined the music from its emotional core."

Ortega remained on the Los Angeles jazz scene, and spent a lot of time in France throughout the ‘90’s. He released a steady flow of albums since the turn of the century which are; “Bonjour,” and “Scattered Clouds,” both in 2001, “On Evidence,” (2003) “Earth Dance,” (2004) and his latest “Afternoon In Paris,” from 2007.

Anthony Ortega’s credentials and legacy as a bop player are only bested by his longevity and endurance which are testament to his musicianship.

Source: James Nadal

Anthony Ortega

by Rex Butters
August 31, 2008

You know you're talking about a jazz musician when the artist in question has played and recorded with Elvis, Streisand, Sinatra, Lalo Schifrin, the Lighthouse All-Stars, Quincy Jones, Gerald Wilson, Clifford Brown, Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, Paul Bley, Dinah Washington and Frank Zappa, to name a few, while still finding time to record soundtracks, release highly regarded and collectible sessions as leader, experience a resurgent wave of acclaim in Europe and despite it all remain virtually unknown in the US.

227

Album Review

Anthony Ortega: Afternoon In Paris

Read "Afternoon In Paris" reviewed by Jeff Dayton-Johnson

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
June 22, 2007

The quixotic enthusiasm of Hatology Records' chief Werner X. Uehlinger for the idiosyncratic music of one- time Lionel Hampton sideman Anthony Ortega continues with this release of a series of solo performances and saxophone-bass duets recorded in 2002 and 2005. The link to Ortega's quiet classic in the sax-bass vein, New Dance (Hatology, 1966), is made explicit with the inclusion of a previously unreleased version of “Ornithology" from that session. Brighter and bouncier than the post-millennium material on the rest ...

Profile

Anthony Ortega

by Robert Spencer
January 10, 2001

Here is a man who has played with Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Paul Bley, Quincy Jones, Don Ellis, Dinah Washington, and {{Ella Fitzgerald. Here is a man whose alto saxophone playing has been compared to Charlie Parker's and Ornette Coleman's--both with just cause. Here is a man whose Sixties sessions, long out of print for the most part, are revered by collectors, who hunt them down assiduously--because there have been a few people all these years who knew ...

161

Album Review

Anthony Ortega Trio: Scattered Clouds

by Robert Spencer
January 1, 2001

Here is unsung reedman Anthony Ortega in the most stripped-down of contexts: in contrast to the nonet that he recorded with on 1994's Neuf, and even to earlier quartet recordings, here he appears in a bare trio setting. There is a piano and drums but no bassist, and one is not missed: Mike Wofford's piano playing has enough body, and Ortega's saxophone enough rhythmic flight, for the bass not to be missed.

So here is Anthony Ortega, a calling-card showing ...

Interview

Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 13, 2012

Lionel Hampton loved Anthony Ortega's playing in 1953, likening his sound on the alto sax to Charlie Parker's. There are indeed similarities, notably the yearning, bluesy tone and pushing off on the high notes. Anthony wound up in Hampton's band at just the right moment in time, when an amazing collection of musicians had assembled—including Quincy Jones, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Gigi Gryce, Jimmy Cleveland and Monk Montgomery. In Part 3 of my four-part series on Anthony Ortega, the alto ...
read more

Interview

Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 4)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 13, 2012

Personalities don't come much sunnier than Anthony Ortega's and his wife Mona's. Every time I call, I'm welcomed by enormous warmth and kindness. But their dispositions go way beyond words. You can hear an orange glow in the sound of their voices, how happy they are to be with each other and how grateful they are for everything. It's the joy of living, something that has been forgotten over the past five years. [Pictured top: Anthony Ortega conducting, courtesy of ...
read more

Interview

Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 11, 2012

Before I launch into the remaining two parts of my Q&A conversation with saxophonist Anthony Ortega, I want to present you with The Street We Took (2007), a 15-minute documentary on Anthony and his wife Mona by filmmaker Andrew Rubin. Andrew generously made his short film available on YouTube after we spoke about its poetry and grace, and fans' need to see it... JazzWax note: To see a trailer for Andrew's next documentary project, Riding with Larry (to be released ...
read more

Interview

Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 10, 2012

If you're a student of liner notes from the 1950s, the name Anthony Ortega should ring a bell. Anthony played saxophone on a range of well-known recordings during jazz's golden decade, including sessions led by Gigi Gryce, Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Sonny Stitt, Dinah Washington, Billy Taylor, Nat Pierce, Maynard Ferguson and others. Anthony also led many fabulous recording sessions from the 1950s onward. [Top: Anthony Ortega in high school in the early 1940s, courtesy of Anthony Ortega] Interestingly, Anthony ...
read more

Recording

Anthony Ortega: Afternoon in Paris on Hatology 643

Source: All About Jazz
April 9, 2007

Anthony Ortega: Afternoon in Paris on Hatology 643

On first glimpse this recording might seem to be a sequel to the 1966 alto saxophone and acoustic bass duo session which formed one-half of Anthony Ortega's critically acclaimed “New Dance". But for Ortega to try and recreate that once-upon-a-time, now legendary date would be folly. He has not changed his approach to the duo (or solo for that matter) format all that much in the years between then and now. But ...
read more