John Wright

Born in Louisville, Kentucky on September 7, 1934, John Wright was a jazz pianist. When he was two, his family relocated to Chicago, Illinois because his mom, who was an evangelistic preacher, founded a church in the area. Immersed in gospel music, he learned to play piano at the age of 7. During his high school years, he played organ in a local Baptist church. Once he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1952, he began focusing his attention on jazz music while stationed in Germany. Once he was discharged from the army in 1955, he moved back to Chicago and began playing in local jazz clubs. He released his first album, South Side Soul, in 1960, which was recorded with his trio featuring Wendell Roberts (bass) and Walter McCants (drums). He returned with his trio – featuring new drummer J.C. Heard – for 1961’s Nice ‘n’ Tasty. That same year, John Wright released the quartet album Makin’ Out, but reverted back to a trio for 1962’s Mr. Soul. After a three-year break, he released The Last Amen (1965), which proved to his last album for nearly three decades. He continued to perform live at local Chicago jazz clubs and became a librarian at the Cook County Jail from the middle of the 1980 until the end of the 1990s. John Wright did record one album during this period – 1994’s Wright Changes & Choices – but focused his attention on life outside of music. Towards the end of his life, he was acknowledged by several honors including the 2009 Walter Dyett Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Institute of Chicago. John Wright died on December 15, 2017, at the age of 83.

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