Dick Meldonian

Dick Meldonian has long stood out as a swing-rooted soloist whose limited public recognition has never diminished the respect he commands among other players. He took up the clarinet at age eight and switched to tenor saxophone three years later. In 1944 he formed his own first ensemble, then turned fully professional in 1949. Early road work took him alongside Freddie Slack, through the Charlie Barnet orchestra from 1950 to 1951, and into Stan Kenton’s band in 1952; additional stints followed with Shorty Rogers, Nat Pierce, Elliot Lawrence, and Bill Russo. Eventually Meldonian settled into New York studio and session work, where he could be heard in varied contexts such as Erroll Garner’s 1957 dates and Gerry Mulligan’s 1960 engagements. His most visible projects came later as leader of the Jersey Swingers quartet during the late 1970s and as co-leader, with drummer Sonny Igoe, of a big band that began in the early 1980s. Under his own name he documented both small-group and large-ensemble sessions for Progressive and Statiras.